In 1843, “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne was first published in a small literary magazine. It's the dark story of an 18th-century scientist's obsession with a small hand-shaped birthmark on his wife's face. Although the mark didn't bother him before their marriage, it becomes such an obsession for him and he can't think of anything other than keeping it away from his otherwise perfect face. This imperfection and the incurable nature of mortality become the central idea of ​​this story. In The Birthmark, Hawthorne uses the fictional element of conflict to convey a pervasive sense of torment and tragedy in this short story. The first conflict that arises in The Birthmark is Alymer's complete love of science versus love for another human being. It was a time of great scientific exploration and discovery. Many began to view the pursuit of science as a form of worship. Hawthorne uses many words commonly used in religious rhetoric in this story, such as miracles, repentance, worthy of devotion, and prayer to affirm the close connection between science and religion. The author shares with his readers that it was common in this era of great scientific advancement that "the love of science rivals the love of woman in its depth and absorption of energy" (Hawthorne 1). This was certainly the case with Alymer and poor, beautiful Georgiana. This pursuit of scientific knowledge is an attempt to deceive mortality. If Alymer can perfect what nature has marred, he can overcome imperfection and achieve his own sense of immortality. His love for science proves much stronger than his love for his wife, and she pays the ultimate price for her desire for perfection. The conflict between Alymer and the birthmark itself appears to be in the middle of the paper. .....r about women” While Alymer professes great love for Georgiana, his true love is for science and the divine sense of power it brings him. Alymer's past experiences, his dream, and his entire environment tell him that his desires will be fatal to Georgiana, and yet he continues. The Birthmark is a sad story of a man's desire to perfect his wife rather than love her and the consequence of this desire is that she ends up perfectly dead. The many levels of conflict, internal, interpersonal, social, in this short story culminate together to show the tragedy of the pursuit of perfection and the folly of trying to cheat mortality. Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Birthmark Heilman, Robert B. “Hawthorne's Birthmark: Science as Religion.” » South Atlantic Quarterly 48(1949): 573-83.