Rappaccini’s Daughter - Perceptions, Impressions, and Interactions Ess

Writers often use the characters in a story to sour a comment on peoples actions. In Rappaccinis Daughter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the characters make a telling comment on the interaction of people within society. Hawthorne, a thinker and artist (Delbanco 14+), creates characters that are much different from what they come along like initially, and this encourages the reader to look deeper into issues instead of judging things by graduation exercise impressions, rumors, or appearance. Cappello defines the judging of people as how people, in general, translate or read the world (263). Hawthorne probes how people look at one other through his portrayal of Baglioni, Rappaccini, Giovanni, and Beatrice and their reactions with and toward one another. Baglionis character initially makes readers believe that he is a helpful doctor, and the text of the story constantly shows him wanting to incite Giovanni. Baglioni begins the story by supposedly clearing up the mystery regarding Rappa ccini and his lady friend You shall hear the truth in respect to the poisoner Rappaccini and his poisonous daughter, yes, poisonous as she is beautiful (Hawthorne 271). He even remarks to the misguided Giovanni that Rappaccini cares more for science than for human beings (Hawthorne 259). The picture that Baglioni paints scares both Giovanni and the reader into believing that horrid things are going on at Rappaccinis mansion. Cappello believes that Baglioni is obviously aware of the power of his language (266). Baglionis advice continues, and he even warns Giovanni through a historical fable that depicts a woman nourished with poison from her birth upward (Hawthorne 270). All of these warnings achieve their coating of helping to formulate Giovan... ...presentative Men. Diss. University of Toledo, 1988. DAI 50-02A (1989) 0443. Moss, Sidney. A Reading of Rappaccinis Daughter. Studies in Short lying 2 (1965) 145-156. Nelson, Ronald. Two Potential Sources for Pierto Baglioni in Na thaniel Hawthornes Rappaccinis Daughter. Studies in Short lying 28.4 (1991) 557-564. Predmore, Richard. The Heros Test in Rappaccinis Daughter. English Language Notes 15 (1978) 284-291. Ross, Morton. What Happens in Rappaccinis Daughter. American Literature A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 43 (1971) 336-345. Stoehr, Taylor. Hawthornes Mad Scientists Pseudoscience and tender Science in Nineteenth Century Life and Letters. Hamden Archon Books, 1978. Uroff, M.D. The Doctors in Rappaccinis Daughter. Nineteenth-Century simile 27 (1973) 61-70.