Letter to Ralph Waldo Emerson

This assignment was for my American Literature English Class, we were assigned to write a hypothetical letter to Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Dear Mr. Emerson, 

I find your belief in humanity’s natural goodness and moral progress one that is indeed hopeful. You, as well as, your fellow Transcendentalists place such a great faith in the goodness of humanity. However, my experiment has led me to question this optimism. When my elderly friends were allowed a return to youth, they demonstrated neither wisdom nor restraint. Rather, my little experiment revealed how strongly the past continues to shape the present. 

Take for example, one of the members of my experiment: Mr. Medbourne, who had once been a successful prosperous merchant, but had lost his fortune due to frantic speculation. When he had his youth restored, he did not reflect on his previous failures, but instead he immediately began contriving new schemes fueled by the same greed and impulsiveness that had been his source of ruin. The same goes for the others, their collective behavior suggests that both time and experience do not necessarily refine moral character. Even when freed from the burden of physical age, Mr. Medbourne, along with Colonel Killigrew, Mr. Gascoigne, and the Widow Wycherly, remained bound by the same flaws that had defined their earlier lives. Another aspect of this experiment that I would like to highlight, is that in their youth: Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, and Mr. Gascoigne were all lovers of Widow Wycherly. These three men all had been at the point of slitting each other's throats to have the lady for themselves. When they had been restored to their youth, these three men began fighting over Widow Wycherly, and they all began grappling fiercely and reaching for each other’s throats to strangle in front of my very eyes! This experiment did not prove their innate goodness but rather how quick they were to return to their former flaws. The behavior of the participants in my experiment makes it clear that the shadows of previous sins as well as mistakes, indeed, cling to the human soul. 

Overall, this experiment has led me to conclude that trusting one’s impulses does not guarantee moral growth. If humility and self-knowledge are absent, renewed opportunity will only invite repetition of past mistakes. Human nature, according to this little experiment of mine, is, indeed, not as innocent as you propose, and the vast weight of one’s past cannot be escaped easily. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Heidegger 

This story by Hawthorne showed me how the past is something that can continue to have a type of power over the present. In Dr. Heidegger's Experiment, the characters are so easily swayed to return to their former habits of their youth. Do you think that Hawthorne is suggesting that people are incapable of changing their old ways or is he, rather, highlighting the dangers of failing to reflect on past mistakes?