Women and “Rappaccini’s Daughter”
What are the attitudes of the young medical school student in Hawthorne’s tale, “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” toward women; of the author toward women; of other characters in the story toward women? Are women involved in basic plot development? This essay intends to answer these and other questions about women in the short story.
Beatrice, Dr. Rappaccini’s daughter, is the prime motivating force in the story. Giovanni’s love for the beautiful daughter, mixed perhaps with pride, blinds him to various indications of her poisonous nature, to the evil nature of her father and to the intent of her father to involve the protagonist as a subject in his sinister experiment.
The tale takes place in Padua, Italy, where a Naples student named Giovanni Guascanti has relocated in order to attend the medical school there. His modest room is in an old mansion watched over by the landlady, Dame Lisabetta, a two-dimensional female character given to religious expletives like, ``Holy Virgin, signor!'' She, as a very normal woman, is impressed by the student’s handsomeness and thus seeks to impress him:
``Holy Virgin, signor!'' cried old Dame Lisabetta, who, won by the youth's remarkable beauty of person, was kindly endeavoring to give the chamber a habitable air, ``what a sigh was that to come out of a young man's heart! Do you find this old mansion gloomy? For the love of Heaven, then, put your head out of the window, and you will see as bright sunshine as you have left in Naples.''
She answers Giovanni’s curiosity about a garden next-door: ``No; that garden is cultivated by the own hands of Signor Giacomo Rappaccini, the famous doctor. . . .” She then proceed...
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In his “Proof of an External World”, Moore puts forth several supported hypotheses in regards to the nature of the existence of things outside the self. Primarily, Moore discusses hands; his argument is that if he can produce two hands then it follows logically that two hands must exist. Furthermore, Moore puts forth the theory that if hands exist then this alone is proof of an external world. In opposition to Moore’s opinions will be found three main arguments: firstly that all of Moore’s evidence is based upon sensory input, secondly that the truth of one fact based on the truth of another fact forms an Epistemic Circle in this case, and finally that the evidence out forth by Moore, even if proved, does not necessarily prove the fact that he is attempting to prove.
Rappaccini's Daughter was first published in December 1844 in the United States Magazine and Democratic Review under Hawthorne's own name. Before the story was even published Julian Hawthorne read the unfinished manuscript to his wife and she asked how it was going to end. Hawthorne was not quite sure how he was going to let the story end. It has been said that Beatrice's dilemma may have been a reflection of Sophia's (Hawthorne's wife) sheltered years when she was younger at home with her mother. While Giovanni's failure to save Beatrice or himself is a tragic reversal of Nathaniel's and Sophia's happiness together (Newman 258).
In the Nathaniel Hawthorne tale, “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” we see and feel the solitude/isolation of the scientific-minded surgeon, Dr. Rappaccini, likewise that of his daughter, Beatrice, and finally that of the main character, Giovanni. Is this solitude not a reflection of the very life of the author?
Statistics indicate improvement in child labor issues, but trends can be reversed easily. Some child labor is more service-oriented and not a part that can be challenged by a boycott or legislation. Child labor in some countries involves being a servant who does not produce goods. Before identifying the consequences of child labor, probable causes and possible cures must be identified.
Women in Literature: Reading Through the Lens of Gender. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2003. Print. The. Bailey, Carol. "
“The Tell-Tale Heart is one of Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest fictional short stories. It is known for its repulsive and insane homicide; a very wild and thrilling tale. Likewise, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s well-known novel, The Scarlet Letter, is famous for its directness on sexual conflict. Both writings possess similarities with regards to modified characters, connected symbolism, and significant midpoints. Due to these comparisons, it is quite certain that Hawthorne found inspiration in writing The Scarlet Letter after reading “The Tell Tale-Heart”.
Wartna, BSJ; Tollenaar, N.; Blom, M.; Alma, SM; Bregman, IM; Essers, AAM. Recidivism Report. Periodic Report. Hague, Netherlands: Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Documentatiecentrum, 2011. Print.
Dr. Rappaccini is obsessed with science and what the manipulation of nature can do for people. He is overprotective of Beatrice and thinks that he can provide the solution to all of her problems. Knowing the evils of the world as a young man, Rappaccini decides to take control over Beatrice's life and make sure no one can ever hurt his beloved daughter. By filling Beatrice up with poison, Rappaccini succeeds in keeping Beatrice from any evil; but at what price? Beatrice is free from any evil touching her, but she is also isolated from any good that may come to her.
Social media strategies have not replaced the traditions tactics; however, of the 17 communication tactics considered “mandatory,” ten were computer-mediated (Lovejoy and Saxton 2012). The spread of these new media tactics has significantly increased nonprofits’ ability to communicate with clients, volunteers, media outlets, and other stakeholders. Instead of the traditional one-way communication tactics, social media has opened up a two-way dialog that provides an interactive outlet of communication between an organization and those stakeholders (Stengel) while reducing the turn-around rate of communication ...
Child Labor is not an isolated problem. The phenomenon of child labor is an effect of economic discrimination. In different parts of the world, at different stages of histories, laboring of child has been a part of economic life. More than 200 million children worldwide, some are as young as 4 and 5 years old, are slaves to the production line. These unfortunate children manufacture shoes, matches, clothing, rugs and countless other products that are flooding the American market and driving hard-working Americans out of jobs. These children worked long hours, were frequently beaten, and were paid a pittance. In 1979, a study shows more than 50 million children below the age of 16 were considered child labor (United Nation labors agency data). In 1998, according to the Campaign for Labor rights that is a NGO and United Nation Labor Agency, 250 million children around the world are working in farms, factories, and household. Some human rights experts indicate that there are as many as 400 million children under the age of 15 are performing forced labor either part or full-time under unsafe work environment. Based upon the needs of the situation, there are specific areas of the world where the practice of child labor is taking place. According to the journal written by Basu, Ashagrie gat...
To begin with, forcing children to work starts a vicious cycle that will affect future generations. “According to UNICEF, there are an estimated 158 million children aged 5 to 14 engaged in child labor worldwide.” Because children are forced to work, they will miss out on getting educated and that will result in them not getting jobs in the future. This will only cause more poverty and lead them to force their own children to work. It is a never ending cycle. Unfortunately, because families are living in poverty, some have no choice but to force their children to work. People who live in extreme poverty often rely upon child labor in order to earn extra income to attain basic living necessities. Sadly, many children are being forced to work beyond their physical ability...
The term ‘child labor’ is used to define any work that is mentally, physically and morally harmful to children, and interferes with their education (ILO). Children have been used as a labor force throughout most of our history. After decades of struggle aimed to combat the massive employment of child labor, the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 ratified that children have the right to develop harmoniously their personality in a loving family environment. Moreover, it recognized the right of the children to be protected from exploitation, and any form of labor that jeopardizes their physical, mental and moral well-being. However, child labor is still eagerly diffuse in developing countries,
Child Labor had begun around the era of the Industrial Revolution. As the world was becoming more dependent on the workings of machines and all of the advancements the revolution was bringing along, more workers had to be employed in these massive factories in order to keep them running, and to handle smaller day-to-day tasks. Children around the ages of four or five would be found working in these factories, the conditions in these factories were incredibly dangerous, and much of the time, fatal. Looking at child labor in this way, many countries have deemed it a...