Pale Horse, Pale Rider

by

Katherine Anne Porter

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Dr. Hildesheim Character Analysis

A doctor who treats Miranda when she is ill. He is used to treating influenza patients and is unfazed by Miranda’s condition. Miranda finds his demeanor to be “altogether too merry and flippant.” While in the hospital Miranda hallucinates that Hildesheim is a German soldier with a skull where his face should be. He carries a bayonet with a speared infant on its end and a “huge stone pot marked Poison.” Miranda’s hallucination of Hildesheim conflates war with illness, reconfiguring Hildesheim as the villain standing in the way of Miranda’s desire not to recover and return to a world of so much illness, suffering, and death.
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Dr. Hildesheim Character Timeline in Pale Horse, Pale Rider

The timeline below shows where the character Dr. Hildesheim appears in Pale Horse, Pale Rider. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Pale Horse, Pale Rider
Alienation Theme Icon
...be found. As Miranda dips in and out of consciousness, she repeatedly inquires about Adam. Hildesheim, the doctor who cares for her, tells her that Adam came to visit her and... (full context)
The Pain of Living  Theme Icon
Miranda continues to hallucinate, imagining Dr. Hildesheim to be a German soldier. In one hand Hildesheim holds an infant skewered on the... (full context)
The Pain of Living  Theme Icon
Miranda briefly regains consciousness to apologize to Dr. Hildesheim. She sees Miss Tanner at her side and says, “I know those are your hands... (full context)