Hawthornes Rappaccinis Daughter Essay - 3312 Words

Hawthornes Rappaccinis Daughter This essay focuses on the way Hawthorne’s â€Å"Rappaccini’s Daughter† articulates the tension between the spirit and the empirical world. Hawthorne challenges the empirical world Rappaccini, both malevolent for his experimentation with human nature and sympathetic for his love for his daughter, represents, by raising an aesthetic question Rappaccini implicitly asks. Hawthorne never conclusively answers this question in his quest to preserve spiritual beauty in an empirical world, offering the most disturbing possibility of all: could art and the artist prove as fatal to the human spirit as empiricism? Hawthorne’s sinister representation of Rappaccini early in the story belies this self-isolating†¦show more content†¦But, as the tale reveals, Baglioni’s envy emerges in the â€Å"professional warfare† in which Rappaccini, not Baglioni, has â€Å"gained the advantage† (928). Baglioni’s description of Beatrice and Rappaccini, as Beatrice will later reveal to Giovanni, prove at least somewhat false because his intentions are tainted by a desire that Rappaccini not â€Å"snatch the lad [Giovanni] out of [his] hands†¦and make use of him for his infernal experiments† (932). Rather, Baglioni approaches Giovanni for the sole purpose of deprecating his rival’s character and daughter, with an obvious jealousy that motivates him and ultimately destroys Giovanni’s faith in the beauty, innocence, and spiritual essence Beatrice represents. Giovanni’s first impressions of Beatrice support Baglioni’s view of Rappaccini and his daughter, who â€Å"looked redundant with life, health, and energy; all of which attributes were bound down and compressed, as it were, and girdled tensely, in their luxuriance, by her virgin zone† (926). Like one of the flowers in the garden, Rappaccini tends his daughter with a â€Å"watchful eye,† which binds and compresses her, protecting her chastity from lustful intentions. Giovanni immediately senses this protection, even oppression, and his â€Å"fancy must have grownShow MoreRelatedScience in Nathaniel Hawthornes Rappaccinis Daughter1363 Words   |  6 Pagesstory â€Å"Rappaccini’s Daughter† can be seen as a love story about young man determined to be with his beloved, despite the fact that she is poisonous. However, when examining the text, underlying theme about science arise. During the time in which this piece was written, science was rapidl y evolving. â€Å"All biological sciences must first go through a taxonomic stage since their data must be put in order before they can be employed in research on an analytical level†(Shryock 291) â€Å"Rappaccini’s Daughter†Read More Romanticism in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown, The Birthmark, and Rappaccinis Daughter1065 Words   |  5 PagesRomanticism in Young Goodman Brown, The Birth-Mark, and Rappaccinis Daughter  Ã‚  Ã‚      Nathaniel Hawthorne gives his own definition of romanticism in the preface to The House of Seven Gables. According to Hawthorne, the writer of a romance may claim a certain latitude and may deepen and enrich the shadows of the picture, as long as he does not swerve aside from the truth of the human heart. The writer of a romance will be wise...to mingle the Marvelous as long as he does it to a slightRead More Exploring the Ruin of Man in Rappaccinis Daughter Essay3076 Words   |  13 PagesExploring the Ruin of Man in Rappaccinis Daughter    Who will redeem man from his evil tendencies and his fallen state?   Nathaniel Hawthorne in Rappaccinis Daughter delves into the nature of man and reveals that the evil imaginations and machinations of man may eventually lead to his ruin. Rappaccinis Daughter is a story set in the mid-nineteenth century in Padua, Italy, a country well known for its romantic stories and history. This period in time was marked by various scientificRead MoreStifled Women in Yellow Wallpaper, Rappaccinis Daughter, and Beloved2739 Words   |  11 PagesStifled Women in The Yellow Wallpaper, Rappaccinis Daughter, and Beloved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A connection can be drawn among the stories listed above regarding women who live as prisoners. Beatrice, of Rappaccinis Daughter, is confined to a garden because of her fathers love of science, and she becomes the pawn to several mens egos. The woman of The Yellow Wallpaper is trapped by her own familys idea of how she should conduct herself, because her mood and habit of writing are not normal to them.Read More Comparing Artist of the Beautiful, Rappaccinis Daughter, Birthmark and Prophetic Pictures1051 Words   |  5 PagesComparing Perfection in Artist of the Beautiful, Rappaccinis Daughter, Birthmark and Prophetic Pictures In four of Hawthornes stories there is a struggle for power and control as a vehicle to obtain perfection or beauty. In The Artist of the Beautiful, Rappaccinis Daughter, The Birthmark and The Prophetic Pictures the characters are controlled by their desire for perfection in their creations, but they do not achieve their goals without sacrifice. In The Artist of the BeautifulRead More Rappaccinis Daughter Essay: Finding the Heart in Rappaccinis Daughter911 Words   |  4 PagesFinding the Heart in Rappaccinis Daughter         In Hawthornes short story, Rappaccinis Daughter, Rappaccini is ostensibly a cold, calculating scientist. A pure scientist who would willingly give his daughter, himself, or whatever else most precious to him for the sake of adding so much as a grain of mustard seed to the great heap of his accumulated knowledge (1641). This leads most to believe that Rappaccini lacks any emotion and concern for his scientific subjects and their desiresRead MoreAnalysis Of The Novel Rappacini s Daughter 1594 Words   |  7 PagesIn â€Å"Rappacini’s Daughter†, Hawthorne shows the rivalry between two scientists, romance brought by evil, and the death of an innocent daughter. In addition, Hawthorne explains the fall of Giovanni when he moves to another city and finds himself in a garden full of lust. Beatrice, innocent, beautiful, and yet poisonous, she didn’t her flesh and beauty would be hazardous to the man she loved, Giovanni. Hawthorne also explains in similar and symbol ic allusions in the tale. Baglioni is a well-respectedRead More Rappaccini’s Daughter - Women Essay2819 Words   |  12 PagesWomen and â€Å"Rappaccini’s Daughter†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   What are the attitudes of the young medical school student in Hawthorne’s tale, â€Å"Rappaccini’s Daughter,† toward women; of the author toward women; of   other characters in the story toward women? Are women involved in basic plot development? This essay intends to answer these and other questions about women in the short story.    Beatrice, Dr. Rappaccini’s daughter, is the prime motivating force in the story. Giovanni’s love for the beautifulRead More Rappaccinis Daughter Essay: Allegory of the Garden of Eden1629 Words   |  7 Pages  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the literal sense, Nathaniel Hawthorns Rappaccinis Daughter is the story about the rivalry between two scientists that ultimately causes the destruction of an innocent young woman. However, when the story is examined on a symbolic level, the reader sees that Rappaccinis Daughter is an allegorical reenactment of the original fall from innocence and purity in the Garden of Eden. Rappaccinis garden sets the stage of this allegory, while the characters of the story each represent the importantRead MoreSelf Deception : A To Mankind1816 Words   |  8 Pagesthroughout history men place a veil over their own eyes, they see what they want to see, and that this causes them to both destroy themselves, and what they love most. I believe that this theme of self-deception is prominent in Hawthorne’s short stories, particularly â€Å"Rappaccini’s Daughter†, and just as Giovanni ignored the signs and warnings surrounding Beatrice thereby allowing himself to be warped by the cruel and cunning Rappaccini, just as Adam and Eve deceived themselves in the Garden of Eden, all men