I while back, riding the train I noticed an unremarkable woman sitting a bit in front and across from me. She wasn't especially pretty, she was slender but not in a graceful way, the best thing you could say about her wardrobe of a dull gray sweater and uninspiring black slacks was that it was neat. And yet, I kept catching myself looking at her and finding myself drawn to her.
At the top of her left ear was a tiny brown, round, birthmark. All of sudden this rather dull passenger, who I would instantly judge and move on to other, more glorious subjects, became incredible alluring. The small imperfection somehow made her incredibly sexy and desirous. At some point I found myself wanting to kiss her ear, it was the strangest urge.
I'm happy to report I did not act on this urge. I sat there amazed at home such a small detail, a supposed imperfection can transform a person!
It also made me think of Hawthorne's The Birthmark a cautionary story of scientific hubris and not seeing perfection in the imperfection of nature.
"Masculine observers, if the birthmark did not heighten their admiration, contented themselves with wishing it away, that the world might possess one living specimen of ideal loveliness without the semblance of a flaw. "
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