| Term | Definition |
|---|
| "To Beatrice—so radically had her earthly part been wrought upon by Rappaccini's skill—as poison had been life, so the powerful antidote was death. And thus the poor victim of man's ingenuity and of thwarted nature, and of the fatality that attends all such efforts of perverted wisdom, perished there, at the feet of her father and Giovanni." | Did Beatrice's death at the end seem fair? Why or why not? What does Hawthorne seem to say through this? |
| "Miserable!"' exclaimed Rappaccini. 'What mean you, foolish girl? Dost thou deem it misery to be endowed with marvelous gifts, against which no power nor strength could avail an enemy? Misery, to be able to quell the mightiest with a breath? Misery, to be as terrible as thou art beautiful? Woudst thou, then, have preferred the condition of a weak woman, exposed to all evil and capable of none?" | If Rappaccini views this as a gift, does it make his character seem less demonic because of his seemingly good intentions? |
| "And down he hastened into that Eden of poisonous flowers." | If Hawthorne connects the garden with Eden, what theme, purpose, or message could he be conveying through this comparison? |
| "Giovanni's rage broke forth from his sullen gloom like a lightning-flash out of a dark cloud." | Is it fair for Giovanni to unleash his rage on Beatrice, considering that after all her condition is not her fault, yet neither does she mention it to him? |
| "Just at that moment, Professor Pietro Baglioni looked forth from the window, and called loudly, in a tone of triumph mixed with horror, to the thunder-stricken man of science: 'Rappaccini! Rappaccini! And is this the upshot of your experiment?'" | How does Baglioni's outburst effect the end of the novel? What does Hawthorne portray through this? |
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