Motivation is the driving force behind all actions and reactions. In both Sinclair Ross's "The Painted Door" and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark," motivation is the central influence behind the decisions made by the characters. It causes a dilemma that calls for action that ultimately leads to tragically ironic conclusions. You can't approach the topic of character motivation without knowing something about the characters themselves. The central female character in “The Painted Door,” Ann, is struggling for inner satisfaction and happiness in her marriage. His name is used only once in the literary work, showing that he has very little individuality; she feels that she is simply an extension of her husband, John. His motivation is caused by his selfish attitude and propensity to focus on John's flaws; this stems from her desire for John to change. As a farmer's wife she feels increasing isolation, especially during the winter months with "the silence weighing on her" (Ross 139) and "the clock [that] tick[s] like a nonchalant little idiot" (166) . Ann's perception of John and his isolation motivates her decision to sleep with Steven. The central character of "The Birthmark", Aylmer, is a recently married scientist. He is an inventor of exotic potions and a philosopher of scientific knowledge. After the wedding, having eliminated the only imperfection, a small, mysterious hand-shaped birthmark on his young wife Georgiana worries him. His increasingly intense daily obsession eventually consumes his wife as well, leading to Georgiana's isolation when she attempts to remove the "hateful hand" (Hawthorne 37). Although the characters and situations in both stories are profoundly different, each motivation arises from the desire to change their respective partners. Each character is forced to choose between two options placed before him by his motivation. Dilemmas, developed by motivation, force characters to resolve their conflicts. In “The Painted Door,” Ann struggles through a violent turmoil of mental and emotional anguish and tries to find meaning in life. The conflict arises in his decision to gratify one of the two objectives; immediate satisfaction, sleeping with Steven, or long-term satisfaction, the love and support of her faithful and reliable husband. Ann also faces a conflict between a social need and an emotional need. Initially with John she feels like she can't connect with society because "John never talks... [He] never danced or had fun" (Ross 160-162), however after sleeping with Steven her sense of guilt leads her to realize that "John is the man... in him lies the whole future" (174) and only with him can she realize herself completely and emotionally.