The Birthmark, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, THE BIRTHMARK



Are Hawthorne's stories too ambiguous to be well understood? That's a common accusation. I don't agree. Yes, his stories admit of more than a single interpretation, but reality is like that. I recommend getting started with Hawthorne by reading his exceptionally profound short stories.



Hawthorne wrote during the middle 19^th century when American optimism reigned. Hawthorne's well known nearby neighbor Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist and poet, eschewed his Puritan past in favor of a pantheistic god indistinct from creation. His contemporary intellectuals ignored personal sin, thus laying the groundwork for our contemporary sense that mankind is progressing toward some higher state.



Hawthorne was an intellectual anachronism. Think of him as the last Puritan. He knew that our immutable human nature was flawed and that people were strongly inclined towards sin. In The Birthmark, he took issue with those who were the forerunners of our contemporaries who suppose they can create a perfect society.



In the plot, Alymer, a brilliant scientist, is married to the stunningly beautiful Georgiana. Her beautiful features were marred only by a crimson birthmark, shaped like a small hand, on her left cheek. Already the story may remind you of Sleeping Beauty, the girl blessed with everything. She was a princess, possessed of beauty, intelligence, and wealth. However at her Baptism, an evil fairy cursed her with endless sleep. The point is that we all are blessed with at least some positive attributes. Nevertheless, because of original sin, we all share the curse of death.
Alymer became obsessively determined to remove Georgiana's
birthmark, “a visible mark of earthly imperfection.” The mark was a “symbol of his wife's susceptibility to sin, sorrow, decay, and death.” Eventually, he convinced Georgiana to perceive her birthmark as repulsive. Alymer is a figure of those Americans that morphed into the religious and political Progressives of the early 20^th century. Today we call them liberals. They are determined to build a perfect society, to cure every ill. Idealistic secondary teachers and college professors now encourage students to “make a difference” in the world.



Herewith an apropos note on conservative as opposed to liberal political theory. The fundamental difference lies in their respective perception of human nature. Like Hawthorne, the conservative believes, along with the Catholic Church, that human nature is immutable, and, according to the doctrine of original sin, it is basically good but flawed. As G. K. Chesterton said, original sin is the only Church doctrine that can be proved. The evidence is in the daily news.



The liberal believes that human nature is not immutable but malleable. Therefore, human social engineers can reshape human nature and thus bring about the inevitable perfectibility of mankind.



Denying original sin, the liberal must postulate other basic causes of human misbehavior. In 1789, French revolutionaries attributed evil acts to inequality. The 19^th century socialists taught that evil resulted from an unequal distribution of wealth. The Russian Communists created a socialist society, expecting that, in time, there would emerge “the new Soviet man.” Unfortunately, after 70 years of socialism, Russians were still engaging in stealing, lying, and violence. Freudian psychology, dating from 1900, taught that repressed sexual desires caused evil and thus insisted on the need to express ones volcanic inner inclinations. Contrary to that theory, there are good reasons for disciplining concupiscence—a strengthened will is not only good in itself, but also produces an elevated and more powerful intellect. I may cover that in a future review. Freud may be all but forgotten by now, but unleashed sex is now the American norm. It has done nothing to eliminate evil. Americans have historically put their hopes in education. Educate the masses and they will behave. Except that even well educated people commit crimes, even violent crimes. Now the so-called feminists think they know the cause of violence—testosterone. And so the American schools are attempting to re-socialize boys so that they will be more like girls. Truth be told, some re-socialized boys will be more docile and thus unable to function as males must. Moreover, many will counter their socialization and become super-masculine, more prone to violence.



There is partial truth to the liberals' belief of why evil is rampant. But the various claims of root causes are actually vices associated with and in support of the original sin doctrine.



Because they deny the concept of an immutable human nature, they deny conservative objections that all proposed liberal solutions are contrary to human nature. Why is that important? Because--any attempt to remake humans will produce some intended results, but only at a huge price—the price being the necessity of police and/or cultural control of the populace. The Soviets, for example, forbid people from unauthorized buying or selling of goods, but compliance necessitated strict policing. Few realize it, but buying, selling, trading, swamping, or bartering of goods and services is inherent in human nature. It must be; archeologists now know that humans have been freely exchanging goods and services for centuries prior to recorded history. The book to read is The Rational Optimist, by Matt Ridley, c2010.



Alymer's refusal to accept Georgiana's barely visible birthmark is akin to a fairly common phenomenon. In this less than perfect world, all too often the perfect is the enemy of the good. For a social example, think of people who refuse to vote for a particular candidate because they find fault, a real fault perhaps, with his stance on a particular issue. Their ideologically pure refusal often leads to a more seriously flawed candidate taking office.

That Georgiana became convinced that her spouse was right—that her birthmark was hideous, speaks to another contemporary phenomenon. Given time and frequent propaganda, a large mass of people can even come to detest themselves for what they are. Caucasian liberal Americans, descendants of those who made America the greatest country in the history of the world, are now ashamed of what they are—ashamed even to the point that they tolerate any accusation hurled at them, no matter how ridiculous, as long as it is hurled from approved minorities—blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans.



Alymer had a laboratory assistant named Aminadab. I first read the story long ago, as an undergraduate. Only on later readings did I notice that Aminadab spelled backwards is Bad Anima, anima being Latin for soul. Clearly Aminidab was an evil soul mate, a demon no less, to Alymer.



When Georgiana expressed doubt about surgically removing the birthmark, Alymer responded with confidence bespeaking hubris. “I have spent much thought upon the subject...I am convinced of the perfect practicality of its removal.” That reminded me of the liberals' theme song of the 1960s, the one about dreaming the impossible dream. So they gave us the Great Society, as President Lyndon Johnson labeled it, and now, a couple of generations later, his unprecedented spending ladled out money to all kinds of groups, has metastasized into the entitlement society, for which there are insufficient funds to pay for its upkeep, not to mention horrendous unintended consequences. To make a deplorable story short, the net result is millions of people burdened with counter-productive dependency needs. Such people live in a culture of poverty in which they believe they are incapable of functioning without government aid. And so they don't.



To his credit, Alymer addressed the possibility that scientists might discover nature's secrets and then misuse their power. To his discredit, he said that “a philosopher [read: scientist] who should go deep enough to acquire the power would attain too lofty a wisdom to stoop to the exercise of it.” Don't believe it. In the 1930s, the German Nazi government decreed, and their scientists implemented, a eugenics policy. Supposed super men and women, i.e., Ubermenschen, would inter-marry thus producing super children. Now because what is known about DNA allows medical professionals to more or less predict certain positive qualities in offspring, many unwed women have opted for pregnancy via sperm from unknown, but presumably superior, donors. As if fathers in the home are superfluous. I don't doubt that our contemporary biochemists will produce much that is good. However, I am also certain that scientists, well funded and highly knowledgeable but not religious and unbound by moral limits, will produce unfortunate and unintended consequences and even some monstrosities.

Alymer believed that we should trust science. But science, which deals only with material things, is itself value-neutral. Our most troubling problems come from the intellectual and/or spiritual realm. In other words, what scientist do with their knowledge is the problem, not the knowledge itself. History certainly affirms that weakened human nature cannot be trusted with certain matters. Besides test tube babies, there are other sinful consequences, include the destruction of soul-bearing embryos. Expect eugenics to make a sophisticated comeback, and this time many of the consequences will be horrific.
Georgiana, awed by Alymer's successes, said “It has made me worship you more than ever.” The keyword is “worship.” In our time, science, disdainful of religion, has taken on the cult status of a pagan culture.

Near the end, Alymer realized the danger into which he was placing his loving, trusting wife. “Know then..that this crimson hand [birthmark], superficial as it seems, has clutched its grasp into your being with a strength of which I had no previous conception.” But he was not deterred.



To begin the operation, Georgiana drank from a goblet. “She quaffed the liquid and returned the goblet to his [Alymer's] hand. ““Methinks it is like water from a heavenly fountain.”” The Eucharistic symbolism is clear—Science is crossing into matters reserved to religion.



The operation was a success, the birthmark was removed, but with unforeseen and most unfortunate consequences. Lesson: Solving human problems at the expense of limiting freedom inherent in human nature leads to dreadful consequences.



Incidentally, Hawthorne's religious thinking, whether he realized it or not, was essentially Catholic. That Catholic sense must have affected his daughter Rose. She joined the Church—something highly unusual in 19^th century New England, and became a Catholic nun. Well known for her work with the sick and for her exceptional sanctity, she has been proposed for canonization.

Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo, Part 2

PART TWO
"She had never desired any man or been able to live without a cat."  I like that one, but I am not sure what to make of it. I do know that in some mythologies, woman are said to possess feline qualities—beautiful, graceful, dangerous, and especially inscrutable. Perhaps that accounts for the fact that a fairly large number of men hate cats. Now not liking cats is perfectly okay, but when I see more effect than apparent cause, as when men have an irrational hatred of cats, I know I am not seeing the whole cause. Note to young ladies: Do not date, do not marry a man that has a strong hatred of cats. Quite likely he will have a deep seated hatred of women, and will eventually take it out on you.



"...there seemed to be a contradiction between the look in her eyes, which tended to be melancholy, and the brightness of her smile.  This had a somewhat disconcerting effect, so that at moments her charming face was puzzling without ceasing to be beautiful."  That is a description of a yearning look, that most rare and most powerful look of any woman.  That is, there seems to be something mysterious about such rare women, as if they are yearning, even sensing for something not part of this world.  It's a look that a man may want to satisfy, but never will.

Hugo expanded on that a little later: "Knowing herself to be beautiful, she lost the grace of unawarenesss; an exquisite grace, for beauty enhanced by by innocence is incomparable.  Nothing is more enchanting than artless radiance that unwittingly holds the key to a paradise."

"... a woman's gaze is like a mechanical contrivance of a kind that is harmless but in fact is deadly...the machine swallows us...we are the grip of forces against which we struggle in vain...and according to whether we have fallen into the clutches of a base creature or a gentle heart we shall be disfigured by shame or transformed by worship."  If Hugo were here today, he would wonder why why contemporary American women, in their  if their determination to ape men, have lost that power.  What's worse, is that contemporary men have lost their fear of such women, thus the men tend to prey on woman as a bear that has lost its fear of man. 

 

“Effrontery is an expression of shame...In the animal world no creature born to be a dove turns into a scavenger. This happens only among men.” Which is to say that, as the Church teaches, human nature is basically good but weakened by original sin. Therefore, there is always a tendency to fall into animal nature.

"Bodies huddle together in poverty as they do in cold, but hearts grow distant." Furthermore, "Moments of danger occur when these two extremes, of poverty and intelligence, come together."  Cold hearts, impoverished people, and intelligent leadership is a witches brew producing horrific social upheaval. Think French Revolution, 1789.

"The state of a soul that loves and suffers is sublime." Later Hugo added, “There are women with warm hearts whose instinct is to give...Often they give their hearts where men take only their bodies. Their heart remains their own, for them to contemplate in shivering darkness.” That should serve as a warning to young women—be careful about men.

“In a first love it is the soul that is first captured, then the body. Later the body comes before the soul, which may be forgotten altogether.” There is a lot of human marital history in that precise statement.

“A real man avoids display, as much as he does effeminacy.” Drawing unnecessary attention to one's self is spiritually dangerous. Moreover, think of our political leadership. Democracy attracts the ambitious rather than the able. And to be politically successful, politicians must constantly attract attention to themselves. Those who delight in being public spectacles are not likely to have the masculine qualities necessary for leadership during a crisis.

“A civilizing race must be a masculine race. It must be Corinth, not Sybaris. Those who become effeminate basterdize themselves.” And our contemporary schools attempt to remake masculine nature, to make boys with a girl's mindset. Personally, a man takes charge of social situations for which he is responsible (and only those situations). Boys should be encouraged to do so because when they are adults, they must take control, albeit it gentle control, of a family.

“The plight of a child concerns its mother and the plight of a young man may concern a girl. But the plight of an old man concerns no one. It is the most lonely of all despairs.”

“The smell of money attracts women like the smell of lilac.”

“The ennobling quality of danger is that it brings to light the fraternity of strangers.”

“There is a lucidity inspired by the nearness of the grave—to be close to death is to see clearly.” That is God' gift to the dying.

“What is the turmoil in a city compared to that of the human heart? Man the individual is a deeper being than man in the mass.”

“Panic, such as occurs in human nature, may lie down as irrationally as it arises.” That is true for both individuals and their society. In re the latter, social scientists know that riots, for example, follow a certain course, and then end after a few days. Revolutions last longer than riots, but they too follow a well defined course and then the revolutionary fervor subsides.

“People have to look important and the end result is they all look insignificant.” That reminds me of a quote from St. Alphonse Liguori, “Quid hoc ad aeternum” Or, “How does this look to eternity?” I keep in mind that I belong to the Communion of Saints; therefore I am in their presence at all times, and any time I am tempted to call unnecessary attention to myself, I will look like a fool to them.

“Unwitting innocence is sometimes more penetrating than cunning.”

END OF PART TWO

Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo

LES MISERABLES

Two of the most important reasons for reading fiction is that we learn human nature, and we learn of the various kinds of human personalities.  Victor Hugo's Les Miserables fulfills those requirements marvelously.  

PLOT SUMMARY
The story is lengthy, 1200 pages, but worth reading.  You can omit some of Hugo's tangents, such as the details of the Battle of Waterloo and the engineering details of the underground Paris sewer system.  All very interesting, to be sure, they do not advance the plot.  Read them if you wish, but don't feel guilty if you do not.  However, do read the unabridged version, not the 400 page abridgement.  Too much valuable material is omitted.  The novel is easy to read.  Hugo wrote in French, but I have always found that French translates easily into English.   

Notwithstanding the length, the plot is easy to follow.  For merely stealing a loaf of bread, the protagongist, Jean Valjean ends up serving 19 horrid years in the galleys.  Upon release, his "yellow ticket-of-leave marks him as a  social outcast.  Only a bishop treats him kindly, but Valjean returns the favor be stealing his silver candlesticks.  Caught again, he expects to return to the galleys, but the bishop saves him by telling the police that the candlesticks were not stolen, because  "I gave them to him."  

That is a famous scene and herewith an example of why, as T. S. Eliot said, we should all read some of the same books.  When our third daughter was three years old, we visited a priest friend for a weekend.  Upon return, my wife discovered a silver spoon in Cathy's belongings.  We immediately returned it along with an apologetic note comparing Cathy to Jean Valjean.  The priest, educated in the days when priests were well educated, wrote back to say that "Cathy did not steal the spoon, I gave it to her."  Perfect response.  Reading some of the same great works of literature does bring people together and makes communicating more delightful.  

Valjean decides not to report to his parole officer, a criminal offense, but taking an assumed name, he becomes Monsiuer Madeleine, a highly successful businessman.  Along the way, he adopts Cosette, a mistreated orphan girl.  Unfortunately the local police official, Inspector Javert, suspects that Madeleine is actually Valjean.  Jalvert is all justice, no mercy.  Valjean and Cosette escape.  After many adventures, Cosette falls in love with Marius, a student revolutionary.  The climax is reached during the unsuccessful revolution of 1830.  Javert is revealed to be a police spy.  Valjean has an opporunity to kill him, but spares his life.  Marius is shot.  Valjean, who had compelled his daughter to leave Marius, saves the young man by carrying him through the sewers of Paris while being pursued by Javert.  Valjean is eventually captured but Javert, makes an out of character decision.  He gives Valjean his freedom.  Tortured by guilt for doing the right thing, Javert ends his life by throwing himself into the River Seine.

That's the plot outline.  Outline is right.  To describe the entire plot would fill several pages.  But we are dealing with more than a series of adventures.  Hugo includes penetrating insights into human nature, perhaps more than I have ever read in a single novel.  Herewith examples, along with my commentary:

"The first proof of a priest, above all a bishop, is poverty."  Personally, I can understand the need for a priest or bishop to live in comfortable surroundings, one amendable to office work and for receiving visitors.  But it can easily go too far.  I recall Pope Pius XII in the 1950s cautioning Jesuits not to take expensive vacations.  Priests should be careful not to give scandal by living too well.

"He was superiorly skeptical of all things, which gave him great authority with lesser souls."  "Skepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had left him without a whole thought in his head."  As a former university professor, I know how easily skeptical professors corrupt students.  A cautious suspicion is admirable but chronic skepticism is intellectually damaging.  G. K. Chesterton said that if he had to chose between doubting everything and believing everything, he would choose belief.  I concur. 


"Fantine is wonderful, always amazed at ordinary things."  Contrast that with the skeptic.  God delights in ordinary things, and even the recurrence of everyday events such as a sunrise; I dare say it is a sign of goodness to do likewise.  


When Madeleine funded several local institutions, "town gossips said, "He's simply out to make money."  When it was found that he enriched the community before enriching himself, they said "He has political ambitions."  Again, contrast those reactions with the skeptical attitude.  The envious always find fault with charity.

"A man who is not loved preys like a vulture on the lives of other men."  That explains a lot of jealousy.

"It is our belief that if the soul were visible to the eye every member of the human species would be seen to correspond to some species of the animal world and a truth scarcely perceived by the thinkers would be readily confirmed, namely that from the oyster to the eagle, from the swine to the tiger, all animals are found in men and each of them exists in some men, sometimes several at a time."  That forces me to think of my particular animal self.  Sorry, I'll keep that image private.  I'm sure that my many adversaries could do a more honest job of it.  I can't resist matching persons I have known to their animal likeness.  My seventh grade school teacher is a rabid rhinoceros.  I picture many former students as sloth hanging from trees.  Jackals conduct business in Congress.  

"Give a youngster what is superfluous, deprive him of what is needful, and you have an urchin."  Numerous contemporary American youth speak to that truth.  Personally, among the superfluous items I include video games.  

Expanding on the above, Hugo wrote: "The well-to-do young man is offered a hundred dazzling and crude distractions--occupations for the baser nature at the expense of everything that is high-minded and sensitive."  We know that the Holy Spirit speaks in "still, soft, whispers."  That Holy voice is not likely to be heard by those engaged in noisy distractions.  Furthermore, the Holy Spirit does not wait for us to be ready to hear Him speak.  We must be alert in order to hear Him.

"Poverty is like everything else.  In the end it becomes bearable."  Marmaladov, in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, said about the same thing, "Men are scoundels; they can get used to anything."   This is happening in our inner cities.  A culture of poverty takes over.  People become used to penury.  They quit striving, and are willing to become wards of the state.

"Contemplation carried to this [excessive] point becomes a form of sloth."  I like that.  Even a good practice can become sinful.


END OF PART ONE