Rappaccini's Children: American Writers in a Calvinist World

by William H. Shurr

Overview

Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Rappaccini's Daughter" tells of a beautiful girl who has, from birth, absorbed the poison from the flowers of her father's garden. In this allegorical tale of the fallen Garden of Eden, William H. Shurr finds a metaphor for the fate of many American writers, for whom the heritage of calvinism has been the poisoned fruit of the Garden of the New World.

For many American writers, the legacy of the Puritan Fathers has been a pervasive sense of sinfulness and guilt in a violent and unforgiving universe. In this new study Shurr examines how these writers have coped with this heritage.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813154824
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	07/15/2014
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

William H. Shurr, who holds degrees in both theology and literature, is professor of English at the University of Tennessee. His earlier book, The Mystery of Iniquity: Melville as Poet, was co-winner of the 1971 SAMLA Studies Award.

Editorial Reviews

An original, far-reaching, and powerful critique of the fate of Calvinism in American culture. It is a work of genuine importance for scholars in every area of American studies.

Sacvan Bercovitch

"An original, far-reaching, and powerful critique of the fate of Calvinism in American culture. It is a work of genuine importance for scholars in every area of American studies." -- Sacvan Bercovitch

From the Publisher