“Mr. Hawthorne’s distinctive trait is invention, creation, imagination, originality…”(Poe). This was taken from a review of Hawthorne’s work written by Edgar Allen Poe in the late 1800’s. Nathaniel Hawthorne is a very well known author that had written books and works showing traits just as Poe had said. His stories and books are known worldwide and have been studied for many years. Through Hawthorne’s life, I believe he had developed a vast imagination. From developing an imagination, he had developed works that show his ability to make stories from his mind. Hawthorne used his imagination to develop his fascinating works. Through research and reading some of the works myself, a thesis …show more content…
Nathaniel Hawthorne met his demise on May 19, 1864 in Plymouth, New Hampshire after rebuffing to seek medical attention (Reynolds). The origin of Hawthorne’s imagination could have been when he developed a love for reading and writing. Hawthorne then used his imagination to produce his works. Examples of Nathaniel’s imagination can be seen in many of his known works. Abundant examples of Hawthorne’s imagination can be seen in short stories such as “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment”, “The Birthmark” , and “Young Goodman Brown.” Some of these stories were penned during a time of technological advancements. Leading to a view on the sciences with robust opinions might have heightened Hawthorne’s imagination. In the short story, “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment”, there is a scientist called Dr. Heidegger. Heidegger has made an elixir that he stated to his guests that would make them young, made from water from the fountain of youth. Heidegger shows his guests the power of the drink by putting a dry, old flower in the liquid. The flower becomes vibrant and lively like magic. The guests began to drink this liquid and feel young once again. After a while they become old again, also the …show more content…
Edgar Allen Poe wrote that he could see that imagination is a part of many of Hawthorne’s works (Poe). It is as if imagination is built in to Hawthorne’s work as almost an ingredient to a cake. When describing Hawthorne’s work in the Encyclopedia of World Biography, they state that Hawthorne’s work is “broadly allegorical but infused with imaginative passion.” Hawthorne’s imagination was infused in his work. Such things as the experimentation in “The Birthmark”, the journey and hidden themes in “Young Goodman Brown” or the fictional youth in “Dr.Heidegger’s Experiment.” Poe wrote that Hawthorne’s stories “are the product of a truly imaginative intellect ” and that “ “Dr. Heidegger’s experiment” is exceedingly
"Women Beware Science: 'The Birthmark.'." Short Story Criticism, edited by Rachelle Mucha and Thomas J. Schoenberg, vol. 89, Gale, 2006. Literature Resource Center, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420071520/LitRC?u=troy25957&sid=LitRC&xid=268bd900. Accessed 8 Dec. 2017. Originally published in Critical Essays on Hawthorne's Short Stories, edited by Albert J. von Frank, G. K. Hall & Co., 1991, pp. 164-172.
“Nathaniel Hawthorne – Biography.” The European Graduate School. The European Graduate School, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014
Lang, H.J.. “How Ambiguous Is Hawthorne.” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
In “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” Dr. Heidegger presents a vase full of water from the fountain of youth. The water claims to keep living things healthy and young. Throughout the story, readers experience four miserably old guests drink this water and become young again. Although these guests claim feeling young and looking young, there are instances where it suggests that the elixir is fake and is just a placebo. The water from the fountain of youth is just regular water that Dr. Heidegger convinced the quests that it would make them young again. This is shown when the guests think the demonstration is a deception, when they water’s power was going to “four human beings who needed it more woefully,” and after the vase breaks and the four grow old again (Hawthorne).
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in the year 1804 in the heart of Salem, Massachusetts, where to Salem witch trials were conducted. Hawthorne was born in an unforgiving time period, where life revolved around religion and family. Hawthorne’s father died of Yellow Fever in the year 1808. Nathaniel grew up fatherless, which had a lasting effect on who he later became to be. Education at the time was centered on reading and writing, with a heavy religious influence. “The education of the next generation was important to further "purify" the church and perfect social living” (Kizer). However, since his father passed away, there was no other man to instill the Puritan beliefs into young Nathaniel. Hawthorne later on was able to see the culture through a different lens than the people surrounding him, which made him slightly opposed to the Puritan way of life. He became intellectually rebellious; not thinking in the same way that his peers or family was.
Nathaniel Hawthorns short stories, such as, Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment, Rappaccini’s Daughter and The Birthmark all have an underlying meaning and demonstrate a similar recurring theme. Hawthorne uses his stories to clarify his beliefs on the competition between nature, religion, and science in everyday life. In all three of his short stories he refuses the concept of science coming before religion or nature. Hawthorne clearly thought if nature or religion was tampered with using science it could only end badly, but more specifically with death. In each of his stories there is a scientific experiment that defies both nature and religion ending harmfully. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s beliefs conclude that God and nature to ultimately be more powerful then science.
Lang, H.J. “How Ambiguous is Hawthorne?” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Birthmark.” Hawthorne’s Short Stories. Ed. Newton Arvin. New York: Vintage Books, 1946. 147-65.
As a technician, Hawthorne’s style in literature was abundantly allegorical, using the characters and plot to acquire a connection and to show a moral lesson. His definition of romanticism was writing to show truths, which need not relate to history or reality. Human frailty and sorrow were the romantic topics, which Hawthorne focused on most, using them to finesse his characters and setting to exalt good and illustrate the horrors of immorality. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s experiences as a man, incite as a philosopher and skill as a technician can be seen when reading The Scarlet Letter.
"The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short story that was first published in the 1836 edition of the Token and Atlantic Souvenir and reappeared over time in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The short story narrates the events following Reverend Mr. Hooper's decision to begin wearing a black veil that obscures his full face, except for his mouth and chin. Mr. Hooper simply arrives one day at the meeting house wearing the semi-transparent black veil and refuses from then on to take it of, leading to the loss of his fiancée and isolation form the world. He is even buried in the black veil. Yet, what is important to note are Mr. Hooper's last words to those surrounding his deathbed. He tells them namely in anger that all of them wear black veils: “I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!”. This declaration underlines the meanings of the veil in the story as symbolic of sin, darkness, and the duality within human nature. Thus, "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a literary work of art that demonstrates the author's use of allegory to highlight the psychological angle of the story and characters.
Lathrop, G. P., ed. "Hawthorne, Nathaniel." The Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. Binghamton, New York: Vail-Ballou, 1962. 439-40. Print.
Both Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe are gothic writers who share many similarities in their stories. Both authors write about characters who live in their own and try to escape the real world around them. In Hawthorne’s “Dr. Heidegger’s experiment” four participants attempt to escape reality by drinking from a fountain of youth in order to return to make themselves younger. In Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death”, Prince Prospero tries to escape the red death, a disease that is ravaging his city, by hiding in his own castellated abbey. The characters in the stories both attempt to avoid death and the inevitable, by hiding behind their barriers, but no matter what they try to do reality catches up to them and they succumb to what they originally try to avoid. In both stories, the protagonists hide behind barriers made by themselves, attempt to conquer death, and eventually give in to death.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," contains much symbolism pertaining to the truths about life and humans' inherently evil aspects. Such characteristics are found in the personalities of the characters, as well as the various objects portrayed in the short story. Hawthorne also uses elements of imagery and allegories to depict the forbiddances and limitations of attempting to go back in time.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s work is unique. His writings are full of subtle imagination, analysis, and poetic wording. His short stories are known for their originality and for their ability to provoke the reader’s thoughts. Although a large portion of his stories are allegories, Hawthorne’s preference is to draw more heavily on symbolism (Pennell 13). His use of symbols adds depth to his stories and helps to reveal different aspects of his characters. In Rappaccini’s Daughter, Hawthorne uses symbolism to create a modern day tale of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
"Symbolism and Allegory in Short Fiction" described the use of symbols as follows: "Authors want to find a way to express the inexpressible" (10M.). Again this film paralleled Hawthorne's style by explaining "So we take the abstract qualities of life and make them concrete by using symbols" (10M.). Was it possible that the great Nathaniel Hawthorne was schizophrenic? Did he weave such a layered web of words on purpose? I believe that his giant intellect allowed himself to overcome the common limitations of being a one plane thinker. He thought, read, wrote, and acted, on many different levels. Arlin Turner in "Nathaniel Hawthorne a Biography" stated this very fact: