Question

With the morning twilight Aylmer opened his eyes upon his wife's face and recognized the symbol of imperfection; and when they sat together at the evening hearth his eyes wandered stealthily to her cheek, and beheld, flickering with the blaze of the wood fire, the spectral hand that wrote mortality where he would fain have worshipped.

A) A Star
B) A Flower
C) A Birthmark
D) A Tear

Answer 1

The symbol of imperfection Aylmer recognizes on his wife's cheek in 'The Birthmark' by Nathaniel Hawthorne is C) A Birthmark

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of this question is English as it is asking about a symbol in a literary work by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which falls under the study of English literature.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "The Birthmark," Aylmer, a man of science, becomes obsessively fixated on a small birthmark on the cheek of his wife, Georgiana. This mark, which Aylmer perceives as a symbol of imperfection, is actually a crimson hand-shaped mark.

Throughout the story, the birthmark signifies mortality and human imperfection and becomes the central point of Aylmer's focus, overshadowing Georgiana's beauty. Ultimately, the story explores themes of obsession, the quest for perfection, and the acceptance of human flaws. The correct answer to the question is C) A Birthmark.