Nathaniel Hawthorne has written many short stories that have common themes. One of these common themes is science versus nature and God. Hawthorne was writing during a time when many people were trying to use science to explain phenomenon that had always been attributed to a divine power. In Hawthorne’s “Rappaccini’s Daughter”, “The Birthmark” and “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” science has a negative effect on those who meddle with it, and sometimes innocents …showed first 75 words of 1418 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1418 total…the cause for the death and destruction of the characters. This is Hawthorne’s way of warning against the acceptance of science as religion and the rejection of faith in God. These characters put their faith in the twisted religion of science and they paid the price for it. All of the irreparable damage could have been avoided had the characters maintained their faith in God and not looked elsewhere for a substitute for happiness.