"Rappaccini's Daughter": Untold Truths Allegories, symbolism, fantasy, the theme of faith, the theme of science, the presence of humanity, and conceivably the unforgivable sin. Given all of these characteristics, a reader may very well perceive this story not only Nathaniel Hawthorne's greatest work, but his most problematic as well. The meaning of this classic tale has been disputed among the greatest of critics. The story has been interpreted as pro-Transcendental and anti-Transcendental (Stallman 1). Beatrice has …showed first 75 words of 1046 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1046 total…to mingle with my being, will pass away like a dream . . .Oh, was there not, from the first, more poison in thy nature than in mine?” (Hawthorne 640). Little hope is left for the cursed characters, and Hawthorne has shown though women may be fraudulent, they are redeemable. Women become martyrs and the burden of failing mankind is lifted as we see that instead of being the source of transgression, they absolve our sins. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**