Final answer:
The paragraph describes Aylmer's obsession with his wife's birthmark as a symbol of human mortality and imperfection, signifying the inevitability of sin, sorrow, decay, and death.
Step-by-step explanation:
The paragraph from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birthmark discusses the powerful grip of mortality that binds even the purest beings to their inevitable fate of sin, sorrow, decay, and death. Aylmer, the protagonist, becomes obsessed with his wife's birthmark, viewing it as a symbol of her human flaws and imperfections.
This birthmark, in the form of a crimson hand, signifies the universal and inescapable nature of human mortality and imperfection. Aylmer's fixation on the birthmark and his desire to remove it reflects his inability to accept the natural imperfections that come with being human.