Dr.+Heidegger's+Experiment

Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment – Marissa Maulbeck Passage: Pg. 1-3  ·  And, before proceeding further, I will merely hint, that Dr. Heidegger and all his four guests were sometimes thought to be a little beside themselves; as is not unfrequently the case with old people. When worried either by present troubles or woeful recollections. · “My dear old friends,” said Dr. Heidegger, motioning them to be seated, “I am desirous of your assistance in one of those little experiments with which I amuse myself here in my study.” all stories were true, Dr. Heidegger's study must have been a very curious place. It was a dim, old-fashioned chamber, festooned with cobwebs, and besprinkled with antique dust. Around the walls stood several oaken bookcases, the lower shelves of which were filled with rows of gigantic folios and black-letter quartos, and the upper with little parchment-covered duodecimos. Over the central bookcase was a bronze bust of Hippocrates, with which, according to some authorities, Dr. Heidegger was accustomed to hold consultations in all difficult cases of his practice. In the obscurest corner of the room stood a tall and narrow oaken closet, with its door ajar, within which doubtfully appeared a skeleton. Between two of the bookcases hung a looking-glass, presenting its high and dusty plate within a tarnished gilt frame. 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. The opposite side of the chamber was ornamented with the full-length portrait of a young lady, arrayed in the faded magnificence of silk, satin, and brocade, and with a visage as faded as her dress. Above half a century ago, Dr. Heidegger had been on the point of marriage with this young lady; but, being affected with some slight disorder, she had swallowed one of her lover's prescriptions, and died on the bridal evening. The greatest curiosity of the study remains to be mentioned; it was a ponderous folio volume, bound in black leather, with massive silver clasps. There were no letters on the back, and nobody could tell the title of the book. But it was well known to be a book of magic; and once, when a chambermaid had lifted it, merely to brush away the dust, the skeleton had rattled in its closet, the picture of the young lady had stepped one foot upon the floor, and several ghastly faces had peeped forth from the mirror; while the brazen head of Hippocrates frowned, and said,--"Forbear!" was Dr. Heidegger's study. On the summer afternoon of our tale a small round table, as black as ebony, stood in the centre of the room, sustaining a cut-glass vase of beautiful form and elaborate workmanship. The sunshine came through the window, between the heavy festoons of two faded damask curtains, and fell directly across this vase; so that a mild splendor was reflected from it on the ashen visages of the five old people who sat around. Four champagne glasses were also on the table. dear old friends," repeated Dr. Heidegger, "may I reckon on your aid in performing an exceedingly curious experiment?"   Dr. Heidegger was a very strange old gentleman, whose eccentricity had become the nucleus for a thousand fantastic stories. Some of these fables, to my shame be it spoken, might possibly be traced back to my 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.  Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne   · Nathaniel Hawthorne was a 19th Century writer of novels and short stories. He became very well known after writing the //Scarlet Letter//. Most of Hawthorne’s work is centered around New England and feature moralistic allegories as well as Puritan views. His general themes throughout his works often center on the evil and sin of humanity. They usually have moral messages and deep complexity. Time and Circumstances of Publication: · Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment was first published in 1837 in //Knickerboxer// magazine. Later that same year Hawthorne republished the short story in a collection of stories called //Twice-Told Tale//. Transcendentalism in the United States was flourishing during this time of publication. The belief of transcendentalism is present in Hawthorne’s short story. This short story illustrates the dark side of people. Context: · This short story fits within Hawthorne’s bodies of work through the representation of foolishness in the story. The story shows how people can be foolish and pulls out the bad in people to focus directly on it. Synopsis: · Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment is a short story that tells the tale of Dr. Heidegger and his four comrades, Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, Mr. Gascoigne, and the Widow Wycherly. Dr. Heidegger invites his friends over to his very eerie study and offers them the drink of youth from the mythical Fountain of Youth of which he tells them will turn them young again but warns them not to make the same mistakes they did before. After taking a drink all of the four friends turn young again and almost instantly make the same mistakes that they did before. Themes of Work: · Foolishness o This short story is directly rooted in a pessimistic view of humans. The story is aimed to show that for the most part people are foolish. It argues that people do not learn from their mistakes, are generally petty, and that no one can expect anyone to change for the better. Foolishness in this story is associated with youth because it is said that knowledge comes from age therefore the youth are seen as foolish. Dr. Heidegger’s character on the other hand is a counter-example to the foolishness established in the other four characters. · Versions of Reality o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This story is full of illusion, deception, and doubt. Dr. Heidegger uses theatricality and wishful thinking to make his friends experimental subjects. The narrator even shows the illusory trickery through his evasions. The narrator raises questions for the reader of what is real, what is fictional, and whether or not it matters. · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Transformation o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The theme of transformation is the main focus in this short story. The four friends of Dr. Heidegger are transformed into younger people from their elderly age. The story plays with the type of transformations, mentally and physically. It shows the transformation of what the individuals think is physical but is really just mental. Hawthorne asks whether we can learn from a transformation but the narrator concludes that we indeed cannot. · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Supernatural o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This theme creates a mood of doubt and makes the reader ask questions about the nature of reality. It complicates our understanding of Dr. Heidegger. The eerie elements of “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” are subject to debate. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Literary Devices: · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Symbolism, Imagery, and Allegory o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Elixir § <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Throughout the story the reader continues to ask themselves whether the elixir that Dr. Heidegger gives his guests is actually water from the Fountain of Youth and really turns his guests young again, or whether it is merely an illusion that Dr. Heidegger uses to prove his point. o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Skeleton in the Closet § <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The metaphor of the skeleton in the closet refers to someone keeping a secret. It is sinister that Dr. Heidegger literally has a skeleton in his closet. This does a lot for the complexity of Dr. Heidegger’s character. It poses the question of “what is Dr. Heidegger hiding in his past?” This raises more questions about Dr. Heidegger than it answers. o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Mirror § <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The mirror also complicates Dr. Hedeigger’s character. It adds another shadow to the collection of his dark secrets. Later in the story the mirror “is said to” portray the four guests as old after they drink the elixir. o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Rose § <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The rose anticipates what happens to the four guests. Dr. Heidegger uses it to demonstrate the rejuvenating power of the elixir. Later, it withers right before the same thing happens to the guests. You have to consider whether or not the elixir is actually the water from the Fountain of Youth. If it isn’t then the rose portrays even more dramatically the show Dr. Heidegger puts on for his guests to make them think it is. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 1.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">--Lucian G-- “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” By: Nathaniel Hawthorne Published: 1837 In “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1837, there are strong anti-transcendentalism ideologies as Nathaniel Hawthorne was strongly opposed to the Transcendentalism movement of that era. Transcendentalism being the idea that “Man is basically good,” and that if they were left in a state of nature that would seek good, not evil. A more modern approach is that the moment you are born, you psyche starts to be constructed based on all things that surround you, whether it be aggression or an opposite of such. The basis of this story is that Doctor Heidegger conducts an experiment on four of his friends, Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, Mr. Gascoigne, and Widow Wycherly, giving each of them some water from what he claims to have come from the Fountain of Youth. These four friends of Doctor Heidegger have led wretched lives and have sworn that given the chance, they would relive their youth as the epitome of being, and not repeat the many cruel acts they had done in their lives. Though, the moment they become youths again, they act in the exact same manner they had as youth, wasteful and degenerate. “Blushing, panting, struggling, chiding, laughing,” a repetition of participles that demonstrates their celebration of their newly acquired youth, bringing a description of youth’s actions as they act more liberal with their new ability to move quicker and more agile. “Bewitching beauty for the prize,” calling Whycherly to be like a siren, bringing them in as though she had cast a spell upon them. “Mirror is said to have reflected the figures of three old, gray, withered grandsires,… the skinny ugliness of a shriveled grandam,” this shows that it may have all been in their minds that they had become young, it was all a ruse, a deception that they had been made young once more. This illusion brings the question of whether or not this was just a trick by Dr. Heidegger to see if he could make them believe they were young again, and to find out if they truly would do good as a youth. “wings of a butterfly” repeated from the “artist of the beautiful” story, especially as it withers and dies, then comes back to be magically. “burning,” “inflame,” and “fiercely” are all manners in which to describe fire, bringing out an overall idea of fire, which indicates Hell, for this is showing the bad that is natural to some, and Hell is the signifier of all things evil. This shows the arousal of Hell, for Hawthorne is now saying that Hell has some control over people, and that Transcendentalism is flawed and incorrect to some extent. --Lucian G--