Rappacinnis daughter

In Nathaniel Hawthorns short story, Rappaccinni’s daughter, he presents the reader on the literal level with a story of a young Italian scholar named Giovanni who has moved to Padua for pursuance of his studies. He takes his residence in a room of an old mansion that, perchance, overlooked a strangely beautiful garden. These two places become the two major scenes for the rest of the story. Giovanni learns that the garden is cared for and cultivated by a Signor Rappaccinni and his daughter Beatrice. He had on one of his gazings into the garden, noticed a feeble old man examining the flowers, as specimens, with the utmost intentness. Never did he show any type of warmth or intimacy toward these mysterious plants. He observed how the old man took great care in avoiding the touch of the leaves or fragrance of the flowers. Giovanni asks himself, “Is this the new garden, the Eden of the present world? And this man, with such a perception of harm in what his own hands caused to grow,-was...