Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

Author?

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Mr. Medbourne represents

greed

Colonel Killigrew represents

lust

Mr. Gascoigne represents

corruption

Widow Wycherly represents

vanity (used her beauty)

The narrator implies that Dr. Heidegger's guests are

pathetic

If you interpret this story as an allegory, what does Dr. Heidegger represent?

science or wisdom

How did the four guests feel when the experiment was over?

frustrated

A DECREPIT building is one that is

run-down

One could expect the most DEFERENTIAL treatment to be given to a

guest

A TRANSIENT feeling is one that lasts

briefly

According to Dr. Heidegger, he doesn't participate in the experiment because he

doesn't want to be young again

The guests drink the Water of Youth with

a great deal of eagerness

As they appear to get younger, the guests begin to behave

foolishly

The Water of Youth is spilled

accidentally, by the guests

After the vase is broken, the rose

dries up

The Widow Wycherly would rather be

dead than old and ugly

What effect does the outcome of the experiment have on Dr. Heidegger's views on youth and old age?

It doesn't change his views on either youth or old age.

At the end of the story, Dr. Heidegger implies that he will

never again perform this experiment.

What was the Widow Wycherly's relationship to the other participants in Dr. Heidegger's experiment?

She is a past lover of each of them.

The doctor suggests that the guests draw up rules that will help them avoid the mistakes of youth. What do the guests do in response to this suggestion?

They laugh.

What do Dr. Heidegger's friends decide to do when the experiment is over?

go in search of the Fountain of Youth