Gender expectations have been ingrained in society for generations, creating an image of what female identity should be. In the 1800s, women in literature were often depicted exclusively as domestic caregivers; their sole purpose was to take care of their children and husbands. Nathaniel Hawthorne's writing often falls into this trope, however, with different intentions. Her work exaggerates the notion of female inferiority as a method of satirizing the general thought that men are the dominant gender. In “Rapaccini's Daughter,” Hawthorne ridicules the nineteenth-century perspective of male superiority through themes related to female expectations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay From Rappaccini's first introduction, he is presented as a highly intelligent scientist, a man to be feared and respected. Baglioni describes him as “infinitely more interested in science than in humanity” (Hawthorne 4). Rappaccini's only companion is his daughter, Beatrice. Although he shares the same compassion for botany as his father, he uses it as an experiment against his free will. By prioritizing his passion for science over Beatrice, he neglected to consider her a human being. Rappaccini is quick to “sacrifice human life […] for the sake of adding even a grain of mustard to the great heap of his accumulated knowledge” (Hawthorne 4). Rappaccini objectifies Beatrice, depriving her of her own desires for the sake of his own adoration. It infuses her body with poison, condemning her to touch and care only for plants. Rappaccini deprives her of all the qualities that make her human, stealing her ability to love. Hawthorne creates this dynamic between Beatrice and Rappaccini to exemplify the effect of denoting women as nothing more than housewives. Given free will, Hawthorne believes that women are capable of greater things. Similar to Rappaccini, all the men in the story are characterized by a formal education, where Beatrice only has to learn from her experiences. When Giovanni, who studied at the University of Padua, had a conversation with Beatrice for the first time, he noted the speculation he had heard about her gardening abilities. Giovanni asks her to teach him, claiming that "I should prove myself a better scholar than under Mr. Rappaccini himself." However, unlike her father, Beatrice was never given the opportunity for a formal education. Although her father was an intelligent man, he never taught Beatrice the true nature of his garden, nor shared with her the knowledge he had accumulated from her over the years. Rappaccini used Beatrice as a tool to help him advance his career academically, but never considered that she might have an interest in learning herself. Beatrice responds to John “though I have grown among these flowers, I know nothing of them but their colors and their scents” (Hawthorne 11). Even in his home environment, he has never learned more about flowers than his senses can perceive. He spent an entire life devoted to the garden, but never learned anything beyond his own observations. Beatrice's ignorance is representative of men's constant drive to marginalize women. Hawthorne's use of sexism is prevalent throughout the story in an attempt to exaggerate the social differences men place between themselves and women. Rappaccini refused to see Beatrice as a human being with her own intentions, neglecting her education that would have allowed her to be an individual. From the beginning of the story Beatrice is depicted solely as the object of.