The “fantastic” and other-worldly essence of the story is complicated and perhaps even undercut by the narrator's decidedly critical and occasionally satirical tone, which expresses a cynical perspective on human nature. Dr. Heidegger’s four elderly acquaintances are presented by the narrator in a harshly critical light—first as pathetic individuals whose lives were ruined by reckless decisions made in youth, and then as foolish young people eager to repeat those very same mistakes.
These characters each represent some negative trait heightened to the point of absurdity, whether personal vanity in the case of the Widow Wycherly, an overriding desire for political power in the case of Mr. Gascoigne, or a mad zeal for economic speculation in the case of Mr. Medbourne. Despite the gravity and wisdom often associated with seniority, these characters are all shown to be utterly unwise and foolish. They have not learned from their past errors, and they likewise fail to grasp the lesson of Dr. Heidegger’s experiment: to accept, rather than fight, age and the passing of time. The reader is hardly surprised when they immediately devise a plan to find the Fountain of Youth in Florida at the end of the tale.
The narrator of the tale claims no neutrality, instead openly mocking the characters in their absurd antics. For instance, the narrator pokes fun at the Widow gazing at her own reflection as if it's "the friend whom she loved better than all the world beside." The narrator also shows a certain amount of cynicism when mentioning the mirror's reflected image of "three old, gray, withered grandsires, ridiculously contending for the skinny ugliness of a shrivelled grandam." Only Dr. Heidegger escapes the narrator’s derision; and yet even he is at best an ambiguous character, possibly just as untethered from reality as his absurd guests.
