호손의 「반점」에 나타난 미국의 이상주의 비판

Abstract

Kyong-OokNathaniel Hawthorne's “The Birthmark” has been said to be a story on the problems of modern science. But this thesis, clarifying the moral aspect of Aylmer's ambition, asserts this story is about the American ideal of Eden.Aylmer is usually treated as a representative of Hawthorne's scientist villains. But when we consider his notion on the human perfection, we cannot simply say he is a villain. Through his effort to erase Georgiana's birthmark, what he wants to accomplish is a new human state. He is a kind of god to make a new Eden where he, as an Adam, can make love with his new Eve. In this point, he is an Endicott. Just as Endicott tried to build a new ideal society with his sword, so Aylmer wants to make a new world which he thinks morally perfect. But his failure comes from the contradictions contained in his moral ideal. He succeeds in making his wife “perfect.” But he fails to make a new world where he can make love with his wife as a human being. Through his failure, Hawthorne shows that Americans' original dream of building a new Eden in the wilderness resulted in making only a deserted garden. He seems to say that, “If we want to live and love each other as a living thing, a totally different and new ideal should be found in America!”<Dongyang University>