Hawthorne,
in "Moses from an old Manse", meticulously depicts the main
characteristics of several stern scientists and the potentially dire
consequences of these features in the course of the scientists' life.
The importance of observation in a scientist's life is told through the detailed voluminous laboratory notes of Aylmer, the attentive eyes of Dr. Rappacini on the plants, and Heidegger's careful watch of the effect of the elixir of youth on his four old guests.
Perfectionism is shown in the heart of a scientist's personality. Aylmer is relentlessly preoccupied in getting rid of Georgiana's birthmark so as to give her a perfect face, or Dr. Rappaccini exposes his beloved daughter to the poisonous garden to bestow a perfectly sturdy body on Beatrice.
The stories tell us that a scientist burns in the flames of curiosity and ambition far more than of love. Aylmer sacrifices his beloved wife to satisfy his strong desire of testing his invented liquid in quest of a perfect face, "you have rejected the best the earth could offer. Aylmer, dearest Aylmer, I am dying!" Georgiana faintly said. This sacrifice gives a scientist a brutal face of selfishness and malevolence, even in the eyes of his daughter, "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" murmured Beatrice, sinking down upon the ground.
Hawthorne, with his attentive eyes and powerful imagination, shows us another part of the life of a passionate scientist, where watchful eyes, curiosity, and perfectionism might not come with happy ending.
The importance of observation in a scientist's life is told through the detailed voluminous laboratory notes of Aylmer, the attentive eyes of Dr. Rappacini on the plants, and Heidegger's careful watch of the effect of the elixir of youth on his four old guests.
Perfectionism is shown in the heart of a scientist's personality. Aylmer is relentlessly preoccupied in getting rid of Georgiana's birthmark so as to give her a perfect face, or Dr. Rappaccini exposes his beloved daughter to the poisonous garden to bestow a perfectly sturdy body on Beatrice.
The stories tell us that a scientist burns in the flames of curiosity and ambition far more than of love. Aylmer sacrifices his beloved wife to satisfy his strong desire of testing his invented liquid in quest of a perfect face, "you have rejected the best the earth could offer. Aylmer, dearest Aylmer, I am dying!" Georgiana faintly said. This sacrifice gives a scientist a brutal face of selfishness and malevolence, even in the eyes of his daughter, "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" murmured Beatrice, sinking down upon the ground.
Hawthorne, with his attentive eyes and powerful imagination, shows us another part of the life of a passionate scientist, where watchful eyes, curiosity, and perfectionism might not come with happy ending.
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