Analysis/Will Appelt

Will Appelt
English 101
Dr. Ellis


In the works of Nathanial Hawthorne, William Wordsworth and Charlotte Gilman, the key theme throughout there work is the nature of oneself. Each of these characters in these works learns about themselves toward the end of the story or poem. Nathanial Hawthorne and Charlotte Gilman also seem to emphasis the hardships of marriageand how there husbands are there demise.
In Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Birthmark, the emphasis of science is corrupting the natural beauty of Georgiana’s birthmark on her face. Her husband seems to have insecurity about the imperfection and it shows by his actions in the story and this in turn gives her insecurity. The symbol used in this story to represent pure creation is the birthmark. Science is shown as a way to play God which is through man. The nature of God and the naturalized way of birth can not be altered to perfection. Imperfections of a person are what make the person more unique and separates them from everyone else. Science is later shown as a way to kill God’s creation in the dieing of Georgiana.
In Charlotte Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, her husband is also a doctor as in The Birthmark. The husband is a symbol of her illness as well as the marriage they are in. The room with the wall paper symbolizes the prison she has been put into after the marriage. The only way to cure herself is through her old natural way of writing and doing what she used to do. The restraint her husband has on her and his way of cure seems to be more of a burden on her illness.
William Wordsworth’s poem I wandered Lonely as a Cloud, the poet seems to find a himself in a place of nature. The hills and flowers of God’s creation seem to make him happy. The poets show metaphor when he compares himself as a cloud where he flows away in this place of euphoria. He imagines that any poet who doesn’t find himself in a place of nature will never be happy.
All three of these works seem to come back to the creation of God and how we should let things be what they are. Nature place a key part in all these works to help the characters cope with there problems.