Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

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.