A Comparison Of Dr. Heidegger's Experiment And The Birthmark

In The Birthmark, The Minister’s Black Veil, and Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment, author Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a character in each to contribute to the overall theme of the story. This character knows something that the others do not. In The Birthmark, it is the servant Aminadab who knows something that the two main characters do not know. Even as a supporting character, Aminadab contributes arguably the most to the development of the theme of the story. The character in The Minister’s Black Veil who knows what the outcome of the scenario will be is the main character Reverend Mr. Hooper. He is the one conducting the experiment, but he appears to know from the beginning what the result will be. His knowledge of this greatly adds to the theme

of the story. In Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment, the character who is more aware of the truth than others is once again the leader of the experiment, Dr.

Heidegger himself. Dr. Heidegger’s intelligence on what will occur is necessary to discovering the underlying theme of the story. These characters in each of these stories who know more about the truth than the others do are absolutely imperative to the author’s intended message.
In The Birthmark, Aylmer is married to Georgiana, who has a birthmark on her cheek. Aminadab is the servant for Aylmer and therefore needs to obey him and do as he says. One way in which he does this is helping Aylmer with the experiment and procedure that he is going to use to remove Georgiana’s birthmark. Aylmer has become obsessed with removing the birthmark to ideally make Georgiana perfect. Aminadab appears to know what is going to happen. He makes this quick remark, “If she were my wife, I’d never part with that birthmark” (4). This comment shows how Aminadab doesn’t agree with Aylmer’s decision and thinks that the outcome may prove catastrophic for the married couple. The main theme of the story is science versus nature. The science part comes from Aylmer, who uses a potion to try to perfect Georgiana, but that obviously goes horribly wrong.

Aylmer says this just before he performs the procedure: “The concoction of the draught has been perfect... Unless all my science have deceived me, it cannot fail” (9). This displays how Aylmer believes his science will work and will have a substantial effect upon his wife. The idea of nature is represented by Aminadab. He disagrees with Aylmer, and therefore his science. The quote “If she were my wife, I’d never part with that birthmark” (4) says it all about Aminadab’s belief in how nature is not something to be tampered with using potions and things of that sort. However, the best piece of evidence which supports Aminadab’s role as a symbol of nature is, “At the same time he (Aylmer) heard a gross, hoarse chuckle, which he had long known as his servant Aminadab’s expression of delight” (10). Aminadab’s response to Georgiana dying is seen here. This shows how the Earth, or nature (Aminadab) will always win over science (Aylmer and Georgiana). The theme of whether science can outmatch nature is evident in The Birthmark and is best developed through the speaking and actions of Aminadab, even though he is a minor character when it comes to the actual plot of the story.
Mr. Hooper knows more about the truth than anyone else in The Minister’s Black Veil, just as he should. He is the conductor of the psychological experiment he puts the people of his town through. Since the beginning of his experiment, I think he knew what was going to happen and that he really wanted to teach his community a lesson. Mr. Hooper contributes a lot to the theme of “All people have their own sins.” In the story, Mr. Hooper is the venerable minister of the community. People love him as he is and don’t want him to change. At the very beginning, Mr. Hooper decides to conduct a psychological experiment to test the people of his church and town. He begins a wear a black veil, which predictably evokes a response from his votaries. Some readers don’t even realize the overarching theme until they come to the end of the story, where Mr. Hooper is lying down on his deathbed. Another minister approaches him and asks him if he may take off his veil. Mr. Hooper refuses and attempts to shove him away. He then goes on a long monologue where he proclaims, “Why do you tremble at me alone? Tremble also at each other. Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil... On every visage a Black Veil!” (482). He is essentially saying that everyone has their “black veil,” which really stands for sins. The last line is especially significant because Mr. Hooper tells everyone that they all have black veils or sins, not solely him. He also says that no one should have acted differently around him as they would someone without a black veil. This monologue is the most important in the story and shows how Mr. Hooper’s black veil stands for something bigger than just a garment of clothing. It stands for people’s past sins. I believe that Mr. Hooper knew the result of his experiment before it even began. The actions of the respected clergyman provoke a gigantic reaction from the community, and as a result they help to further develop the theme of everyone having their own sins, or “black veils.”
The best example of Hawthorne using a character who knows more about the truth than others is in his story Dr.

Heidegger’s Experiment, where Dr. Heidegger makes an intelligent decision because of his knowledge of what the true outcome will most likely be. Dr. Heidegger is an old scientist who invites four old and venerable friends over to be test subjects of his experiment. He explains to them that the water from the Fountain of Youth that he possesses can make them younger. The four friends drink some of the water, which leads them to believe that they are getting younger, so they ask for more. Personally, I do not believe that the “water” can actually make them younger. My belief is that the “water” from the Fountain of Youth is actually some type of alcoholic beverage because the friends show signs of drunkenness after drinking some. The major theme in this Hawthorne short story is the impossible and foolish quest for perfection. The most fascinating part of the story was how Dr. Heidegger didn’t drink any of the alcohol. He let his friends do the drinking, which shows how he knew what drinking the beverage would do to him. The friends want to become younger and return to their glory days to become more perfect. Their philosophy is that the younger you are, the more perfect you are. Later, the liquid spills and the four friends “return” to their old age. Going along with my belief, I think that their drunkenness was wearing off. Either way, they had come back to their

oldness: “Are we grown old again, so soon?” cried they dolefully” (5). This plays right into the theme of the impossible and foolish quest for perfection. These friends were headed down the wrong road, and since Dr. Heidegger knew what it would do to him, he did not drink the elixir. Hawthorne uses the scientist not drinking any of the elixir to foreshadow the inevitable. Dr. Heidegger knew the truth all along, which contributed to his decision making. His decision to not drink the elixir supplied the main theme of the story with even more evidence of the four friends’ foolish quest for perfection.
These three characters in Hawthorne’s stories knew more than the other characters in their stories and were all used to help develop the theme of each. Aminadab was crucial to the evolution of the theme of science versus nature in The Birthmark. Even with very few speaking lines, he managed to have a huge impact on the theme of the story. In The Minister’s Black Veil, Mr. Hooper uses his veil to conduct an experiment that could provide evidence for the theme of everyone has their sins, not just those who wear a black veil. Readers can tell from the get go that Mr. Hooper knows the truth more so than the other characters in the story, who have no clue why he is wearing that black veil. The scientist Dr. Heidegger in the story Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment knows how his test subjects will react to his elixir and he therefore just wants to merely watch rather than drink some of the elixir himself. His not drinking of the liquid is essential to the theme of the story, which is that however hard you may try, perfection is unachievable and attempting to find it is foolish and impossible. This is seen through his friends experience as a result of drinking his elixir. Ultimately, Hawthorne chooses a character in each of these three short stories to know more about the truth than others and therefore to help him progress his theme and get his message across to the reader.