It is interesting what the role of science plays in the tale Vegetational Fatherhood. While the beginning of the tale is decidedly unscientific with a personified rose and the girl who turns into a rosebush each night after reaching puberty, the end of the story relies heavily on the idea of scientific evidence. Dr. Rosenberger and the girl's mother are deemed insane because they claim an event that is beyond the realm of scientific understanding. Dr. Rosenberger is described as a 'learned man of science' and astonishes all by supporting the mother's claims that the girl transformed into a rosebush each night. It is only after an autopsy, a scientific procedure, is performed that something strange is considered. However, it is not magic but horrific experiments by Dr. Rosenberger, the anatomist, that are thought possible by the general public.
Science both conceals and explains the events of the story. Science hides the actual event of animal-plant transformation that occurred from the public by making it seem impossible. Science, in turn, reveals that something strange was going on but too late to help Dr. Rosenberger or the girl's mother, and the evidence is misinterpreted anyway. Science in the story seems to become a hindrance to the truth not the enlightening quest for knowledge that it is usually thought to be.
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These are interesting points. I had not noticed the role of science when I read the story the first time.
ReplyDeleteI think in a way it talks about science vs belief/imagination, especially in regards to fairy tales. At the end, because of scientific deduction, the scientist thinks something far more vile actually happened.
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