Rappaccini's Daughter
Symbolism in Rappaccini's Daughter By Nathaniel HawthorneIn 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
The fountain combines the material and the spiritual. 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). The magnificent yet poisonous plant, symbolizes Beatrice's potential to be perfect, but yet shows her downfall. Although Rappaccini found the plant to be dangerous, the plant was closely associated with Beatrice. 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. The situation in "Rappaccini's Daughter" is new love that is prepared for by isolation and associated with a flower. The water in the fountain symbolizes the spirit, immortal and unaffected by the changes that have shattered its basin. But my father!-he has united us in this fearful sympathy" (665). The purple shrub is what guides the action in the story. 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. Beatrice's timid response of her passionate nature is suggested in her association with the poisonous flowers in the garden. In the story she seems unaware of her appeal to men.
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