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Beatrice Rappaccini
Giacomo Rappaccini is an old, accomplished medical scientist whose greatest work is a vibrant, exotic garden from whose plants he has made many powerful medicines. Rappaccini’s flowers are no ordinary garden herbs but rather plants cultivated to be poisonous. The narrator remarks that Rappaccini’s face looks highly intelligent but, even in its young years, did not evince much love of mankind. Baglioni points out that Rappaccini’s great passion is science and that he would sacrifice anything, including human life, in pursuit of scientific knowledge. In fact, Rappaccini loves his daughter, Beatrice, so much that he put poison in her veins so that she can protect herself against anyone. Unfortunately, in making this decision, Rappaccini underestimated his daughter’s desire for companionship. When he spots Giovanni visiting his daughter and sees that they get along, he makes a plan to poison Giovanni’s body, as well—that way, his daughter will have a life partner. His plan backfires when Giovanni accuses Beatrice of poisoning him and rebukes her, breaking her heart. Beatrice drinks a potion designed to detoxify her body, but it winds up killing her. In losing his daughter, Rappaccini pays the price for meddling with nature.
Giacomo Rappaccini Quotes in Rappaccini’s Daughter
The Rappaccini’s Daughter quotes below are all either spoken by Giacomo Rappaccini or refer to Giacomo Rappaccini. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Rappaccini’s Daughter Quotes
It was strangely frightful to the young man’s imagination to see this air of insecurity in a person cultivating a garden, that most simple and innocent of human toils, and which had been alike the joy and labor of the unfallen parents of the race. Was this garden, then, the Eden of the present world? And this man, with such a perception of harm in what his own hands caused to grow,—was he the Adam?
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As Giovanni gazes into the garden next door, he sees Rappaccini for the first time and notices that he moves among the plants carefully and without touching or smelling them, as though they were malignant. Giovanni juxtaposes the decrepit, shady appearance of Rappaccini with his mental image of “unfallen parents of the race”—Adam and Eve, the Biblical first humans, who tended Eden before learning of sin and being expelled from the garden. Gardening is considered a nearly sacred activity because it was the job performed in Eden, and it has also been a means of subsistence for humans across time. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem acc
For some purpose or other, this man of science is making a study of you. I know that look of his! It is the same that coldly illuminates his face as he bends over a bird, a mouse, or a butterfly, which, in pursuance of some experiment, he has killed by the perfume of a flower; a look as deep as Nature itself, but without Nature’s warmth of love. Signor Giovanni, I will stake my life upon it, you are the subject of one of Rappaccini’s experiments!
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When Rappaccini passes them in the street and stares at Giovanni strangely, Baglioni claims that Rappaccini’s cold stare proves that the man has intentions to meddle in Giovanni’s life as part of a science experiment. Baglioni’s claims are suspicious because readers already know that the two doctors have a professional rivalry, and, furthermore, as a man of science, it seems too emotional and irrational for Baglioni to “stake his life” on his hypothesis about Rappacini’s stare being correct. However, Rappaccini’s stare is so unnatural as to concern readers, too. Baglioni points out that it is the look Rappaccini uses when Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occa
It is not yet too late for the rescue. Possibly we may even succeed in bringing back this miserable child within the limits of ordinary nature, from which her father’s madness has estranged her.
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After revealing that Beatrice is poisonous, Baglioni suggests that Giovanni administer an antidote to her condition. He seems to mean well with this suggestion: by using science and medicine, Baglioni hopes to undo Rappaccini’s damage. However, just as it was arrogant for Rappaccini to interfere with nature, so too Baglioni oversteps his role by giving Beatrice a potion. By interfering with his daughter’s nature, Rappaccini has done such deep damage that the potion cannot reverse it, and the antidote winds up acting as a deadly poison in her system. In this situation, medicine only does harm, and Baglioni’s desire to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis.
As he drew near, the pale man of sciences seemed to gaze with a triumphant expression at the beautiful youth and maiden, as might an artist who should spend his life in achieving a picture or a group of statuary and finally be satisfied with his success. He paused; his bent form grew erect with conscious power; he spread out his hands over them in the attitude of a father imploring a blessing upon his children; but those were the same hands that had thrown poison into the stream of their lives. Giovanni trembled. Beatrice shuddered nervously, and pressed her hand upon her heart.
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Right before Beatrice drinks the potion, her father joins the couple in the garden. Rappaccini does not know they have been fighting. He stands over them proudly, as an artist would stand admiringly before his creation, presenting them to the world. In doing so, Rappaccini demonstrates the sin of pride. He arrogantly thought that his scientific expertise justified interfering with nature to create these mutant people. His actions came out of a desire to gain scientific knowledge, and he justifies interfering with Beatrice’s life by positioning it as an attempt to protect his daughter from the outside world. Even if Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis
“I would fain have been loved, not feared,” murmured Beatrice, sinking down upon the ground. “But now it matters not. I am going, father, where the evil which thou hast striven to mingle with my being will pass away like a dream—like the fragrance of these poisonous flowers, which will no longer taint my breath among the flowers of Eden. Farewell, Giovanni! Thy words of hatred are like lead within my heart; but they, too, will fall away as I ascend. Oh, was there not, from the first, more poison in thy nature than in mine?”
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When Rappaccini asks Beatrice if she would have preferred to be a defenseless woman instead of someone with poisonous touch, Beatrice responds that she would rather have been loved than feared by others. Instead, she was separated from other people and regarded as a monster, making her lonely and sad. Her own analysis of her life reveals how Rappaccini’s science experiment actually caused her great harm, even though he is a doctor who is supposed to heal people. In addition, when she says good-bye to Giovanni, she asks a rhetorical question implying that his cruel words were more poisonous than Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantiu
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!”
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Beatrice has just died. In a devastating display of bad taste, Baglioni uses this opportunity to rub Rappaccini’s face in the mess he has created. Rappaccini interfered with nature in the name of science, and his daughter died in an attempt to undo the damage. It reflects poorly on Baglioni that he would use this opportunity for revenge, since the tragedy of Beatrice’s death is far greater than pain Rappaccini ever inflicted upon Baglioni. What’s more, he objectifies Beatrice with his comment. Instead of engaging with her death as the end of a human life, he uses it for his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asp
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Giacomo Rappaccini Character Timeline in Rappaccini’s Daughter
The timeline below shows where the character Giacomo Rappaccini appears in Rappaccini’s Daughter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Rappaccini’s Daughter
...not belong to this house because of what grows there. The garden belongs to Giacomo Rappaccini, a famous doctor who blends plants to create “medicines as potent as a charm.” She...
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As Giovanni gazes down, a “tall, emaciated, sallow, and sickly-looking man” emerges. This is Giacomo Rappaccini. He is “beyond the middle term of life,” with “a face singularly marked with intellect...
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When Rappaccini reaches the purple flowers hanging beside the fountain, he puts on a mask. However, he...
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...back his curtains and gazes into the sunny garden, which looks “real and matter-of-fact.” Neither Rappaccini nor Beatrice is in the garden, so he cannot verify whether they possess strange traits,...
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That day, Giovanni visits Professor Pietro Baglioni, “an ancient friend” of Giovanni’s father. The professor is “an elderly personage, apparently of genial nature, and habits that might almost...
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The narrator notes that Baglioni and Rappaccini are professional rivals, and that Rappaccini is widely considered the superior party. When Giovanni mentions...
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...to talk, afraid Baglioni will guess his secret, but the professor persists. As they converse, Rappaccini passes them and gazes at Giovanni carefully with “a look deep as Nature itself.” Baglioni...
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...catch his eye. She grabs him and announces that there is a secret entrance to Rappaccini’s garden. He turns to her, surprised as though “an inanimate thing should start into feverish...
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...it not!” His hand thrills at the touch, and she swiftly disappears. Giovanni notices that Rappaccini has been watching them.
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...Indian woman from a rival only to discover her breath was poisoned. Baglioni states that Rappaccini may have created a similar monster using science. Baglioni notices a floral, vaguely poisonous scent...
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Giovanni asks where the purple shrub originated, and Beatrice says her father made it. “It was my sister, and I loved it with a human affection,” she...
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Beatrice protests that her father, not she, must have done this to Giovanni. With this, Giovanni’s wrath subsides and he...
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At this point, Rappaccini emerges and “seemed to gaze with a triumphant expression at the beautiful youth and maiden,...
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...Giovanni’s window, Baglioni leans out and cries “loudly, in a tone of triumph mixed with horror…‘Rappaccini! Rappaccini! And is this the upshot of your experiment!’”
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