Read this passage from of “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment" by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
As they struggled to and fro, the table was overturned, and the vase dashed into a thousand fragments. The precious Water of Youth flowed in a bright stream across the floor, moistening the wings of a butterfly, which, grown old in the decline of summer, had alighted there to die. The insect fluttered lightly through the chamber, and settled on the snowy head of Dr. Heidegger.
“Come, come, gentlemen!—come, Madam Wycherly,” exclaimed the doctor, “I really must protest against this riot.”
They stood still and shivered; for it seemed as if gray Time were calling them back from their sunny youth, far down into the chill and darksome vale of years.
In this passage, the four characters knock over the magical water. How does this event affect them?
Group of answer choices
The characters realize how foolish they have been.
The characters become even more foolish and violent.
The characters become distraught that they have lost their youth.
The characters resolve to be more careful.