The romantic mode is typically associated with many conventions that Hawthorne employs in “Rappaccini’s Daughter.” They include delocalization of setting, overblown language, subjectivity of point of view, and often times, elements of the supernatural. While Hawthorne does employ all of the previous strategies of the romantic mode in “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” he breaks another well-known convention: defined characterization. Characters in the romantic mode are generally considered to be two-dimensional and unchanging. Whether they are hero, villain, or something else entirely, they do not tend to change. This is the one custom of the romantic mode that Hawthorne not only breaks, but he does so with a purpose. He defies this convention in order to present an important message about people and how they are often different than they seem, even changeable depending on how they are viewed. Despite Hawthorne’s tweaking of the romantic mode, the reader’s expectations are still in place. Upon first sight, these expectations cause definite categorization of the characters, especially Dr. Rappaccini. However, as the story unfolds, the motives of the characters are questioned through a variety of techniques. Hawthorne uses ambiguous characterization and limits the point of view in order to underline his theme, that first impressions can be deceiving, especially when amplified by desire.
While there are many intricacies throughout Hawthorne’s story that may put into question Rappaccini and what he is really trying to accomplish, point of view is his main device. Because the reader is only given the perspective of some of the characters, there is a limit to how much truth that can be accessed from any given situation. Rappaccini can appear several different ways. He can appear to be sinister, almost evil, only having an interest in science and neglectful of all else. From this point of view, it seems plausible that he would sacrifice himself for science just to get ahead, as seen by his “emaciated, sallow, sickly-looking” appearance and unrelenting experimentation of his “gorgeously magnificent” garden containing poisonous flowers (1045). Giovanni is initially taken back by the “intentness” that Rappaccini “examined every shrub which grew in his path” (1045). Therefore, both Giovanni and the reader begin to have suspicions about the “distrustful gardener” (1046) in his “scholar’s garb of black” (1045). Reflecting the nature of the garden his daughter, Beatrice, is poisonous. Her poisonous breath has the powerful ability to kill those who are not acclimated to it. Giovanni is an initial bystander of the beautiful, yet foreboding garden. He takes an interest in Beatrice, only to become poisonous as well after spending time with her. When assessing Rappaccini’s appearance and intense obsession with his scientific experiments involving his poisonous flowers, it can strike many that Rappaccini is truly diabolical in nature. Because Giovanni is a bystander to the situation, the reader is easily slanted to believe these things if he or she chooses to let these particular details overtake the question of Rappaccini’s true motives. However, Rappaccini’s thoughts are never revealed. There is absolutely no articulation of what he is thinking or feeling because it is impossible given the heavy focus on Giovanni’s point of view. This alone causes speculation as to what Rappaccini is up to, as well as Beatrice and her motives. The reader is never privy to her thoughts either. While Beatrice’s innocent motives are ultimately revealed upon her death, Rappaccini’s remain inconclusive. This contrast illustrates how quick judgments of character are rarely ever accurate.
Viewing Rappaccini through a lens of skepticism is extremely easy to do but it is not necessarily accurate. He often times does appear to be very frightening and this is only amplified by his poisonous daughter with whom Giovanni falls in love. However, Rappaccini can also appear to be less sinister and more loving. His obsession with science can be viewed as a love for it and a desire to achieve the best based on his own personal standards. This is demonstrated by the magnificence of his garden and the snide, competitive remarks by his colleague, Professor Baglioni. Due to his competitive nature, Baglioni desires to be at the top of his profession. But this is somewhat unclear at first. The reader may view Baglioni’s character as confirmation of his or her own beliefs about Rappaccini or as a mentor for Giovanni, never to lead him astray. Baglioni can be seen as a reliable and “most learned professor” (1048) but his motives become more and more clear as the story progresses. Baglioni’s intense opposition to Rappaccini and bias against him also serves to allow the reader to reexamine his or her view of Rappaccini. Because Baglioni is going through all the trouble to defile Rappaccini’s reputation, it causes speculation as to whether Rappaccini is truly as bad as Baglioni describes him. Baglioni admits to Giovanni that Rappaccini has been said to “have produced new varieties of poison, more horribly deleterious than Nature, without the assistance of this learned person, would ever have plagued the world withal” (1048). Though Baglioni’s competitive nature and extreme jealousy surface toward the end of the story, we are eventually given fragments of his thoughts. This is unlike Rappaccini, whose thoughts remain to be expressed to the very end of the story. The extremity of Baglioni’s outspoken hatred sheds an unexpected light on the ambiguity of Rappaccini’s character.
The overriding focus on Giovanni clouds accurate viewing of not only Baglioni but also Rappaccini’s relationship with his daughter Beatrice. It is hard to discern if his relationship with Beatrice is that of a loving father or entirely rooted in heartless experimentation. Often times Rappaccini truly seems to love his daughter, to the point of adoration. He checks on her in the garden when she is spending time with Giovanni, however this can also be viewed as lurking or plotting how he will use Giovanni in his next experiment. Beatrice responds lovingly to her father and obliges his requests with “all the tenderness in her manner,” (1047) suggesting that she loves him dearly as well. However, at the closing of the story, Beatrice complains of the “miserable” (1064) existence of possessing poisonous breath. Rappaccini responds to this with how he thought her life would have been had he not employed his science on her. He asks her if she would “have preferred the condition of a weak woman, exposed to all evil and capable of none?” (1064) This line primarily suggests Rappaccini’s attempt to protect and empower his daughter through his love of science. Although at this point in the story it is still hard to say just what Rappaccini really means. Throughout the previous scenes his motives remained contradictory at best. Even when he does speak at the end, the reader is only let into his mind in the slightest of ways. The reader is still unable to determine exactly why Rappaccini inoculated his daughter with the poison from his flowers and what he is doing involving his poisonous science, because so much stands in the way of the truth.
Because Giovanni himself is confused at many points during the story, the reader is too. His intense desire for Beatrice throws off his objective view of events. He desires her to the point where he is willing to look the other way of all evil that is spoken about Rappaccini and how he might be using him for his dangerous science experiments. He overlooks flowers withering upon the poisonous fume of Beatrice’s breath, insects dying when touching Rappaccini’s flowers and even his own budding transformation into a poisonous being. He simply refuses to let these things interrupt his lust for Beatrice. He visits with her often, talking candidly and lovingly with her. Beatrice even shows him special places in the garden including the “magnificent shrub, with its treasury of flowing blossoms” (1056). He is too blinded by his overwhelming infatuation for her that he chooses to ignore the many impending questions on his mind. Because of this, the reader is left unclear about Rappaccini and his daughter’s situation. The reader is in the same position as Giovanni as he or she is continually subjected to many of his thoughts, which are further muddied due to his extreme enchantment with Beatrice. This intense desire and what appears to be love for Beatrice serves to allow trust to be formed between the two of them. However, this trust is eventually torn down with all the suspicious happenings that occur when they are together. These happenings ultimately manifest in Giovanni’s harsh accusations of Beatrice and shortly after, her death. Such inconclusiveness of Beatrice’s true nature up until her death forces the reader to grapple with the fact that perhaps this purposeful unclearness is useful is describing how people truly are. Everyone is not so clearly defined. One can never truly know the motives of another person. Perceptions of others are always filtered, first and foremost, through one’s self. No matter how much is thought to be known, through any means, about the motives of others there is always something, be it desire, appearance, rumor or simply poor eyesight that inhibits the interpretation of the truth.
In “Rappaccini’s Daughter” desire serves as a major obstacle to discerning the truth. Giovanni wants Beatrice so badly that he is willing to throw all else aside for her, even his initial suspicions of Rappaccini. Even when he finally comes to question Rappaccini more, he cannot pull away and when he finally does it is too late, his lovely Beatrice is gone. Beatrice was both poisonous and precious to Giovanni, as Rappaccini’s flowers very well could have been to him. The line is not so clear as to what the motives of others may be. Hawthorne merely used this indistinctness to express the impossibility of crawling into another’s mind and likewise the misconceptions of merely looking on the outside. A poisonous garden can look beautiful, just as a poisonous girl. Perhaps a defiled old scientist can have a good heart. However, Hawthorne has purposely not resolved anything in regard to Rappaccini in this story. He has utilized the romantic mode in such a way to make his readers stop and think just how dangerous it is to act on first impressions, especially when these impressions are enhanced by desire.
No comments:
Post a Comment