Introduction
There are hundreds of books in the world that are considered classics of literature or the literary canon since they determine the characteristics of their time and culture. The canons are conditional as they are formed under the influence of society and general trends, and books that stand out from others become a model of a particular cultural era. One of the examples of the American literary canon is Rappaccini’s Daughter, since it is distinguished by its innovativeness, features of the narration, and themes, but has universal values at the same time.
Main body
A clear definition of the literary canon does not exist as this concept means a collection of short stories, novels, and other works that characterize the peculiarities of the time. The books that fall into this category are determined both by literary experts and ordinary readers since they understand the issues and moods of a particular period and country. Moreover, such lists are usually conditional and adaptive because the broad vision of the cultural era is a combination of people’s objective views.
However, it is impossible to deny that literature that becomes canonical has some common features. The main characteristic of such works is their exclusivity, which expresses itself in a bright presentation of the peculiarities of time and place, innovativeness, expressiveness of the aesthetic part, and relatedness to universal issues. The innovation of the book can be expressed in any traits that are not familiar to the current culture and have not been used before. However, the theme of the work should also illuminate the relevant problems of society; for example, as it was in the work of humanists during the Enlightenment. Besides, the literary canon often bears a trait of the novelty of aesthetic means such as narrative form, language, or style. Nevertheless, any classical work in one way or another appeals to general moral truths, such as love, fidelity, justice, or faith, by disputing or confirming them. Thus, the literary canon can be any exceptional and determining book for a particular cultural period in the country.
Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the American literary canon, since it has the novelty of style and form, metaphorical senses, and ambiguity. The first feature of the book is an unusual form of storytelling. Hawthorne begins his work with an analysis of the literary style of fictional Monsieur L’Abepin, who, as Hawthorne conceived, was the author of the Rappaccini’s Daughter (647). This move makes the story stronger as readers delve into the plot all the time through the prism of perception of a fictional author. Besides, the third-person narrative form makes the reader miss essential details about the nature of the characters, which at the end of the work raises a lot of questions and thoughts.
Another feature of the story is expressed in the ambiguity of Baglione, Rappaccini, and Giovanni’s nature. In many works of the early nineteenth century, people were divided into positive and negative characters, and this division was a feature of Romanticism. However, in Rappaccini’s Daughter, Hawthorne portrayed the main characters from their different sides, creating something fresh for the public. The villain Rappaccini turned out to be just a loving, overprotected father; the selfless Dr. Baglione had his insidious motives, and Giovanni was too curious and conceited to save Beatrice from death (Hawthorne 666). This feature was new to readers as it made them think that the motives of people can push them to different, often evil actions. Besides, this nature of the characters expresses the main feature of the new era in culture, since it was inherent in realism, which emerges in American and European literature.
Despite the unusual form of the narrative and the theme of the story, Hawthorne raises issues that have remained controversial for centuries. Although the whole plot is riddled with images and allegories, the main ideas remain to love, vanity, and pride. The author force people to think about the price that characters pay for love in the stories of Rappaccini and Beatrice, or Beatrice and Giovanni. He wants the reader to ask whether a father should poison his daughter’s life to protect her from evil and whether she should risk her own life for the chance of being loved. Besides, human meanness and vanity are also topics that the author tries to cover by revealing the motives of Dr. Baglione and Giovanni. The first man kills an innocent girl to take revenge on his competitor and prove his right, and the second cannot stop at the desire to see what the girl can do for his love. These topics have been and remain relevant at any time as they are part of universal morality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Rappaccini’s Daughter demonstrates all the features which determine the American literary canon, since it characterizes the culture of that era. The story features are the innovativeness of the form and style of narration, as well as the relevance and novelty of the plot. Besides, the light and straightforward tone of the narrative makes the dark and gloomy story easy to read, but at the same time, does not reduce the significance of its problem.
References
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Rappaccini’s Daughter.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature, edited by Nina Baym, 6th ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2003, pp. 647–667.