Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
The Story
Dr. Heidegger invites to his study four elderly friends to engage in an experiment. Three are men: Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, and Mr. Gascoigne; the fourth is a woman, the Widow Clara Wycherly.
The study is a dusty, old-fashioned room replete with a skeleton in the closet, a bust of Hippocrates, books and bookcases, and a portrait of Sylvia Ward, who died fifty-five years before the night of the experiment on the eve of marriage to the doctor after swallowing one of his prescriptions.
The doctor shows his guests a faded rose that she gave him those many years before, and places it in a vase containing liquid from the waters of the region in Florida where the Fountain of Youth is located, sent to him by a friend.
The rose …show more content…
Heidegger does not take part in the rejuvenating experiment; he witnesses their antics with gravity. Young again, they laugh at their quaint clothes, showing contempt for the traits of old age that they have shed. Finally, the widow asks the doctor to dance with her, but he pleads old age and rheumatism. The three other guests seek to join her in dance, and in the ensuing riot, the table with the vase of the Water of Youth and rose overturns. The liquid reaches a dying butterfly, reviving it so that it flies to rest on Dr. Heidegger's white hair. The rose fades; the guests show their age again. The doctor states that he is glad not to have partaken of the liquid; he has learned that this unnatural return to youth was no occasion for satisfaction. His guests, however, undaunted, determine to sally forth in search of the Fountain of Youth in order to drink from it three times a …show more content…
Heidegger's Experiment Dr. Heidegger's Experiment Summary
• Old Dr. Heidegger, a peculiar individual, invites four of his elderly friends over to his study one night. His guests are: Mr. Medbourne, who was once a rich merchant but lost all his money on speculation; Colonel Killigrew, who is suffering in old age from the wild lifestyle he lived when he was young; Mr. Gascoigne, a ruined politician who is now all but obscure; and the Widow Wycherly, who was once beautiful but whose reputation had long ago been ruined.
• The first-person narrator informs us that, at one point, all three men had been the Widow's suitors, back when they were all young and foolish. They nearly killed each other competing for her.
• Now we get a good look at Dr. Heidegger's study, which is a very odd place indeed. It is dusty and old-fashioned. There are several bookshelves stuffed with papers and quartos. One features a bust of Hippocrates which, supposedly, Dr. Heidegger consults with from time to time. In one corner is a closet with a skeleton inside. There is also a large mirror; rumor has it that all Dr. Heidegger's dead patients live in there and will look at you if you peer into
Dr. Heidegger invites to his study four elderly friends to engage in an experiment. Three are men: Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, and Mr. Gascoigne; the fourth is a woman, the Widow Clara Wycherly.
The study is a dusty, old-fashioned room replete with a skeleton in the closet, a bust of Hippocrates, books and bookcases, and a portrait of Sylvia Ward, who died fifty-five years before the night of the experiment on the eve of marriage to the doctor after swallowing one of his prescriptions.
The doctor shows his guests a faded rose that she gave him those many years before, and places it in a vase containing liquid from the waters of the region in Florida where the Fountain of Youth is located, sent to him by a friend.
The rose …show more content…
Heidegger does not take part in the rejuvenating experiment; he witnesses their antics with gravity. Young again, they laugh at their quaint clothes, showing contempt for the traits of old age that they have shed. Finally, the widow asks the doctor to dance with her, but he pleads old age and rheumatism. The three other guests seek to join her in dance, and in the ensuing riot, the table with the vase of the Water of Youth and rose overturns. The liquid reaches a dying butterfly, reviving it so that it flies to rest on Dr. Heidegger's white hair. The rose fades; the guests show their age again. The doctor states that he is glad not to have partaken of the liquid; he has learned that this unnatural return to youth was no occasion for satisfaction. His guests, however, undaunted, determine to sally forth in search of the Fountain of Youth in order to drink from it three times a …show more content…
Heidegger's Experiment Dr. Heidegger's Experiment Summary
• Old Dr. Heidegger, a peculiar individual, invites four of his elderly friends over to his study one night. His guests are: Mr. Medbourne, who was once a rich merchant but lost all his money on speculation; Colonel Killigrew, who is suffering in old age from the wild lifestyle he lived when he was young; Mr. Gascoigne, a ruined politician who is now all but obscure; and the Widow Wycherly, who was once beautiful but whose reputation had long ago been ruined.
• The first-person narrator informs us that, at one point, all three men had been the Widow's suitors, back when they were all young and foolish. They nearly killed each other competing for her.
• Now we get a good look at Dr. Heidegger's study, which is a very odd place indeed. It is dusty and old-fashioned. There are several bookshelves stuffed with papers and quartos. One features a bust of Hippocrates which, supposedly, Dr. Heidegger consults with from time to time. In one corner is a closet with a skeleton inside. There is also a large mirror; rumor has it that all Dr. Heidegger's dead patients live in there and will look at you if you peer into