I enjoyed reading Wakefield and Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, but I was surprise to find them very different. The only similarity is that both are romantic.
Rappaccini’s Daughter is creative and beautiful, but almost too perfect because Hawthorne fills in our imagination with every detail. I find the story to be too mythical and unrealistic, but these are the strengths of the story. This is what makes it beautiful, enjoyable, and entertaining. I find the setting of the story interesting because Hawthorne places the story within the garden next to the old edifice where Giovanni takes lodging. The viewing of the garden from Giovanni’s window is almost the perfect setting for the story because it allows the reader to imagine the garden from above and to see Beatrice from the distance.
However, the story that I like the most is Wakefield. In this story, Hawthorn does not give as much detail and information. He leaves the information and the details up to the reader’s imagination. This is the beauty and strength of the story. Like in Rappaccini’s Daughter, I am also intrigued by the use of the setting. Hawthorn takes our imagination to different places. Yet, he keeps the story within one place. We get the impression that Mr. Wakefield leaves for twenty years, yet he is always present.
I find Wakefield more realistic and interesting, even though, it does not say much about why and how things happened the way they did. The story is really left to the reader’s imagination to find out what could have happened. We should not be too quick to judge Mr. Wakefield for leaving his home because so many things could have gone wrong in the marriage. Maybe it had to do with Mrs. Wakefield. The story has a lot to offer in terms of matrimony. So many things can go wrong in a marriage.
Did Mr. Wakefield really abandon his wife? Did Mrs. Wakefield really abandon her husband? They were separated, but at the same time, it seems to me that somehow they remained together because they did never stop loving one another. It seems like every day for twenty years, Mr. Wakefield wanted to return, and Mrs. Wakefield hoped that one day he would return. One of the most interesting facts about the story is that Mr. Wakefield never left. He just moved down the street from Mrs. Wakefield’s’ house.
What happens in Wakefield’s story is unknown, yet we can know it by finishing the story and say this is what could have happen, and what could have happened has one different interpretation for every reader. One can continue wring the story and the story can unfold differently. This is the beauty of Wakefield’s story!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
"Mr. Wakefield leaves for twenty years, yet he is always present." That is a really good way of looking at it. I had been just thinking about Wakefield being gone but really, he was only down the street. Thinking about it now while he did physically abandon his wife he was there spiritually
I like how you stress the importance of open interpretation when analyzing Hawthorne's Wakefield. This leaves room, as you noted, to imagine the story from the point of view of Mrs. Wakefield. Was she angry, upset, confused or depressed? Did she think about Mr. Wakefield and his whereabouts on a daily basis? Hawthorne definitely presents any interesting dynamic on relationships with others and the community.
For Hawthorne, the mythical was the "truth of the human heart." Its meaning for the social world derived from its mythical status--myth is universal.
I agree that Wakefield was more realistic, but I think I liked the mythical aspect of Rappaccini's daughter better. Wakefield's story can also be seen as unrealistic, although I think it has more of a chance of happening that Rappaccini's daughter. I do like how you pointed out these distinct differences, and I think it shows Hawthorne's amazing ability as a writers.
Post a Comment