The various characters and themes found in Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment reflect many anti-transcendental views much like Hawthorns’s The Scarlet Letter. The characters in the story all start out as old, meticulous, and regretful of their past actions. Dr. Heidegger’s warning not to relive the mistakes of the past is literally representing a second chance at life. When the guests do not take heed to this warning, the resulting anti-transcendental view of humanity in general comes too light.

This view is that no matter how many chances humanity gets, humanity will always revert back to old sinful ways, even when the potential of goodness is present. This says a lot about humanity, particularly that humanity will always destroy itself and its surroundings (nature even?), even when given a second chance.

All that remains for Dr. Heidegger are the “dead subjects” from past experiments, possibly including his own wife. These events may refer to the precious nature of the one life humanity gets to live, the one that is sometimes destroyed by our “experiments.” Even so, the drive of curiosity mixed with the ignorance of our past will lead to humanities ultimate destruction.