Preview

A Renaissance Tale of Human Hubris: The Interrelationship of Setting, Theme, and Characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'Rappaccini's Daughter'

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
9108 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Renaissance Tale of Human Hubris: The Interrelationship of Setting, Theme, and Characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'Rappaccini's Daughter'
A Renaissance Tale of Human Hubris
On the Interrelationship of Setting, Theme and Characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's "Rappaccini 's Daughter"

Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 1
Argumentation...................................................................................................................... 2

1. The Fantastic Elements of the Setting.................................................................. 2

1.1. The Preface as a Foretaste..................................................................... 2
1.2. The Opening Phrase............................................................................... 3
1.3. Rappaccini 's Garden.............................................................................. 3

1.3.a. The Garden of Eden and the Fairytale Garden....................... 3
1.3.b. Rappaccini 's Garden as a Reflection of his Hubris .................5

2. The Renaissance as Temporal Setting.................................................................. 7

2.1. Direct Hints to the Renaissance............................................................. 7
2.2. The Renaissance as an Age of Radical Changes................................... 8
2.3. Italy as Spatial Setting ...........................................................................8

3. Allusions to the Renaisance by Means of the Characters ...................................10

3.1. Beatrice and the Rebirth of the Antiquity ............................................10

3.1.a. Vertumnus .............................................................................10
3.1.b. The Noble Savage .................................................................10
3.2. Rappaccini as the Boundless Scientist ................................................12

3.2.a. Rappaccini as a Stereotypical Villain



Bibliography: Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy. London: Everyman, 1994. Alighieri, Dante Arnim, Achim von; Brentano, Clemens, ed. Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte Deutsche Lieder. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1995. Brednich, Rolf W., ed. Enzyklopädie des Märchens, 9 vols., Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1977- 1999. Gale, Robert L. A Nathaniel Hawthorne Encyclopaedia. Westport: Greenwood, 1991. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Rappaccini 's Daughter" in Mosses From an Old Manse. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1974 Nathaniel Hawthorne. 14 vols. 1962-80. Hoecker, R Holy Bible, New International Version. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1997. Jäckel, Günter, ed Ovid. Metamorphosen. Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag, 1990. Rossetti, Lucia Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. London: Penguin, 1994. Sträter, Thomas 9 Genesis 2:9. Holy Bible, New International Version (London: Hodder and Stoughton 1997). All subsequent references to the Bible are to this edition. 19 "Garten" in Knaurs Lexikon der Symbole, CD-ROM, Droemer Knaur, 1989, 1994, 1998. 26 Christopher Marlowe, "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" in: M.H.Abrams, ed., Norton Anthology of English Literature (New York: Norton 1996) Epilogue, 6.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Marlowe's Dr. Faustus tells the classic tale of a short-sighted person selling his or her soul to the Devil in order for immediate reward and benefit. The tragic part of this play is that Faustus realized extremely early on in the play that he is condemning himself to eternal punishment. Within his mind, he rationalizes his decision by…

    • 364 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Marlowe was an English playwright of the Elizabethan era. He was considered as the foremost dramatist of his time. In Harold Bloom’s Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, he stated that the original texts of the play was presented “without the punctuation of act division or scene enumeration (13).” This was the most common form of plays written in this period. Doctor Faustus is about a dissatisfied scholar that seeks intelligence and ultimate power through black magic. He learned black magic through the help of his magician friends, Valdes and Cornelius. Faustus summoned Mephistopheles, and then he sold his soul in exchange of the devil’s service and power. Themes of this play are pride and sin. We all know that pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins and that is the greatest sin committed by Faustus. Pride is the root of all evil which made him…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Genesis 9 Analysis

    • 746 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Genesis 9 is an extremely important chapter in the book of Genesis. It introduces the idea of capital punishment, tells the story of Noah and his sons, and introduces God’s covenant with all life on earth. It is very important because this chapter is the relatable to Genesis one through three, because it is a new beginning for the earth and all the life that inhabits it adter the flood. Through all of the information given in this chapter, we are given a lesson on right and wrong.…

    • 746 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nathaniel Hawthorne presents his story, “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” as an allegory of the inherent danger of corruption. As such, the story overflows with symbolism. There is intentionally not an enormous deal of subtlety in these symbols, as Hawthorne wants them to be clear to all readers. Hawthorne uses the marble fountain, the garden, and the large purple flower to aide him in his cautionary story against corruption.…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Thomas Nelson, Inc. (1982). Book of Beginnings - Genesis 1. Retrieved September 30, 2011, from Blue Letter Bible: http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Gen&c=1&t=NKJV…

    • 3157 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gilgamesh vs Genesis

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament in the Bible, is so named because it opens with an account of the creation of the world. The first 11 chapters, which are heavily indebted to Mesopotamian tradition, trace the gradual expansion of humankind and the development of human culture. But they show the ambiguity of this development by incorporating stories about the sin of Adam and Eve and about the Deluge, both of which illustrate humankind's growing alienation from God and one another. Although Moses has traditionally been considered the author of Genesis, modern scholars generally agree that the book is a composite of at least three different literary strands: J (10th century BC), E (9th century), and P (5th century). The interpretation of the book has led to many controversies. One of the most difficult problems has been distinguishing historical fact from symbolic narration intended to convey a religious message.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Translatign Culture

    • 2376 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Goethe, J, W., Faust Parts I and II, translated by Brenton, H, from a literal translation by Weisman, C (Nick Hern Books, 1995)…

    • 2376 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Cited: “Genesis 4.” New King James Version. Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House,…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nathaniel Hawthorne's work is unique. His writings are full of subtle imagination, analysis, and poetic wording. His short stories are known for their originality and for their ability to provoke the reader's thoughts. Although a large portion of his stories are allegories, Hawthorne's preference is to draw more heavily on symbolism (Pennell 13). His use of symbols adds depth to his stories and helps to reveal different aspects of his characters. In Rappaccini's Daughter, Hawthorne uses symbolism to create a modern day tale of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.…

    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rappaccini's Daughter

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Would you sacrifice your only daughter so you could gain notoriety among your colleagues? Or consider killing a man’s daughter for the purpose of thwarting him? This is the basic theme in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story “Rappaccini’s Daughter”. Dr. Rappaccini, Professor Baglioni, and Giovanni all seem to prefer ideas over human life.…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cited: "Genesis." Holy Bible, Giant Print Deluxe Edition: King James Version. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2000. et al. Print.…

    • 1544 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    • 41516 Words
    • 167 Pages

    |tomba oscura) (1808); 8 deutsche Lieder (1810); 6 Lieder, op.21 (Hamburg, 1820); An Emma (Weit in nebelgrauer Ferne) (F…

    • 41516 Words
    • 167 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is a play by Christopher Marlowe written in the late 16th century, based on the Faust story, in which a man sells his soul to the devil for power and knowledge. The idea of an individual selling his or her soul to the devil for knowledge is an old motif in Christian folklore, one that had become attached to the historical persona of Johannes Faustus, a disreputable astrologer who lived in Germany sometime in the early 1500s.…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Dr. Faustus as a Play

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Let us trace Dr. Faustus as a play on the basis of the given below points.:…

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays