Rappaccini's Daughter

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People often walk through life just barely getting by and feeling trapped. They do not know the meaning behind life or how they should begin to live their own. Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals several life lesson, or themes, throughout his story, “Rappaccini’s Daughter”. His themes relate to modern life and even build off of one another as the story continues.
Do not let the unknown stop you from enjoying life or even stop you from taking away someone else’s joy in life. This is a theme that is portrayed in Rappaccini’s Daughter. Rappaccini gets introduced to the readers fairly quick, and within a short span the readers learn that Rappaccini is obsessed with science. I believe his obsession is caused by the uncertainty behind science. Yes, we …show more content…

I believe that Rappaccini had also wondered this and that is what began his over obsessive scientist career. Because Rappaccini is so obsessed with science he often does not have any boundary line that he will not cross to discover the answer or meaning to his study. The readers see this become true when Beatrice, Rappaccini’s daughter, says “There was an awful doom, the effect of my father’s fatal love of science--which estranged me from all society of my kind…” (10). The reader now knows that Beatrice is poisonous because of her father. Because Rappaccini infected Beatrice with this poisonous plant she has not been able to live her life. When she touches someone they too become poisonous. When she breathes on other plants they wilt and die. Her father has taken away all the joy in her life because he is so obsessed with science and wants to know just how far he can go within the scientific field. When Rappaccini started to research science and his obsession began he started to lose parts of his own life. He did not spend time with his daughter because he was too busy with his studies. He did not make friends, partly because no one enjoyed his company but also

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