Romanticism In The Scarlet Letter And Rappaccini's Daughter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Throughout the late 18th to early 19th century the United States went through an industrial revolution. Out of this time period emerged some of the most influential writers of all time, many of which were apart of the Romantic movement. Romanticism sprung up as a dismissive reaction to not only the industrialization, but also to the 18th century age of reason and the strict doctrines of religion, particularly Puritanism. Later on, out of this movement, Gothicism, which was much darker and pessimistic in comparison to Romanticism emerged. Although these movements first developed in England the concepts soon made their way over to America, and eventually to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, and was largely affected
Along with that many of his works encompassed the gothic themes of tragedy, pain, and the complexity of the human psych. Two examples of his works are The Scarlet Letter, written in 1850 and “Rappaccini's Daughter”, written in 1844. The Scarlet Letter follows the life of Hester Prynne who was forced to wear a red A for committing adultery and isolated from society, while “Rappaccini's Daughter” follows Giovanni, a young boy who falls helplessly in love with a poisonous but beautiful girl named Beatrice. Both “Rappaccini's Daughter” and the Scarlet Letter use figurative language, imagery, and common themes to show romantic and dark romantic
One commonality between these works, is their allusions to God and religion. The references to a higher power portray the large (relatively negative) impact Puritanism had on Hawthorne, and showed romantic ideologies by often talking about civilized religion in a negative connotation. One of these allusions in The Scarlet Letter is found in the beginning of the novel when Pearl cries “He did not send me! I have no Heavenly father!” (The Scarlet Letter 90). This shows gothic and romantic ideologies by having Pearl dismiss having any “heavenly father”, and therefore dismissing civilized religion in general. Likewise in “Rappaccini's Daughter”, Hawthorne alludes to religion when he questions if the garden is “...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?” (“Rappaccini’s Daughter” 2). By talking about the Garden of Eden made with “such a perception of harm”, gothicism is shown because religion is talked about in a more sinister light. All in all, the allusions throughout both stories greatly contributed to the reader's understanding of Hawthorne’s works and incorporated dark romantic elements by discussing religion in a negative