This analysis of the short story “Dr Heidegger’s Experiment”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, covers the following literary elements:
- Plot summary
- Time setting
- Place Setting
- Conflict
- Point of view
- Character classification
Plot summary
In this short story, Hawthorne relates an experiment proposed by Dr Heidegger and carried out by four of his old friends: Mr Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, Mr Gascoigne, and the Widow Wycherly.
The story starts when the doctor summons them to his study on a summer afternoon and suggests they try an uncommon fluid, which he claims comes from the “Fountain of Youth”. Though sceptic at first, his friends agree to drink the liquor in the hope that it restores their long-lost youth and liveliness. The effect is immediately perceived and enjoyed.
However, the plot complicates when, consumed by the passion of their revived spirits, the four elderly friends quarrel and overturn the vase containing the elixir. Its influence gradually fades until the last remnants of youth disappear, leaving the party bitterly disappointed.
The friends finally decide, against Dr Heideggert’s advice, to travel to the famous “Fountain of Youth” to enjoy its magical properties for the rest of their lives.
Time Setting
The story is set on a summer afternoon during the mid-19th century.
Place setting
The place setting of the story is Dr Heidegger’s house, more specifically his studio.
The narrator describes this chamber as a “very curious place”. By its depiction, the reader gets the impression that it is a much-deteriorated space “festooned with cobwebs” and “besprinkled with antique dust”, with a few mystical elements such as a high looking glass – said to house the “spirits of all the doctor’s deceased patients” – and an enormous book of magic.
Conflict
The conflict of the short story is that these four old friends, having failed to embrace the passing of time, become too engrossed in the elixir’s youthfulness and animation that they forget to act with the maturity and carefulness earned during their lifetime.
Point of view
The point of view is third-person omniscient. We get to know what the characters feel and think, as well as their past stories and regrets.
Character classification
| Type of character | Main | Minor |
| Round | – | Dr. Heidegger |
| Flat | The four old friends | – |
The four old friends are main characters because they participate in the conflict of the story. The doctor, even though he is the organiser of the experiement, is merely an expectator in his friends’ journeys, so he is minor character.
The four old friends are flat characters because they do not change during the story: they never learn the lesson the doctor meant to extract from the experiment. The doctor, however, can be considered a round character because he reliquishes the thought of ever consuming the liquor, which he has found to be delirious and inadvisable.
I hope you found this literary analysis of Dr Heidegger’s Experiment useful. Here you can find more material. If you need more detailed information, check out this analysis on LitCharts.
