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.
At the center of Dr. Rappaccini’s garden is the ruin of a marble fountain. The fountain is “sculpted with rare art, but so woefully shattered that it was impossible to trace the original design from the chaos of the remaining fragments” (Hawthorne 1045). This battered fountain, that was once beautiful and glorious, represents corruption and its results. Its…
The story asks “was this garden, then, the Eden of the present world? And this man, with such a perception of harm in what his own hands caused to grow, /*was he the Adam?” (1046). The answer is no. Dr. Rappaccini is not the new Adam; rather, he is the snake in the garden, ruining everyone and everything while causing chaos. In this new garden, all of the flowers, bushes, and trees bear poison; instead of God being in charge, there is the dark and distrustful Dr. Rappaccini. The doctor is so distrustful of his own creation that as he walks through the garden, he “[defends] his hands with a pair of thick gloves” (1046). Everything good about the Garden of Eden has been corrupted. No one is taken care of here, no trees bear good fruit, the caretaker of the garden is the devil, and Eve herself (Beatrice) is poisonous. Dr. Rappaccini’s garden flips the Garden of Eden on its head and fills it with malice. Nothing good is able to grow here. Unfortunately, this stands true for Dr. Rappaccini’s daughter, Beatrice. Like every flower in the garden, she has been corrupted by her…
