When was the text written? What was happening, historically, at the time of its writing?
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9515118-the-birthmark Nathaniel Hawthorne published his short story, The Birthmark, in 1843. In this story, Hawthorne shows us that no one is perfect physically, and the only way to become perfect in the spiritual sense is through death. This can parallel with Christian beliefs, especially so close to Easter, in the sense that everyone is born into sin, which is an imperfection. But, if one chooses to turn his life around and accept the gift of Christ, he can spiritually become clean and live eternally. http://ezinearticles.com/?An-Analysis-of-the-Birth-Mark-by-Nathaniel-Hawthorne&id=1295421
On a more historical note, the year 1843 was rather boring, in the sense that there were no major wars going on or anything like that. Operas such as Wagner's "Der Fliegende Hollander" (Dresden) and Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" (Paris) premiered in the early part of January. In February, United States and British settlers choose government committee in Oregon Country and "I Lombardi" premieres in Milan. March brought Congress appropriating $30,000 "to test the practicability of establishing a system of electromagnetic telegraphs"; the first Catholic governor taking office in Maine, Boston conducted its first town meeting at Faneuil Hall, and finally Massachusetts preacher William Miller predicts that the world will end today (March 21). On May 4, Great Britain annexed Natal. The United Free Church of Scotland formed on May 18. On May 22, the first wagon train departed from Independence, Missouri for Oregon, carrying over one thousand people.
In June, a rare snowfall came to Buffalo and Rochester, New York and in Cleveland, Ohio; Sojourner Truth left New York to become an antislavery activist; and Vincenzo Soliva declared that no Jew could live outside of the ghetto in Italy. In July, an alligator falls from the sky during a thunderstorm in Charleston, South Carolina; Mormon leader Joseph Smith claims that God says that polygamy is okay. August brought the patent of the typewriter, the National Black Convention in Buffalo, New York, and the first black participation in the Liberty Party.
On November 13, Mount Rainier in Washington erupted. In December of 1843, Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is published and over six thousand copies are sold, and the first theatre matinee is opened in New York City (the Olympic Theatre).
Many other things happened in this time, but the most noteworthy made the "This Year in History" section. http://www.brainyhistory.com/years/1843.html
