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Symbolism of Dreams in Hawthorne Stories

Dreams and dream-like states figure in a number of short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the symbolism of dreams is also an important element. This can be seen in different degrees and different ways in three stories by Hawthorne--"Rappaccini's Daughter," "Young Goodman Brown," and "Ethan Brand."

In the short story "Rappaccini's Daughter," Nathaniel Hawthorne explores different types of love and describes these types of love through the relationships among his characters. The love of a man for a woman seems to be the centerpiece of the story, but in truth it is the unhealthy love of a man for science that becomes the centerpiece, negating the love of a man for a woman as well as the love of a father for a daughter. The garden and garden imagery in the story recalls the story of the Garden of Eden and makes use of that story by inverting it so that the individual who most corresponds to God in the original also fulfills the role of the serpent. The garden itself is separated from "real" life in a way that makes it seem a dream-state, as if everything that happens in the garden is unreal.

The way the story is structured, Hawthorne seems to be developing a variation on the more common story in which the love of a father for a daughter challenges the love of a young man for the daughter, with the father being jealous of the affections of his daughter and seeking to end the young man's attentions. It becomes apparent in the course of the story, however, that the truth is more complex and that there are other dynamics at work. For one thing, the father seems to be encouraging rather than discouraging the attentions of the young man, though in an unhealthy way. The garden becomes a metaphor for the situation, and the unhealthy nature of this garden mirrors the sickness at the heart of the obsessions of Rappaccini.

The irony of the seeming life of the garden is also apparent in the introduction of Beatrice:

She loo...

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Symbolism of Dreams in Hawthorne Stories. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 10:02, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1702315.html