I enjoyed this short story. So much so that I've been digging in the archives for more of Nathaniel Hawthorne's work. It never ceases to amaze me just how vast the world of literature is. Onwards with this review....

Scientific exploration and Ethics have had a contentious relationship throughout history and although the premise of Dr Rappacini's study is impossible - I like to think of this as a Shakespearian science fiction tragedy at best. Capulets with a bunsen burner.

Our characters: poisonous girl, normal boy, mad scientist father and nosy-potentially-dangerous adversarial scientist. Having just read a novel wherein the characters of this story are featured heavily and expanded upon, I thought I'd take a quick gander at the short story. What I find most interesting here is that the main character, Giovani was already a part of the experiment even before physically meeting with Rappacini's daughter. Seniora Lisbetta was much too accommodating.

Without going to deep into the details of this story, science has come a long way from the days when empirical data far outweighed any allegiance to ethical inquiry.


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A young student comes to the University of Padua to study. Next door to his lodging he discovers a lush garden filled with exotic plants and flowers tended by a man and his beautiful daughter. Giovanni, the student learns from an old friend of his father, a physician who lives in Padua, that the man in the garden, whom he originally took to be the gardener, is really a famous and also somewhat infamous physician Rappaccini, known for his research in plant toxicology and knowledge of poisons. Giovanni is warned to stay away from that garden but smitten by the young woman he sees tending it, he ventures into it and makes her acquaintance. He is warmly received by her, and a romance begins to blossom. It will end with a tragic result. ( )

Dark little fable ( )

Hmmm. Still mulling. I know I've read this before, but I'm surprised at how little I've remembered.

It's a bit slow starting, but it does pick up pace. I'm still not sure I entirely understand Baglioni's motives, or his statement at the end – may require another read. ( )

I do enjoy this story. This particular version of it was hard to read at first; the notes mingle with summary mingle with story until it's hard to tell where the summary ends and the story begins. However, I enjoyed the re-read of the story even with the poor formatting choices.

Definitely a classic, and still easy enough to read (unlike some classics that haven't aged as well). ( )