dr heidegger's exp - Dan Sendik Dr Heidegger’s experiment...

Dan Sendik
Dr. Heidegger’s experiment
Wrt 201
An Experiment in Human Perception
Dr. Heidegger’s experiment, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story about the
famed fountain of youth, but with a sinister twist. Dr. Heidegger acquires the “water of
life” and conducts an experiment with four friends he has chosen for specific reasons.
Each of them is withered from age and has made dire mistakes in their youth. Before
allowing them to drink the water, Dr. Heidegger warns them not to repeat those same
mistakes. The four elders do not heed his advice and repeat each of their mistakes again,
ending up fighting over the beautiful woman and destroying the water of life. When the
doctor realizes his experiment has gone too far, he tells them to stop fighting. The story
ends with the four people, old aged once again vowing to find the fountain of youth and
drink from it day and night.
The four had not literally become young. There is evidence that it was merely a
trick the doctor is playing on his friends through the use of strong liquor. The Water is
placed on the table with four champagne glasses, and is depicted as having “little bubbles
continually ascending from the depths of the glasses” (2) and having “cordial and
comfortable properties.”(2) Whether the water truly had imbued youth or not is unknown.