Rappaccini’s Daughter by

25 August 2012


Call no:
Genre: ,
Setting:
Rated :

Giovanni moves to a new city, and finds that his apartment overlooks an enclosed garden where beautiful flowers grow. And a beautiful woman tends to them. She is Beatrice, the daughter of Rappaccini. But a friend of his father, Baglioni, warns Giovanni away from Rappaccini. He values knowledge and science too much, he pursues it without thought for humanity or morality. His entire life is one of scientific obsession. Rumour has it that he has even experimented on his very own daughter.

But Giovanni is not to be put off, Baglioni fears that Rappaccini has begun to experiment upon him, he will find a way to meet Beatrice.

Mosses from an Old Manse

Mosses from an Old Manse

I wasn’t too fond of the first story I had to read in this collection, this one, although written in a similar style was far more to my taste. There are plenty of themes in it that I might use for an essay. The “science is evil” aspect, which could relate to Frankenstein as well. The Rapunzal allusions. Garden of Eden. Women who lack agency. Women bringing about downfall of men. Loads of stuff, so thats a good thing for a person reading it with an essay to do

But for a regular reader? Well, still not really my cup of tea. The style is overly wordy for me to really enjoy and the characters aren’t really characters. They do what the plot requires, I’d prefer the reverse. Still, an improvement, lets see how the next one goes.

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6 Responses

  1. Kelly says:

    Howdy Fence! I wrote a miles-long compare/contrast paper in college using Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, as well as one on The Minister's Black Veil, so developed a keen appreciation for the psychological intricacies of his prose. But REALLY, the main reason I like him is that I've had a major crush on him since high school, when I came across the iconic picture of him when he was young: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nathaniel_Hawth

    Suh-woon!

    Also, I read a biography about him and apparently he was a terrible speller, unbelievably shy and kinda sickly and he pulled on my little old heartstrings. Also, did I mention his cuteness? Oh no, I'm not going to let a couple measly centuries get in the way of true love.
    Kelly´s last blog post ..Winding down summer

  2. Fence says:

    What are centuries when you have a tardis! I mean, you do have one right?

  3. Fence says:

    Is it terrible of me to say that this is the first Hawthorne I've ever read? There really are reasons why we go to school. Even if this course is a sorta fakey not really a school type thingy.

    • Kelly says:

      It's true, school do serve a purpose all right. Since, along with Henry James and William Faulkner, he's considered America's all-time best native author, his stories tend to be a requirement here. At least The Scarlet Letter is, and not the Demi Moore version. You know… you might want to try some of Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales before giving up on him. Those are the ones I cut my teeth on. For me, his writing, at times, is as dark and mysteriously beautiful as he was. siiigh.
      Kelly´s last blog post ..Winding down summer

  4. Fence says:

    I have his Twice-Told tales here, so I may get to some more of them at some point. The Scarlet Letter is one I've heard about, but never read, always meant to. Again, at some point :)