Depravity of Nature- Contrasting the Ideal of Science and Nature: Rappaccini's Daughter

 The old times were dark. There wasn't much known about the world. Science was still in its inception, and the universe remained a mystery. All natural phenomena were attributed to a Supernatural force, and all human undertakings were to be carried out through this force. Man's boundaries and capacities were accepted; the unhumbled desire to eat from the Tree of Knowledge had not yet emerged.
However, as time passed and a few dedicated to science persevered, technology advanced. What was once supposed to be impossible became a reality. Everything was now described in natural terms, and the world itself became rational and logical. The need for the supernatural had vanished, and the human limitations had been forgotten.
With this assurance, accomplishments, creations, and discoveries multiplied tremendously, adding support for the new scientific domain. Because science was focused on practical applications aimed to improve and enhance the lives of humans, animals, and the environment, society benefited from this.
However, an unintended result started to appear as the intellectual and increasingly powerful scientist's inflated ego. Nature was becoming an exhausted force that could be purged and mistreated as it served their dominion, and this power and sense of control started to drive their thoughts, personalities, and strategies. Everything was created by nature with flaws and defects, and the hands of the frigid scientist were to alter and reform it. Science had evolved from the study of nature to the control of nature.
On July 4, 1804, precisely one year after the Louisiana Purchase, Nathaniel Hawthorne was born. He was raised in an America where the populace was skeptical of the country's values. Was this growth intended to assist the populace or was it merely meant to increase its power? The 1800 Revolution, which brought about great progress in the domains of politics, geography, and technology, then came to characterize his childhood. Human rights, human nature, limitations, power, and obligation have all been redefined as a result of the tension between discovering the unknown and imposing control on society.
The Romantic Movement emerged in response to this Age of Enlightenment, emphasizing American themes and recognizing the significance of emotional impulses over reason and science. In "Rappaccini's Daughter," Hawthorne expresses his belief that the worship of science and materialism will be detrimental to American civilization.
A superficial, conceited, and romantic man, Giovanni Guasconti is portrayed in the play. He finds it repulsive that Giacomo Rappaccini chose to manipulate nature; he sees it as a force that is beautiful in and of itself. As the "adultery of numerous vegetable species—no longer God's workmanship, but the horrible offspring of man's depraved fancy, shimmering with only a terrible imitation of beauty (Hawthorne, 9)," he saw the garden as manmade. Only things that are pure and unadulterated by man are beautiful in Giovanni's view.
The separation from nature, in Giovanni's opinion, is fundamentally unsatisfactory. He "thinks he is an evil guy, really" (Hawthorne, 4) even before he learns that Rappaccini used Beatrice in testing. This explains why, in addition to her physical attractiveness, he finds Beatrice to be so alluring. Rappaccini declines to use his bare hands on the plants and "near intimacy between himself and these vegetable existences" (Hawthorne, 2). This makes Giovanni scowl. Giovanni, on the other hand, is astounded when Beatrice shows herself and immediately establishes connections with and deep relationships with every flower in the garden as if she were a sister to these "vegetable existences." Giovanni values a relationship with nature over its control.
Rappaccini, meanwhile, is less worried about the inconsequential jealousy and much more focused on learning new things. Relationships with individuals or anything outside the purview of his science are not important to him. His patients are simply used as test subjects, and his treatments are only used as physical representations of his discoveries.
Rappaccini, however, is not meant to be viewed as evil; rather, he is just meant to be seen as a cold, heartless intellect who is disconnected from typical human ideals and emotions. He doesn't purposely hurt people with his abilities; he just doesn't care if they get harmed unintentionally as a result of an experiment. Rappaccini just cares about the science of nature; he is not interested in its sanctity or beauty.
When Rappaccini imposes a poisoned lifestyle on his daughter, he does it without intending to cause her damage. He only wanted Beatrice to be able to live the untouchable and all-powerful existence he himself yearned for since "the garden is his world" (Hawthorne, 9). Because he was so disturbed and out of touch, he was unable to understand Beatrice's desire to be loved rather than feared (Hawthorne, 17). As a result, he decided to make Giovanni poisoned out of compassion for Beatrice's loneliness.
Hawthorne might have acquired some of these ideas from Shelley's Frankenstein, which was written only 20 years before "Rappaccini's Daughter" and in which Dr. Frankenstein created an entity that was disliked by everyone and capable of wreaking great destruction.
However, Hawthorne makes it clear that dangers do not solely come from cold science, as Baglioni turns out to be the story's 
However, as time passed and a few dedicated to science persevered, technology advanced. What was once supposed to be impossible became a reality. Everything was now described in natural terms, and the world itself became rational and logical. The need for the supernatural had vanished, and the human limitations had been forgotten.
With this assurance, accomplishments, creations, and discoveries multiplied tremendously, adding support for the new scientific domain. Because science was focused on practical applications aimed to improve and enhance the lives of humans, animals, and the environment, society benefited from this.
However, an unintended result started to appear as the intellectual and increasingly powerful scientist's inflated ego. Nature was becoming an exhausted force that could be purged and mistreated as it served their dominion, and this power and sense of control started to drive their thoughts, personalities, and strategies. Everything was created by nature with flaws and defects, and the hands of the frigid scientist were to alter and reform it. Science had evolved from the study of nature to the control of nature.
On July 4, 1804, precisely one year after the Louisiana Purchase, Nathaniel Hawthorne was born. He was raised in an America where the populace was skeptical of the country's values. Was this growth intended to assist the populace or was it merely meant to increase its power? The 1800 Revolution, which brought about great progress in the domains of politics, geography, and technology, then came to characterize his childhood. Human rights, human nature, limitations, power, and obligation have all been redefined as a result of the tension between discovering the unknown and imposing control on society.
The Romantic Movement emerged in response to this Age of Enlightenment, emphasizing American themes and recognizing the significance of emotional impulses over reason and science. In "Rappaccini's Daughter," Hawthorne expresses his belief that the worship of science and materialism will be detrimental to American civilization.
A superficial, conceited, and romantic man, Giovanni Guasconti is portrayed in the play. He finds it repulsive that Giacomo Rappaccini chose to manipulate nature; he sees it as a force that is beautiful in and of itself. As the "adultery of numerous vegetable species—no longer God's workmanship, but the horrible offspring of man's depraved fancy, shimmering with only a terrible imitation of beauty (Hawthorne, 9)," he saw the garden as manmade. Only things that are pure and unadulterated by man are beautiful in Giovanni's view.
The separation from nature, in Giovanni's opinion, is fundamentally unsatisfactory. He "thinks he is an evil guy, really" (Hawthorne, 4) even before he learns that Rappaccini used Beatrice in testing. This explains why, in addition to her physical attractiveness, he finds Beatrice to be so alluring. Rappaccini declines to use his bare hands on the plants and "near intimacy between himself and these vegetable existences" (Hawthorne, 2). This makes Giovanni scowl. Giovanni, on the other hand, is astounded when Beatrice shows herself and immediately establishes connections with and deep relationships with every flower in the garden as if she were a sister to these "vegetable existences." Giovanni values a relationship with nature over its control.
Rappaccini, meanwhile, is less worried about the inconsequential jealousy and much more focused on learning new things. Relationships with individuals or anything outside the purview of his science are not important to him. His patients are simply used as test subjects, and his treatments are only used as physical representations of his discoveries.
Rappaccini, however, is not meant to be viewed as evil; rather, he is just meant to be seen as a cold, heartless intellect who is disconnected from typical human ideals and emotions. He doesn't purposely hurt people with his abilities; he just doesn't care if they get harmed unintentionally as a result of an experiment. Rappaccini just cares about the science of nature; he is not interested in its sanctity or beauty.
When Rappaccini imposes a poisoned lifestyle on his daughter, he does it without intending to cause her damage. He only wanted Beatrice to be able to live the untouchable and all-powerful existence he himself yearned for since "the garden is his world" (Hawthorne, 9). Because he was so disturbed and out of touch, he was unable to understand Beatrice's desire to be loved rather than feared (Hawthorne, 17). As a result, he decided to make Giovanni poisoned out of compassion for Beatrice's loneliness.
Hawthorne might have acquired some of these ideas from Shelley's Frankenstein, which was written only 20 years before "Rappaccini's Daughter" and in which Dr. Frankenstein created an entity that was disliked by everyone and capable of wreaking great destruction.
However, Hawthorne makes it clear that dangers do not solely come from cold science, as Baglioni turns out to be the story's barbarous antagonist. He is the one who gives Giovanni the antidote to offer to Beatrice. When Beatrice is lying dead and Giovanni and Rappaccini are standing there in sorrow and solemnity, Baglioni shouts in jest and with glee, "Rappaccini! Rapaccini! ", revealing his arrogance. Is this the result of your study, then? (17) Hawthorne Giovanni, the fragile and shallow romantic, fell prey to the allure of science. He is always pondering whether his Beatrice is truly appalling (Hawthorne, 5).
The optimal character is Beatrice. She is the epitome of both Rappaccini's and Baglioni's kind of science. Even though she is a "heavenly angel," she must cope with a poisonous nature. She has a great capacity for love and human contact despite her fatality. In contrast to Giovanni, who constantly questions Beatrice's morality, Beatrice only once does so, and it "made her blush that she had doubted him for an instant" (Hawthorne, 15).
It is impossible to avoid drawing comparisons between Dante's Beatrice and Hawthorne's Beatrice. Beatrice is identified as a female by Dante "who made everyone who looked at the one who brings favors happy (Dante, 47). "She was a role model for morality and kindness and a gift from God to everybody who admired her virtues. Even though Beatrice in Hawthorne's novel had the same spirit, her devoted and loving nature was restrained by "man's ingenuity and of frustrated Nature, and of the fatality that attends all such endeavors of warped wisdom" (Hawthorne, 17).