It is part of human nature to make mistakes and sometimes learn and grow from them, or sometimes repeat them. In “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main themes of youth, new beginnings, wisdom, self image, and repetition of mistakes are exemplified through the use of symbols through the character’s perspective of themselves and their environment. The characters; Mr.Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, Mr.Gascoigne, and Widow Wycherly are prime examples of people repeating mistakes even when given a second chance to learn and progress. Hawthorne’s theme of in order to grow as a person, one must learn from mistakes and progress as a person is best shown by vivid and explicit symbols; the rose, which symbolizes acceptance of old
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Dr. Heidegger has experimented on many patients and everytime he looks into the mirror the “ghastly faces had peeped forth from [it]”(Hawthorne 253). A mirror is an object that allows a person to see their reflection. When Dr. Heidegger looks into the mirror, he sees the ghosts of his patients who are dead because of his experiments and failures as a doctor. Because of this, Dr. Heidegger realizes that his past will always haunt him and he cannot take the elixir himself because he would not mentally be young again and in turn repeat those mistakes. In addition, his wife died from accidentally taking Dr. Heidegger's medication, so he does not want to relive through these events again. This ties in to the theme because Dr. Heidegger accepts his mistakes and learns to progress from them. Furthermore, the mirror symbolizes truth because when the subjects go to examine themselves in the mirror, they are shocked at their newfound youth and Widow Wycherly stands in front of the mirror “curtsying and simpering to her own image”(Hawthorne 257). The mirror symbolizes truth because it is reflecting their appearance and how it is changed, but they are still immoral internally because they did not learn from their past mistakes. They are still greedy and always asking for more. To add to this, they demanded for more of the elixir and did not learn the true value of it. In their youth, greed of money and materialistic items occured, and they do not stop being greedy, which showcases that the subjects do not progress as humans and learn from past
Dr. Heidegger has experimented on many patients and everytime he looks into the mirror the “ghastly faces had peeped forth from [it]”(Hawthorne 253). A mirror is an object that allows a person to see their reflection. When Dr. Heidegger looks into the mirror, he sees the ghosts of his patients who are dead because of his experiments and failures as a doctor. Because of this, Dr. Heidegger realizes that his past will always haunt him and he cannot take the elixir himself because he would not mentally be young again and in turn repeat those mistakes. In addition, his wife died from accidentally taking Dr. Heidegger's medication, so he does not want to relive through these events again. This ties in to the theme because Dr. Heidegger accepts his mistakes and learns to progress from them. Furthermore, the mirror symbolizes truth because when the subjects go to examine themselves in the mirror, they are shocked at their newfound youth and Widow Wycherly stands in front of the mirror “curtsying and simpering to her own image”(Hawthorne 257). The mirror symbolizes truth because it is reflecting their appearance and how it is changed, but they are still immoral internally because they did not learn from their past mistakes. They are still greedy and always asking for more. To add to this, they demanded for more of the elixir and did not learn the true value of it. In their youth, greed of money and materialistic items occured, and they do not stop being greedy, which showcases that the subjects do not progress as humans and learn from past