Often in natural processes, the role of the scientist is debated. Should a scientist be a participant in the experiment or be solely an observer? Some people feel that the best way to observe an experiment is by taken place in it. Others feel that the participation of the scientist in his own experiment can blur the results. In "Rappiccinni's Daughter" and "The Birthmark", by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and poems 328 and 986, by Emily Dickinson, it becomes apparent that both authors have romantic views. They feel the scientist should be an observer, but not a participant, and that nature should be observed, but not tampered with.
A case of tragic results from a scientist participating in his own experiment is the story of "Rappiccinni's Daughter", by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In this story the scientist, Rappiccinni, is both an observer and a participant. He observes his flowers in his garden, but he also tends to them and experiments with them. In this participation nature is being controlled, when nature is controlled, you cannot have transcendence. He also went as far as to subject his daughter to his experiments: "He would sacrifice human life, his own among the rest, or whatever else is dearest to him, for the sake of adding so much as a grain of mustard seed to the heap of his accumulated knowledge" (Hawthorne 185), this quote demonstrates that Rappiccinni has become far too involved in his own experiments. Rappiccinni crosses the line of controlled versus uncontrolled when he makes his own daughter poisonous, just like his flowers, further proof that he was too involved in his experiments. He was so caught up in his own experiments that he was willing to risk the life of his own daughter, for the sake of science. Ultimately, Rappiccinni's experiments were very harmful. Giovanni, who falls in love with Beatrice, falls victim to Rappiccinni's poison when he kissed Beatrice. Here Hawthorne demonstrates the romantic ideal of emotion over intellect.
