Symbolism in Rappaccini's Daughter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
             In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter", Hawthorne uses symbolism as one of the many literary devices in the short story. The main symbol in the story is the purple shrub set in a marble vase. Nathaniel Hawthorne's use of symbols in his literary works is regarded as his most important contribution to American novels. The main symbol of "Rappaccini's Daughter" takes place in a fantastic garden filled with lush plants and flowers, with a broken fountain in the center.
             The purple shrub in the garden has its own special meaning. The shrub in the garden was "set in a marble vase in the midst of the pool, that bore a profusion of purple blossoms, each of which had the luster and richness of a gem" (Hawthorne 649). Rappaccini considered the magnificent purple shrub to be the most dangerous of all, "When, in his walk through the garden, he came to the magnificent plant that hung its purple gems beside the marble fountain, he placed a kind of mask over his mouth and nostrils" (650). Although Rappaccini found the plant to be dangerous, the plant was closely associated with Beatrice.
             Beatrice tends to the plant that her father dares not go near, and "drew its branches into an intimate embrace; so intimate, that her features were hidden in its leafy bosom, and her glistening ringlets all intermingled with the flowers" (653). Like the fountain, the plant appears to be a source of beauty and light, but the shrub has been changed into a poisonous plant by Rappaccini. Beatrice explains to Giovanni that the plant has been created by her father. The plant is symbolic of natural purity being spoiled by human contrivance.
             In the climax of the story, Giovanni has been poisoned and is now feeling animosity toward Beatrice. He blames her for what has happened to her and she disclaims her responsibility by m...