The Fate of Women in “The Birthmark” Wilson Sullivan in “Nathaniel Hawthorne” in New England Men of Letters states that Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, “The Birthmark” , describes the efforts “of a deranged scientist to achieve total perfection” in his wife by removing a facial blemish. In this story the scientist operates at the surface level of the physical world, while the woman, the truly heroic woman, functions at the level of the heart and soul, the most significant level. It is she who in her virtue provides the reader with an example to live by, even if she loses her life in the process. This essay hopes to explore the status, role, attitude towards women and other similar issues. Alfred Kazin in the Introduction to the Selected Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne comments on the central idea in the author's stories: “In story after story the given element, the central and unifying element, is that which moves and stirs within us, the mysterious sources of our every action, our “soul” (Kazin 14). The secret to understanding the role and concept of women in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, “The Birthmark,” lies in the reader's appreciation of Kazin's statement above. The woman who sets a shining example for the reader is a specialist in soul development, while her counterpart, the male scientist, is a scientist only of the physical world. Another literary critic, in “Hawthorne's Use of Mythology,” reports his similar interpretation of the essence of Hawthorne's stories: “All he has to say is related, finally, to 'that inner sphere.' For the heart is the meeting place of all forces – spiritual and physical, light and dark, which compete for dominance in the nature of man. . . .” (McPherson ...... middle of paper ......horne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A. N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.McPherson, Hugo.” Hawthorne's Use of Mythology." In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Stewart, Randall "In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Sullivan, Wilson. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” edited by Clarice Swisher, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Williams, Stanley T. "The Puritan Mind of Hawthorne"., 1996.