Gardens Symbolism
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Gardens in Nathaniel Hawthornes “Rappaccinis Daughter,” John Steinbecks “The Chrysanthemums,” and Xiaoping Zhus “Chronicle of Mulberry Tree Village”
Hawthornes “Rappaccinis Daughter,” Steinbecks “The Chrysanthemums,” and Zhus “Chronicle of Mulberry Tree Village” feature a garden, which symbolizes a characters inner turmoil by drawing parallels between their repression and the gardens they have created in order to facilitate a faÐ*ade of internal harmony. The symbolic history of gardens begins with nearly every cultures creation story. Eden, as it is called in Christian theology, was a paradise created to house one man and one woman, perfect and without sin. Their souls untarnished, they were able to live in utopia until their inevitable fall, after which the garden became their veritable enemy. No longer were they able to cull food from it easily or to use it as they had before. Their sin had separated their souls, and therefore their entire selves from the garden. The tradition of linking the soul and the garden was continued in early China, beginning with the Zen priests who used gardens to symbolize the inner peace they strived to attain. Centuries later, the French built gardens as symbols of their decadence; within the walls of these luxurious gardens they would hide personal artifacts, which were supposed to tie their soul to the garden in order that they may achieve the same harmony.
The tradition continues in literature. The garden of a character is often symbolic of the characters spirituality such as it is in “Rappaccinis Daughter,” “The Chrysanthemums,” and “Chronicle of Mulberry Tree Village.” Each of these stories is about the emotional journey of a
specific character. Yet, they each begin with a physical description of the garden, or the area surrounding it, immediately drawing the readers attention to the importance of the physical. The writers have already alerted the reader to the fact that the two are related.
“Rappaccinis Daughter” is the story of Beatrice, the physical representation of the garden that she lives in. The descriptions of the garden and the “fierce, passionate and even unnatural” plants within are descriptions of the girl, who by the end of the story has become as poisonous as the flowers she tends to (Hawthorne 577). Hawthornes images of the garden near the beginning of the story tell of “a ruin of a marble fountainso woefully shattered that it was impossible to trace the original design from the chaos of the remaining fragments” (569). The fountain, symbolic of Beatrices humanity, has been changed. At one time it had stood as a pristine sign of an “opulent family,” but now it is shattered and Beatrices humanity has been irrevocably damaged (569). She is now as much plant as she is human, the poison of the flowers coursing through her veins.
The physical walls of the garden, more than simply barrier to the physical world are representative of her separation from the human race. Through the eyes of Giovanni, the reader is able to experience the physical perfection of the garden, each plant carefully trimmed and cared for, much as Rappaccini has carefully created Beatrice and altered her ever so slightly until she became the hybrid creature she is in the story.
The garden is essential to Beatrices well-being because she draws her strength and, quite literally, her breath from the flowers. In addition to her physical dependency on them, Beatrice is emotionally linked to each flower. Giovanni witnesses her “approaching the shrub…with a passionate ardor,” much as one would a lover. The garden is Beatrices entire world, she has never stepped outside of the walls and thus she believes this garden to be perfect. She has known no life but that of the garden and her father. Through Rappaccinis manipulations, she has become the only person who holds sway over these flowers. This keeps her from realizing that she is missing out on a normal life. This garden is her kingdom and her sovereignty over it allows her happiness, false though it may be.
Unlike Beatrices physical oppression, Elisa of “The Chrysanthemums” feels hindered by society and its rigid expectations of gender roles. As a woman, she feels she has no true power. She is, literally, fenced into her garden, a womans world, forced to watch as her husband conducts business on the outside. She is actually a quite pathetic character in this regard because she has even been denied the one exercise of power that is unique to women– the ability to reproduce. This explains her unusual connection to her chrysanthemums. Elisa disguises herself as a man, wearing a mans clothing and hiding her femininity in order to mask the shame she feels at her lack of accomplishment but still she is unable to escape from the social repression society has forced upon her (Steinbeck 1143). She has created her garden as a separate microcosmic world, where she is able, in all her feminine glory, to rule, much like Beatrice. It is very evident that Elisa feels as if she is not living up to her full potential when the traveler comes along. The traveler, a gypsy of sorts, represents to her a life free of social constraints. She sees a great deal of appeal in such a life because she is searching for the best version of herself that she can be. Travelers in literature are synonymous with someone who is working towards personal development. This is important to realize as Elisas eagerness to be engaged in such an occupation is very telling of her mental state. However vehemently she denies that the type of life she is living is not for her, she is still unwilling to stray far from her garden, only just stepping outside because she is unable to forfeit the power she has in this realm (1148). The garden has flourished under her leadership and given her an outlet to express her dominance.
Elisa is another character defined by her interactions with the garden. While in the garden, she works with her hands bare. Yet, when a man comes near her world, she quickly dons a pair of gardening gloves, a representation of the protection she affords herself when interacting with the outside world. As the more dominant Elisa emerges, through her interactions with the traveler, her dependence on the gloves lessens until eventually she stands outside of her garden, gloveless.
The physical characteristics of the garden are also telling of Elisas internal struggles. Her garden is described by Steinbeck as meticulously organized and ordered, every imperfection removed by her “terrier fingers,”