Rappaccini's Daughter [novelette]

I enjoyed this short story. So much so that I've been digging in the archives for more of Nathaniel Hawthorne's work. It never ceases to amaze me just how vast the world of literature is. Onwards with this review....

Scientific exploration and Ethics have had a contentious relationship throughout history and although the premise of Dr Rappacini's study is impossible - I like to think of this as a Shakespearian science fiction tragedy at best. Capulets with a bunsen burner.

Our characters: poisonous girl, normal boy, mad scientist father and nosy-potentially-dangerous adversarial scientist. Having just read a novel wherein the characters of this story are featured heavily and expanded upon, I thought I'd take a quick gander at the short show more story. What I find most interesting here is that the main character, Giovani was already a part of the experiment even before physically meeting with Rappacini's daughter. Seniora Lisbetta was much too accommodating.

Without going to deep into the details of this story, science has come a long way from the days when empirical data far outweighed any allegiance to ethical inquiry. show less

Giovanni Guasconti’s love for Rappaccini’s daughter, Beatrice, felt contrived but at the same time added story layers that left me loads to think about.

A young student comes to the University of Padua to study. Next door to his lodging he discovers a lush garden filled with exotic plants and flowers tended by a man and his beautiful daughter. Giovanni, the student learns from an old friend of his father, a physician who lives in Padua, that the man in the garden, whom he originally took to be the gardener, is really a famous and also somewhat infamous physician Rappaccini, known for his research in plant toxicology and knowledge of poisons. Giovanni is warned to stay away from that garden but smitten by the young woman he sees tending it, he ventures into it and makes her acquaintance. He is warmly received by her, and a romance begins to blossom. It will end with a tragic result.

I do enjoy this story. This particular version of it was hard to read at first; the notes mingle with summary mingle with story until it's hard to tell where the summary ends and the story begins. However, I enjoyed the re-read of the story even with the poor formatting choices.

Definitely a classic, and still easy enough to read (unlike some classics that haven't aged as well).

This was okay. I hated The Scarlett Letter, but this story at least had an interesting plot. I’m just not a fan of Hawthorne’s writing style.

Review: This short read is about a boy who shifted to new city for studies and rented an apartment and fall in love with his neighbours daughter , whose father is mad scientist and obsessed with poisonous plants and ruin his only daughter life too by testing different poison potion on her and that make her a venomous human and now she is harmful to anyone who came near her as her breath is poisonous, because of that professor of boy on whose guarantee he came to this town inform him to stay away from that family because of there foul research and in the end daughter die a painful death and boy got saved by his Professor antidote to save him... Narration is excellent, plot is good and new , Characters are balanced and illustration work show more is superb.

Author did a fabulous work and make it a Goodread and one of my favourite American short stories. show less

Hmmm. Still mulling. I know I've read this before, but I'm surprised at how little I've remembered.

It's a bit slow starting, but it does pick up pace. I'm still not sure I entirely understand Baglioni's motives, or his statement at the end – may require another read.