Young Goodman Brown and Other Hawthorne Short Stories

What does the purple flower mean in "Rappaccini's Daughter"?

Short Story- Rappaccini's Daughter

(More specifically, what does purple symbolize in the story?)

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Last updated by Aslan
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The shrub with the purple flowers that is growing at the base of the fountain can represent the Biblical tree of knowledge : the good and evil in the Garden of Eden. Both gardeners suffer a fall: Adam In Eden and Giovanni in the story.

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