Analyzing Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment

Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in 1837. In the allegorical tale, Dr. Heidegger experiments on four of his friends by offering them water from the fountain of youth. This gives them the ability to grow young once again. All four, who have led wasteful lives, vow never to repeat the mistakes of their youth and to be the perfect individuals they have always imagined. Still, almost as soon as they grow young again, the four friends return to their old wasteful practices. The theme which is created from this is, although humans may greatly believe in and desire complete perfection, it is an impossibility and any quest for it is futile. Hawthorne uses a variety of literary devices to exemplify this theme.

First, Hawthorne uses point of view to create a mysterious air of uncertainty which makes the stories allegorical meaning visible. In some cases the story’s narrator questions the reality of the events. “Was it a delusion?” he asks following the magical transformation (Hawthorne 216). This proves that “the narrator himself seems unsure whether the events he is relating have even occurred” (Thyme). The concept that the whole story is in fact fiction is even presented to the reader. “Some of these fables, to my shame be it spoken, might possibly be traced back to mine own veracious self; and if any passages of the present tale should startle the reader’s faith, I must be content to bear the stigma of a fiction-monger” (Hawthorne 214). From “these uncertainties” Hawthorne “separates the story’s happenings from reality, enhancing the allegorical meaning of the tale” (Thyme). This use of point of view adds an element of mystery which enhances it resemblance as an allegorical tale and exemplifies its theme.

Hawthorne also uses tone to add to the already mysterious and unsure atmosphere. Much of the story is left open to the reader allowing a much broader interpretation of the theme. In the end “the doctor’s four friends had taught no such lesson to themselves. They resolved forthwith to make a pilgrimage to Florida, and quaff at morning, noon, and night, from the Fountain of Youth” (Hawthorne 218). By this, Hawthorne leaves the reader to decide the lesson that his characters have failed to comprehend. This is true of many of his works of literature; they include “sensationalistic subject matter with simultaneous moralisim and openness to interpretation” (Carton 146). Additionally, through diction, Hawthorne creates a mysterious and magical air that also contributes to the theme. “It was a dim, old-fashioned chamber, festooned with cobwebs, and besprinkled with antique dust” (Hawthorne 213). This is an example of how “Dr. Heidegger’s laboratory is “rich in gothic properties” (Wagen 195) and gives the story a dark and mysterious atmosphere. The uncertainty and mystery of the tone combine with other literary elements to help prove a lesson of Human perfection.

Furthermore, Hawthorne also uses characterization to exemplify the meaning behind the theme. In his stories Hawthorne allows the reader to infer his own personal moral vision from characters that seem to lack it. Mr. Medbourne, for example, “in the vigor of his age, had been a prosperous merchant, but had lost his all by a frantic speculation, and was now little better than a mendicant” (Hawthorne 213). In this, Hawthorne hopes for his reader to “infer the positive from the negative” (Liebman 127). For example, to learn of the pain which follows greed, readers need only read Hawthorne’s description of Mr. Medbourne. Also, “Each of Dr. Heidegger’s four guests represent the waste of something that people prize” (Hodgins 218). “Colonel Killigrew, who had wasted his best years, and his health and substance, in the pursuit of sinful pleasures, which had given birth to a brood of pains, such as the gout, and divers other torments of soul and body” represents wasted health (Hawthorne 213). Through this type of characterization, Hawthorne shows the reader each character’s desire (and failure) to attain perfection.

Finally, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Symbols to convey his theme. Many symbols in the story are ordinary objects, such as a mirror, that have more meaning than one would think. “Among many wonderful stories related of this mirror, it was fabled that the spirits of all the doctor’s deceased patients dwelt within its verge, and would stare him in the face whenever he looked thitherward” (Hawthorne 213). Through this ordinary mirror, “Dr. Heidegger also sees… images of his deceased patients, the mirror symbolizes his past failures, those patients he could not save” (Francis 219). From this the reader is shown a perfect example of the story’s theme. Dr. Heidegger is so aware of his own limitations and the idea that if he was perfect he could have saved many lives haunts him. In fact, “‘Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment’ has been described as an allegory” (Francis 219). This means that almost every object and character represents an abstract quality. “‘This rose,’ said Dr. Heidegger, with a sigh, ‘this same withered and crumbling flower, blossomed five and fifty years ago'” (Hawthorne 214). The rose is a continuing symbol throughout the allegory. It represents the youth of the guests; as they become young it blossoms and when they grow old again it withers away. The entire story is filled with symbols such as these. Through them Hawthorne enforces the idea that as appealing as human perfection may be, it is just out of reach.

At first glance, Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment may seem like a simple, even shallow, story. Its plot is simple enough; four friends given a chance fix the mistakes of their pasts. Still, when examined closely, one can see that the tale is far deeper. Through countless literary devices Nathaniel Hawthorne creates an allegory overlaid by a cloud of uncertainty. Each and every individual and object is not as basic as it appears. Everything has meaning and represents much more than one might think. Through this Hawthorne shows us his meaningful theme: People lack the ability to achieve perfection and therefore, since they are only human, are destined to make the same mistakes twice.

Works Cited

Carton, Evan. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” American Writers Retrospective. Supplement I. Ed. A. Walton Litz. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. 145-167.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.” Adventures in American Literature. Eds. Francis Hodgins and Kennet Silverman. Heritage Edition Revised. Orlando: Harcourt, 1985. 213-218.

Hodgins, Francis and Kennet Silverman, eds. Allegory and Symbolism.” Adventures in American Literature. Heritage Edition Revised. Orlando: Harcourt, 1985. 219.

Liebman, Sheldon W. “Hawthorne’s Romanticism: ‘The Artist of the Beautiful.'” Modern Critical Views: Nathaniel Hawthorne. Ed. Harold Bloom. Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. New Haven, CT. 127-140.

Thyme, “Ambiguity and Uncertainty in Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment .” everything2.com. .

Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Man, his Tales, and Romances. New York: Continuum, 1989.