Often in works of Literature, there are comments made by critics about particular choices the author decides to incorporate into the text. Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer in the 1800’s. However, his works were often experimented with a broad variety of themes and genres. Hawthorne was one of many authors who had many critics. Critics often disagreed with the outcome of the stories written by Hawthorne, as they seemed to be ambiguous, or have multiple perceptions.
Two famous works by Hawthorne that could be criticized to be ambiguous are Young Goodman Brown and Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment. Specifically, the conclusion of these stories could cause controversy as they have a variety of possible meanings. In the works of Young Goodman Brown and Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment, Hawthorne writes in such an ambiguous way that leaves readers with a wide perception of meaning and understanding of the work.
In Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Goodman Brown ventures off to the forest late at night leaving his wife, and witnesses bizarre occurances with the devil. This includes seeing blazing fires on trees, the devil through multiple occurances, and his own wife (Faith) as a convert to the devil. However, it is hard to tell if the whole story is occuring in a dream. As a matter of fact, the story is a dream and this dream comes to teach Goodman Brown a valuable lesson.
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However, it is irrelevant that that story is a dream because it does not matter where or how the story took place, it is the meaning and impact of the story that matters most. In the end, I believe that Goodman Brown saved his own soul because he came to the conclusion and understanding that “evil is the nature of mankind”, which had changed the way he looked at most of his relationships. He came to understand that there is no such thing as 100% good and purity in a person. Goodman Brown also understands that the journey he had taken on was sinful, but through his journey he found that all other humans among his Puritan society was sinful as well. This story’s ending is ambiguous because it can be perceived differently among readers which can also lead to the ambiguous message it leaves behind.
In Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment by Hawthorne, a mysterious doctor claims to have water from the Fountain of Youth. This Doctor has had gloomy events from the past as he had lost his true love , which is represented in the story by a shriveled rose. He proceeds to test the effects of the water among four “venerable” friends to see the occurances. However, he refuses to drink the water himself. This is because the Doctor came to realize that the effects of the water had showed humans failure to learn from the past.
The four friends used for the experiment had revisited habits from the past when Doctor had told them not to. This represents the incapability to learn from mistakes. The water that restored youth soon had begin to fade, which proved to the Doctor that his own sorrows from the past could not be restored or erased by the magical elixir. Thus, he refuses to take in the charms of the water. The reasoning of why the Doctor had not taken in the water also can be seen as ambiguous among readers. Among the two stories written by Hawthorne, there is a wide variety of perception specifically in the concluding events of the story. However, the meanings of the story are still relatively clear which is the overall purpose.
In Young Goodman Brown, the concluding events of the story can be confusing, but generally all the possible perceived occurrences lead to the same overall meaning of the text. This meaning is the fact that all humans are sinful and not totally pure., which is the theme of “impurity”. In Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment, the exact reason explaining why the Doctor did not take in the water can be argued about, but generally it is due to the fact that humans do not learn from their mistakes when they are given the opportunity to relive the past. This represents themes of both “foolishness” and “reality versus illusion”.
The purpose of both stories is to leave a discussion among readers to contemplate different interpretations. In conclusion, many stories can be viewed as “ambiguous” and lead to many possible interpretations. This can contribute to the overall purpose of the story. A sense of variety can also lead to discussions among readers to use their understandings to exchange ideas and themes taken from the story. Hawthorne’s use of this is often criticized by readers, but I believe that it encourages discussion and conversation to work with other readers to come to a common understanding. Finally, this is a huge reason why Hawthorn is a very popular novelist that stays with readers among the years.
