30 pages 1 hour read

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1837

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Literary Devices

Figurative Language

The figurative language Hawthorne utilizes in the story enhances the effects of many of the themes present. Imagery, metaphors, and personification are some of the techniques used to emphasize the influence of nature and time in the characters’ lives. What immediately sets the tone in the story is the description of Dr. Heidegger’s study in which his experiment takes place. The narrator states that the study is “festooned with cobwebs, and besprinkled with antique dust” (13) and that “between two of the bookcases hung a looking-glass, presenting its high and dusty plate with a tarnished gilt frame” (14). The “antique dust” and “cobwebs” emphasize Dr. Heidegger’s old age and venerability, as well as the four guests’ elderly condition. The characters, with their “ashen visages,” (15) gather around the small round table, “as black as ebony,” (15) to aid Dr. Heidegger in performing an experiment. Hawthorne’s word choice intensifies the setting and atmosphere throughout the story.

Related Titles

By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Study Guide

logo

Ethan Brand

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Ethan Brand

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Study Guide

logo

My Kinsman Major Molineux

Nathaniel Hawthorne

My Kinsman Major Molineux

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Study Guide

logo

The Ambitious Guest

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Ambitious Guest

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Study Guide

logo

The Artist of the Beautiful

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Artist of the Beautiful

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Study Guide

logo

The Blithedale Romance

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Blithedale Romance

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Study Guide

logo

The Hollow of the Three Hills

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Hollow of the Three Hills

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Study Guide

logo

The House of the Seven Gables

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The House of the Seven Gables

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Study Guide

logo

The Marble Faun

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Marble Faun

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Study Guide

logo

The Maypole Of Merry Mount

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Maypole Of Merry Mount

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Study Guide

logo

The Minister's Black Veil

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Minister's Black Veil

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Study Guide

logo

The Wives of the Dead

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Wives of the Dead

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Study Guide

logo

Young Goodman Brown

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Young Goodman Brown

Nathaniel Hawthorne