Name
Professor Martin
English 1301.s48
09 December 2006 This essay is much shorter than what you are required to write; in order to make a passing grade, your essay needs to be five full pages.
The New Adam and Eve
	Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” is a short story set in the mid-nineteenth century in Padua, Italy.  There were many scientific discoveries in medicine during this time period, and these discoveries raised questions as to the relationship between man and nature.  While some argue that man should not interfere with Mother Earth’s processes and God’s, others argue that interfering in nature is acceptable, especially when it could improve (although this term is subjective) and even save lives.  It is a recurrent argument that is still going on today, nature vs. science, and the boundaries between the two are still not established.   Based on Hawthorne’s short story, one can only assume that he questioned and was suspicious of the role of science.  “Rappaccini’s Daughter” is a tale of a young man, Giovanni, who travels to Padua in pursuit of a higher education.  His room overlooks what can only be described as a modern day Garden of Eden.  Upon one look, he immediately becomes mesmerized by the beauty of Beatrice, the daughter of Rappaccini, a well-known scientist. Rappaccini’s obsession with science causes his own daughter to fall victim to his scientific studies. Overall, Hawthorne uses symbolism of the fountain, Beatrice, and the garden to warn of the dangers of science and to convey the message that man should not play God.
	Throughout the story the fountain is an important symbol. First, the fountain is a representation of Beatrice.  While it sparkles and is beautiful, it is also broken.  Just like the fountain, Beatrice is a beautiful girl both inside and out but is, in a way broken, by being poisonous to the outside world.  The water in way can be representative of her spirit.  Although she had this terrible affliction put upon her by Rappaccini, she “continued to gush and sparkle…as cheerful as ever” (Hawthorne).  Later in the story, Hawthorne uses the word “gush” to draw the connection between the fountain and her spirit.  Just like the water that gushed from the fountain, Beatrice’s spirit flows freely when talking to Giovanni.  Her spirit is like that of an infant who is experiencing life in its surrounding for the first time.  She is curious and anxious to know all she can about the world beyond.  Another interpretation of the fountain can be that of an isolating fortress.  The purple flower that is growing in the fountain is, like Beatrice, both beautiful and radiant, yet it is isolated and alone by the body of water surrounding it. The flower is also representative of the garden that Beatrice tends to.  Throughout the story, the various interpretations of the fountain can be seen as both Beatrice and the enclosure of solitude.
In fact, Beatrice herself is a symbol.  As in the Garden of Eden, Beatrice can be seen as a symbol of the forbidden fruit.  Just like the apple that entices Adam and Eve, Beatrice allures Giovanni by her beauty and her mystique.  From the moment Giovanni laid his eyes on Beatrice, her beauty enthralled him.  Giovanni, after seeing the effect Beatrice has on insects and the flowers he gives her, is drawn in like a moth to a flame by his curiosity and intrigue.  He questions what she is when stating, “beautiful, shall I call her?—or inexpressibly terrible?” (Hawthorne). Giovanni is conflicted between what he sees and feels over his deeper instinct that she is dangerous.  He is bewitched by her as he “gazes through the beautiful girl’s eyes into her transparent soul” (Hawthorne).  The sweetness about her causes him to find it impossible that she could cause him harm.  Just like the apple though, Beatrice is deadly.  However, as scholar Edward Rosenberry, from the University of Delaware reminds us, “[T]o read Beatrice as woman on the allegorical level of the tale is to deny her essential duality as a symbol” (#). Hawthorne uses Beatrice as a dual symbol, as an alluring woman and as an object of scientific study. In fact, he sees his manipulation of his daughter and his power to keep her isolated as an accomplishment: “Dr. Rappaccini is proud that he has given his daughter the power to keep the world distant and subjected” (Kloeckner #).  To Rappaccini it is just another experiment that he has done successfully. Similarly, Giovanni uses the bouquet of flowers as an experiment to help prove his theory that Beatrice is dangerous.  Science once again becomes the focus of study.  
Finally, and most importantly, the garden is the focus symbol throughout the story.  The garden can be seen as the modern day Garden of Eden.  It is depicted as a beautiful oasis that becomes both the backdrop and an integral part of the story.  Instead of being God’s garden, it is depicted as Satan’s Garden with poisonous and deadly flowers.  Giovanni realizes that the “production was no longer of God’s making, but the monstrous offspring of man’s depraved fancy, glowing with only an evil mockery of beauty”(Hawthorne).  He sees the flowers as being too perfect and as an allusion to the deeper secrets that lie within.  In the end, Rappaccini reveals “that he has given Beatrice and Giovanni and their descendents the power to dominate the world” (Alsen #).  He intends for them to leave the garden and to be able to poison everything and everyone that they come in contact with.  It becomes Rappaccini’s quest to not only become the god of a new and poisonous world but also to destroy the world and its creatures in current existence.  Here we realize that his experiments are not a thirst for knowledge but are in fact his own devious plot for power and control of his “new” world.  
Hawthorne uses this story to convey the dangers of science.  He expresses his concern of putting too much power in the hands of scientists and not setting any limits. Hawthorne uses symbolism throughout the story to help communicate that man should not play god.    In the story, the envy of success and power ultimately leads to the death of Beatrice by Baglioni, a fellow professor of science.  Hawthorne gives the reader insight into the possible consequences of allowing someone to have too much power.  Through Rappaccini’s ability to control life, he begins to crave even more power and ultimately tries to create his own more powerful and deadly humans.  Although his illustration is to its extreme, he uses the story to make a statement about science and life.  If you push the limits too far, someone could die.  Much like in Hawthorne’s story, the question is where the boundaries should lie between science and nature.                              

Works Cited 
Alsen, Eberhard. "The Ambitious Experiment of Dr. Rappaccini." American Literature (Nov 1971): 430-433. Literary Reference Center. EBSCOhost. Web. 09 Dec 2006.
Kloeckner, Alfred . "The Flower and the Fountain: Hawthorne's Chief Symbols in ‘Rappaccini's Daughter’." American Literature (Nov 1966): 323-336. Literary Reference Center. EBSCOhost. Web. 09 Dec 2006.
Rosenberry, Edward. "Hawthorne's Allegory of Science: ‘Rappaccini's Daughter’." American Literature (Mar 1960): 39-46. Literary Reference Center. EBSCOhost. Web.  09 Dec 2006. 
***Notice the quotation marks in the title of the last article here.