Rappaccini's Daughter Literary Analysis

The story of the Garden of Eden and man’s fall from the grace of God has been told multiple times throughout history and is the core historical beginning for the Christian faith. Within the first few pages of the Christian bible, people of all faiths and denominations can read of a creative and loving God who crafted the universe and all life in a few days. This same God also created man, then woman, and made them a lovely home in the Garden of Eden which many Christians lovingly refer to as Paradise. This story has been told repeatedly throughout history such as in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, but one story utilizes themes from the Adam and Eve story in a particularly interesting way. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Rappaccini’s Daughter” centers on a young man, Giovanni Guasconti, who falls in love with the daughter of the mad
One role that stands directly out to readers is the role of Dr. Rappaccini as this version’s type of God. One is able to directly make this interpretation due to the role of Rappaccini as a creator within Hawthorne’s story. In the biblical tale, God was the one who created the Garden of Eden with a careful vision in mind. Similarly, Rappaccini created his own garden carefully and tends to it daily with the help of his daughter. Earlier it was established that Hawthorne makes a direct connection with the garden within his short story to the Garden of Eden and it is due to this connection that readers can see Rappaccini as a God-like figure; God created Eden and thus Rappaccini created his