I don't really think that this story is as exciting as Scarlet Letter. I was really eager to find out the mystery about the girl, but I am kind of disappointed about the ending. I thought Hawthorne would explain more than just show the death of the girl. However, I do enjoy the way Hawthorne always being mysterious, and leave it for our imagination. (I thought about the movie -- Inception)
I found it interesting about the appearance of the Professor. He randomly appears in Giovanni's room and already knows what is going on with his student and even gives him the strange liquid. Perhaps he knows about Rappachini and his daughter?
We don't know much about the professor; he makes it plain, however, that he does not like Rappaccini. He tells us that there are rumors of 'unnatural' experiments. Remember the time period that you are in. People are still trying to figure out how the world works; Darwin's work has been published around this time, and his theories shake the foundations of Christian thought. Servants and slaves are viewed as less than human -- perhaps on the level of an appliance. Children, according to some, were viewed in a similar fashion. It was certainly inconceivable that a child would, for any reason, disobey a parent. Perhaps this idea tells us something.
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