Aylmer has a great career as a scientist and a beautiful new wife, Georgiana. There's only one problem—Georgiana has a small red birthmark on her cheek. Aylmer grows increasingly disgusted with the birthmark and becomes obsessed with removing the one thing barring his wife from perfection. With "The Birthmark," Hawthorne crafted a tale of tragic irony and dangerous obsession to rival Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart."