Hawthorne’s two short stories The Birthmark and Rappacini’s Daughter bear many similarities to each other. In particular, many of the characters are analogous to one another within the framework of the stories. One specific example is the many similarities and parallels between the character of Beatrice in Rappacini’s Daughter and that of Georgiana in The Birthmark. Hawthorne characterizes both Beatrice and Georgiana using similar techniques as well as having them change dynamically resulting in their fall from innocence.
It is quite obvious that Beatrice and Georgiana share many traits, they are young women of exceptional beauty who have in one way or another been isolated from the outside world. However, regardless of the similarities shared …show more content…
This contrast is clear from the moment both are first described. The first thing Giovanni observes about Beatrice is that she had “a voice as rich as a tropical sunset, and which made Giovanni, though he knew not why, think of deep hues of purple or crimson and of perfumes heavily delectable” (Hawthorne, Rappacini’s Daughter 4). These similes and imagery conjure a very vivid mental picture of Beatrice. Shortly after a description of her physical appearance is given. “Soon there emerged from under a sculptured portal the figure of a young girl, arrayed with as much richness of taste as the most splendid of the flowers, beautiful as the day, and with a bloom so deep and vivid that one shade more would have been too much” (Hawthorne, Rappacini’s Daughter 4). Once again Hawthorne uses extensive imagery and similes to describe Beatrice as an exquisitely beautiful girl. This sets the reader up to accept Giovanni’s immediate infatuation with Beatrice without much hesitation. However, in The Birthmark, Hawthorne takes a very different approach to describing Georgiana. He gives almost no description of Georgiana other than to emphasize her extreme beauty. Aylmer says “’ …show more content…
He utilizes not only vivid imagery but also clever analogies to enlighten the reader on the true nature of the blemish. “Its shape bore not a little similarity to the human hand, though of the smallest pygmy size. Georgiana's lovers were wont to say that some fairy at her birth hour had laid her tiny hand upon the infant's cheek” (Hawthorne, The Birthmark 2). He compares the mark to a faerie’s hand much the same way he compares Beatrice’s voice to a sunset or her figure to a flower. By doing so he allows Aylmer to be consumed by his interest in the birthmark the same way Giovanni was consumed by Beatrice’s
It is quite obvious that Beatrice and Georgiana share many traits, they are young women of exceptional beauty who have in one way or another been isolated from the outside world. However, regardless of the similarities shared …show more content…
This contrast is clear from the moment both are first described. The first thing Giovanni observes about Beatrice is that she had “a voice as rich as a tropical sunset, and which made Giovanni, though he knew not why, think of deep hues of purple or crimson and of perfumes heavily delectable” (Hawthorne, Rappacini’s Daughter 4). These similes and imagery conjure a very vivid mental picture of Beatrice. Shortly after a description of her physical appearance is given. “Soon there emerged from under a sculptured portal the figure of a young girl, arrayed with as much richness of taste as the most splendid of the flowers, beautiful as the day, and with a bloom so deep and vivid that one shade more would have been too much” (Hawthorne, Rappacini’s Daughter 4). Once again Hawthorne uses extensive imagery and similes to describe Beatrice as an exquisitely beautiful girl. This sets the reader up to accept Giovanni’s immediate infatuation with Beatrice without much hesitation. However, in The Birthmark, Hawthorne takes a very different approach to describing Georgiana. He gives almost no description of Georgiana other than to emphasize her extreme beauty. Aylmer says “’ …show more content…
He utilizes not only vivid imagery but also clever analogies to enlighten the reader on the true nature of the blemish. “Its shape bore not a little similarity to the human hand, though of the smallest pygmy size. Georgiana's lovers were wont to say that some fairy at her birth hour had laid her tiny hand upon the infant's cheek” (Hawthorne, The Birthmark 2). He compares the mark to a faerie’s hand much the same way he compares Beatrice’s voice to a sunset or her figure to a flower. By doing so he allows Aylmer to be consumed by his interest in the birthmark the same way Giovanni was consumed by Beatrice’s