A Comparative Analysis of Tragic Life of Heroines in The Birthmark and Rapaccini’s Daughter

Abstract

Nathaniel Hawthorne, an outstanding short story master, was concerned about the development of science and technology and the relationship between humanity and nature. This thesis attempts to analyze the causes of the tragic life of the heroines in his short stories The Birthmark and Rappaccini’s Daughter.

In this thesis, the author introduces the plots, main characters and themes of The Birthmark and Rappaccini’s Daughter in the first place. Then the second part mainly analyzes the heroine’s personalities and their attitude towards the heroes, which reflects the internal causes of the tragic life of heroines. Additionally, the third part mainly dissects the heroes’ personalities and their view of women, embodying their influence on the heroines. Finally, the author summarizes Hawthorne's view of science: The rationality of science and technology has killed pure humanity. Material pursuit has replaced spiritual pursuit and thus loneliness and alienation came into being.

 There are variable causes for the tragic life of the heroines. The personalities and the relationship between the heroes and the heroines are the direct causes of the tragic, while Hawthorne’s view of science is the fundamental reason,which not only serves as a warning at that time, but also is a good reference for the current scientific development. Hawthorne warned people that obeying the law of nature was the first prerequisite for any scientific study. 

Key words: The Birthmark; Rappaccini’s Daughter; Hawthorne’s View of Science