How this comes about is the essence of the allegory of male domination.
This story has been interpreted in many different ways. The surprising thing about this is that several of these different interpretations are consistent and convincing even though they do not necessarily agree with each other. The story itself is very simple in terms of its plot and it has only three characters. Yet there must be something unusual about the story if it can have as many meanings as this one seems to. Hawthorne gave the clue to this himself when he said in a letter to his publisher," Upon my honor, I am not quite sure that I entirely comprehend my own meaning in these blasted allegories" (qtd. in Weinstein 44). The allegory form, as Hawthorne uses it, allows for many different interpretations. In considering the possible meanings of his story, however, it is necessary to support every aspect of the interpretation with the actual elements that Hawthorne employs. It may be possible to say that Georgiana, for example, represents almost anything. But in doing so, it is necessary to show that Hawthorne provides a foundation for such a representation and that nothing in the relationships of the characters or their descriptions or their actions contradicts the interpretation.
In the basic actions of the story, Aylmer decides one day to marry and he washes the stains of work off his hands and goes out and marries the most beautiful woman available. Though his scientific work might have been more important to him than "the love of woman" Aylmer made this effort and "such an union accordingly took place" (312, 313). It is, however, "very soon after their marriage" tha
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