Themes In Dr. Rappaccini's Daughter

2 Pages 435 Words

A major theme in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Rappaccini’s Daughter is pride. There is a lack of parental morality in this piece of work, and a sense of good is distorted by Dr. Rappaccini‘s pride. He thinks he is helping his daughter by bringing her a mate infected with her poison, but really he is taking on the role of God. His values are very low, and he has no right to interfere with his daughter’s life and happiness. He ends up indirectly killing his own daughter, and leaving her loved one in mourning.
Dr. Rappaccini knows his pride because he, himself, claims that he has created “The Garden of Eden” for his daughter and her loved one. This statement is not true because Dr. Rappaccini’s garden is sewn with the roots of pride and arrogance, while the real Garden of Eden was sewn by God, with love and compassion for the two people. Dr. Rappaccini’s attempts to adjust fate in the case of the two lovers end in utter failure. This shows that only God has the right to decide our lives and our futures, and his plans are perfect because of his good intentions for us.
Rappaccini’s daughter suffered social alienation because of his sick love of science. He was able to live a normal life and venture out beyond the garden walls, but the case was not the same for her. He put his love of science before his love of his daughter, which led to her doom in the end of the story. Rappaccini’s pride in his great works of science and his pride in his garden came first, at his daughter’s expense.
Nathaniel Hawthorne had a preoccupation with sin and pride, just like his Puritan ancestors. I believe that by writing this story, he was trying to convey certain principles and teachings, and an emphasis on symbolism to his readers. His point in this story was to show that pride leads us to failure, and that interference with the lives of others is a sin that should not be committed.

I think that Nathaniel Hawthorne also...