remony. A figure in the night says to Goodman Brown, "Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness" (McLaughlin 356).
Other themes in these two stories, particularly "Rappaccini's Daughter," include the supernatural and a strong concern with communion with nature. Giovanni rejoiced to be so close to such a beautiful garden in the midst of a barren city. He said to himself that it serves as a "symbolic language to keep him in communion with Nature" (McLaughlin 637). The flowers and maiden are seen to be different, and yet the same. The blossoms are said to nod to one another, as congenial social companions, such that animism prevails. Things of the earth have spirits much as human beings.
The tone of both stories is rather formal, reflecting the use of language in Hawthorne's era. Words and phrases such as "your worship," "wont," and "whither" fall rather heavily on the modern reader's ear. The mood in both stories is somber, serious, and foreboding. Hawthorne uses great literary skill in setting up the dark atmosphere in both stories with attention to descriptive detail. The mad scientist is a "tall, emaciated, sallow, and sickly-looking man, dressed in a scholar's garb of black" (McLaughlin
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