Exploring the Ruin of Man in Rappaccinis Daughter Essay -- Rappaccini

Exploring the Ruin of Man in Rappaccinis Daughter Who will redeem man from his evil tendencies and his fallen demesne? 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 nose candy in Padua, Italy, a country well known for its romantic stories and history. This period in time was marked by various scientific discoveries, especially in medicine. This boom led to extensive debates on science and religion. There was the argument of whether or not to let things happen naturally or to interfere with the processes of nature. It begins with a student, Giovanni Guasconti, who comes to the University of Padua to pursue his studies (Hawthorne 45) barely falls in love with Beatrice, the daughter of a very famous botanist Dr. Rappaccini who cultivates a poisonous garden. Despite the fact that Giovanni Guasconti had bu t a scanty supply of gold ducats in his pocket, he took lodgings in a high and gloomy chamber... fit to have been the palace of a Paduan fearful (Hawthorne 45). This been the first time he was out of his native sphere,... Giovanni was unused to Padua and missed Naples and the cheerful sunshine of Southern Italy (Hawthorne 46). Giovanni portrays the generation in search of knowledge. Beneath his windowpane was a garden consisting of a variety of plants which seemed to have been cultivated with exceeding care (Hawthorne 46). Strategically located in the center of the garden was the ruin of a marble fountain...whose water continued to gush and sparkle into the sunbeams as cheerful as ever (Hawthorne 46) just as Beatrices sp... ... The myth of the Garden Nathaniel Hawthornes Rappaccinis Daughter. Studies in the literary Imagination II, 1969, (pp. 3-12) Evans, Oliver Allegory and Incest in Rappaccinis Daughter 19th Century Fiction Vol. 19, 1964, (pp. 185-195) Genesis The Bible Hawtho rne, Nathaniel The House of Seven Gables (1851) http//eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/sg10.html September 1998, (December 1998) Hawthorne, Nathaniel The Marble Faun (1859-60) http//eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/mf19.html September 1998 (December 1998) Hawthorne, Nathaniel Rappaccinis Daughter American Short Stories (1820 to the present). Jones, Madison Short Story Criticism Vol. 3 1989 (pp. 191-193) Kloeckner, Alfred The flower and the Fountain Hawthornes chief symbols in Rappaccinis Daughter American Literature Vol. 38, 1966-67 (pp323 -331)