Dr. Heidegger invites four old acquaintances to his study to try an experiment. The four guests are a ruined politician, a former merchant ruined by speculation, a man suffering from gout from a life of sinful pleasures, and a woman who remains in seclusion due to scandals. Dr. Heidegger has them drink from a mysterious vase supposedly containing the Fountain of Youth. The four guests revert to youthful appearances and behavior but then start fighting, having forgotten who they are. It is revealed to be an experiment in human folly and the temporary nature of worldly things.

1. Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment BY: Nathaniel Hawthorne

2. Allegory A literary work in which characters, objects, and events represent abstract qualities and ideas.

3. The Story Dr. Heidegger invites 4 friends over to meet him in his study. Mr. Medbourne Colonel Killigrew Mr. Gascoigne Widow Wycherly What did these 4 people look like?

4. Mr. Medbourne Used to be a prosperous merchant Lost it all by a frantic speculation What does that mean? He is now a mendicant A beggar

5. Colonel Killigrew Wasted his best years and health in the pursuit of sinful pleasures. He now suffers from the gout and divers

6. Mr. Gascoigne Is a ruined politician “ A man of evil fame.”

7. Widow Wycherly She used to be a great beauty in her day. Certain scandals have kept her secluded in her house alone. Other men stay away because of the scandals.

8. Connect Four How do the 4 know each other? The three men fought over her for many years because they were her lovers.

9. The Study “ It was a dim, old-fashioned chamber, festooned with cobwebs, and besprinkled with antique dust…” 38-70 What type of things are in his study?

10. Inventory A bronze bust of Hippocrates He would talk to it Ln. 45 Skeleton in the oaken closet Ln. 47

11. Inventory The Mirror Ln. 48 What was in the mirror according to legend? Dead patients that would stare back at him.

12. Inventory The Portrait “… the full length portrait of a young lady, arrayed in the faded magnificence of silk, satin,…” Ln. 54 Who was it?

13. The Greatest Curiosity What was the greatest curiosity? What supposedly happened? Lns. 61-70

14. The Experiment What did Heidegger take from the book? Who gave it to him? Ln. 100

15. What did Heidegger do with the Rose? Ln. 111 What happened to it? It looked like this Minus the Teddy Bear of course.

16. The Fountain of Youth Who searched for the Fountain? Ln. 130 Where is it? Ln. 135 What’s in the vase?

17. A Warning “ Before you drink…” Ln. 160 What is he warning? How do the 4 react to the warning? Ln. 167

18. They Drink “ With palsied hands…” 173-194 What does the description show us before and after they drink?

19. How did they behave now that they drank the elixir? Ln 226 How do they treat Heidegger after drinking more? Ln 284 Why do they start fighting? Ln 300

20. What’s really going on? Ln 311 “…Yet by strange deception, owing to the duskiness…” What are some explanations for this?

21. Whoops? The three men got into a fight and broke something. What? Ln 327 “ I love it as well thus, as in dewy freshness.” Ln 350 What does he mean by this?

22. Another Lesson “ The water of Youth possessed merely virtue…” Ln 363 What is the lesson? “ I would not stoop…” Ln 371 Where do the people go?

23. What’s the real experiment? What’s the real experiment? Science Experiment? Sociology Experiment? What’s the difference?

24. Allegorical Characters Widow Wycherly Colonel Killigrew Mr. Gascoigne Mr. Medbourne

25. Answers Vanity Hedonism Political Corruption Greed