How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Paragraph)
Quote #7
While the bubbles were yet sparkling on the brim, the doctor's four guests snatched their glasses from the table, and swallowed the contents at a single gulp. Was it delusion? even while the draught was passing down their throats, it seemed to have wrought a change on their whole systems. (26)
Notice that the narrator poses the very question we as readers ought to be wondering: "Was it delusion?" Hawthorne makes sure that we are aware of the text's ambiguity by drawing our attention to it time and time again.
Quote #8
His guests shivered again. A strange chillness, whether of the body or spirit they could not tell, was creeping gradually over them all. They gazed at one another, and fancied that each fleeting moment snatched away a charm, and left a deepening furrow where none had been before. Was it an illusion? Had the changes of a lifetime been crowded into so brief a space, and were they now four aged people, sitting with their old friend, Dr. Heidegger? (48)
The uncertainty of the guests – and of the narrative – increases as the story nears its conclusion. As readers, we are only met with more questions and ambiguity.