Though there are countless interpretations of the short story “Rappaccini's Daughter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the most predominant is the parallelism to the Garden of Eden found in the Old Testament of the Bible. For example, the main character, Signor Giacomo Rappaccini, tends a beautiful garden full of lustrous colorful plants, much like God is the creator of the Garden of Eden. Similar to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the center of the garden contains a magnificent plant covered in purple gems, which can only be touched by the hands of Beatrice, Rappaccini’s daughter. Similarly, Adam and Eve are forbidden to eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but may consume fruits from any other tree in the garden.
…show more content…
He begins by stating that it was the lush and exotic plant that drew Giovanni to the garden where Beatrice presided. However, Abramson believes the garden is an obstruction that stands between Giovanni and the women of his strong desire, in that he must cross an entanglement of shrubs to reach her. Abramson goes on to say Giovanni is delivered into a world “for which [he is] ill-prepared emotionally and intellectually” (Abramson). In other words, with the garden containing poisonous shrubs, it can be considered a whole other world, isolated from the outside world, yet Giovanni is unprepared to live in such a desolate place. In addition, Giovanni does not contain the intellectual capacity to fully understand Beatrice’s complexity, in both beauty and poison. Abramson goes on to say that Giovanni also cannot comprehend the complexity of evil, for when his breath becomes poisonous, he believes Beatrice infected him, when in reality the poison was within his heart all along. Unlike Beatrice’s heart, which has been manufactured poisonous, “Giovanni’s was already tainted with evil, the poison being merely an outer manifestation of it” (Abramson). Looking further into Giovanni’s heart, it seems as though his soul has been stained from the outside world, whereas Beatrice’ began …show more content…
In the beginning, Giovanni believes that he is immune to the effects of the poisonous garden, in that Rappaccini always possess a mask and gloves, yet Giovanni has taken no such precautions. However, Giovanni is naive in believing that evil could have no effect on him. Beatrice and the beautiful purple shrub are seen as both sisters and virginal lovers. The decaying statue in the center of the garden represents Giovanni’s poisonous transformation. Also, the eternal world contrasts the temporal world by the running water streaming through a destroyed fountain, in that water of life is eternal, but our thirst for it is earthy. Speaking of the beings beyond this world, Sayers comments, “Giovanni’s turbulent feelings are perceived as infernal monsters” (Sayers). In other words, Giovanni’s love for Beatrice and willingness to fall into her trap is the work of Satan himself. In addition, Sayers compares the two worlds saying, “Hawthorne exploits the microcosm as an alternative world, largely an inverted world, where semi-domesticated flora are willfully turned not to good, but to science” (Sayer). As in, Beatrice’s garden insignificant in comparison to the world as a whole, yet the morals are reversed and evil takes dominance over good. Overall, Sayers describes the damaging
He begins by stating that it was the lush and exotic plant that drew Giovanni to the garden where Beatrice presided. However, Abramson believes the garden is an obstruction that stands between Giovanni and the women of his strong desire, in that he must cross an entanglement of shrubs to reach her. Abramson goes on to say Giovanni is delivered into a world “for which [he is] ill-prepared emotionally and intellectually” (Abramson). In other words, with the garden containing poisonous shrubs, it can be considered a whole other world, isolated from the outside world, yet Giovanni is unprepared to live in such a desolate place. In addition, Giovanni does not contain the intellectual capacity to fully understand Beatrice’s complexity, in both beauty and poison. Abramson goes on to say that Giovanni also cannot comprehend the complexity of evil, for when his breath becomes poisonous, he believes Beatrice infected him, when in reality the poison was within his heart all along. Unlike Beatrice’s heart, which has been manufactured poisonous, “Giovanni’s was already tainted with evil, the poison being merely an outer manifestation of it” (Abramson). Looking further into Giovanni’s heart, it seems as though his soul has been stained from the outside world, whereas Beatrice’ began …show more content…
In the beginning, Giovanni believes that he is immune to the effects of the poisonous garden, in that Rappaccini always possess a mask and gloves, yet Giovanni has taken no such precautions. However, Giovanni is naive in believing that evil could have no effect on him. Beatrice and the beautiful purple shrub are seen as both sisters and virginal lovers. The decaying statue in the center of the garden represents Giovanni’s poisonous transformation. Also, the eternal world contrasts the temporal world by the running water streaming through a destroyed fountain, in that water of life is eternal, but our thirst for it is earthy. Speaking of the beings beyond this world, Sayers comments, “Giovanni’s turbulent feelings are perceived as infernal monsters” (Sayers). In other words, Giovanni’s love for Beatrice and willingness to fall into her trap is the work of Satan himself. In addition, Sayers compares the two worlds saying, “Hawthorne exploits the microcosm as an alternative world, largely an inverted world, where semi-domesticated flora are willfully turned not to good, but to science” (Sayer). As in, Beatrice’s garden insignificant in comparison to the world as a whole, yet the morals are reversed and evil takes dominance over good. Overall, Sayers describes the damaging