著者

鵜木 奎治郎

出版者

信州大学教養部

雑誌

信州大学教養部紀要 第1部 人文科学 (ISSN:05830605)

巻号頁・発行日

no.3, pp.95-106, 1968-12

---

'Rappaccini's Daughter' seems basically like a dramatic treatment of a catastrophe in the enigmatic Rappaccini's Garden; first on the conflict enacted in the very garden between the two approaches to love, sincerity by Beatrice and fantasy by Giovanni; secondly on the conflict enacted in the very garden between the two approaches to science, induction by Rappaccini and deduction by Baglioni. No one can really knows anything about Beatrice except that she is well identified with the gorgeous but deadly purple-blossom which dominates the garden. Indeed whenever a certain kind of symbol is mentioned, it never fails to be related with the botanical imagery. Surely there must be significance in the fact that Hawthorne chooses botanical imageries-perhaps partly because of their external beauties, partly because of their capability of producing 'the lurid mixture'of hybrids. Such hybrid leads to the isolation and this isolation leads to severe, desolate love which no exceptional girl, nor ordinary youth can hardly nourish. Our next step is about the conflict between the two famous scientists; in which Baglioni, having a pseudo - maternal love to Giovanni, cares to vanquish his rival Rappaccini, an overly protective father, than he cares for the welfare of Giovanni and Beatrice. In the final scene, just as Baglioni's antidote has failed in his shallowness to evince the powerful Rappaccini's skill, so Rappaccini's wish has failed to see that Beatrice 'would fain have been loved, not feared.' Thus again their conflict leads to the isolation which no exceptional, nor ordinary scientist can hardly nourish. If so, 'since some industry must be, the little toil of love' and the little accumulation of scientific knowledge would be 'large enough for' us.