"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis, II, 7) This verse from the Bible is referred to in Rappaccini's Daughter many times. It is one of the most common themes and represents the prevailing idea in the story. The breath of life in the Bible is really the breath of death in Rappaccini's Daughter. While speaking to the flower, Beatrice says, "Yes, my sister, my splendor, it shall be Beatrice's task to n

The role and character of Giacomo Rappaccinni is another thematic point some of whose aspects are retained and some altered. He is the creator of the Garden of Padua and the varieties of plants cultivated in it, making his role that of God. There is a direct similarity between God's promise of immortality in the Garden of Eden and Rappaccinni making sure that his daughter, Beatrice, grows up inhaling the poisonous fumes of the purple shrub and becomes immune to all existing viruses. Professor Baglioni tells Giovanni that Rappaccini "... might hereafter chance to hold your life and death in his hands." This demonstrates Rappaccinni's control over life and death. (pg.260) "He was beyond the middle term of life, with gray hair, a thin, gray beard, and a face singularly marked with intellect and cultivation, but which could never, even in his more youthful days, have expressed much warmth of heart."(pg.258) This description of Rappaccinni is similar to many people's image of G-d, in that he is stern and sagacious. Hawthorne's insertion of Rappaccini's solemnity during his youthful years and his total attention to science presents the unlikelihood of his having a female companion or a wife. There is no woman in his past mentioned and it makes one wonder who the mother of Beatrice is. This gives Rappaccini another Godly power of creating humans without sexual intercourse.

The constant rivalry going on between Rappaccini and Baglioni is a continuous battle between good and evil. Both characters can successfully play the role of good or evil. On one hand, Rappaccini is God who entices Giovanni to fall in love with Beatrice by telling Lisabetta to show Giovanni the secret entrance to the garden. By letting them fall in love and communicate on a regular basis, Rappaccini allows Beatrice to penetrate Giovanni with her poison. In this case, Baglioni is the evil serpent which gives Giovanni the viol that destroys poison to give to Beatrice. Once she drinks the viol, she dies and Baglioni triumphs over killing Rappaccini's beloved daughter. On the other hand, Rappaccini is the serpent which keeps Beatrice in solitude he entire life. Here he is malicious, destroying any hope of Beatrice's happiness. Baglioni then, plays the role of God who prevents evil from growing. Here he tries to prevent Giovanni from falling into Rappaccini's malicious experiment. After describing the rivalry that goes on between the two scientists, Hawthorne adds his own note saying "If the reader be inclined to judge for himself, we refer him to certain black-letter tracts on both sides, preserved in the medical department of the University of Padua." Once again this is similar to the Bible in that the black-letter tracts are passages in the Bible which one may refer to in order to form one's own opinion of whether the good or the evil has the advantage in the competition of the world.

The language that Hawthorne chooses draws closer connections between Rappaccini's Daughter and the Genesis story of the Garden of Eden. When Lisabetta brings Giovanni to the apartment where he is to stay, she exclaims expressions referring to heaven and God. "Holy Virgin, signor!". "For the love of Heaven, then, put your head out of the window...". "Heaven forbid, si

Some common words found in the essay are:
Tree Knowledge, Lisabetta Giovanni, Garden Eden, Beatrice Yes, Giovanni Rappaccini, Beatrice Lisabetta, Holy Virgin, God Rappaccini's, Rappaccini Giovanni, Garden Padua, garden eden, rappaccini's daughter, purple plant, original story, breath life, tree knowledge, holy virgin, role god, purple shrub, shalt reward thy, giovanni rappaccini, magnificent purple plant, nurse serve thee, task nurse serve, reward thy kisses,
Approximate Word count = 2183
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)