The Return

Published in 1910 Walter de la Mare's The Return stands as a cornerstone of psychological horror where the supernatural serves as a scalpel to dissect Victorian and Edwardian notions of identity. Arthur Lawford an unremarkable man of the middle class seeks rest in the Widderstone churchyard while recovering from a bout of influenza. By falling asleep near the grave of Nicholas Sabathier-a Huguenot who committed suicide in 1739-he inadvertently opens a door to a parasitic entity.When Lawford wakes he is physically transformed. The mirror reveals a face that is lean sardonic and predatory-the face of Sabathier. This physical metamorphosis is the catalyst for a profound ontological crisis: if the body changes does the soul remain intact?The Dissolution of the Self and Social AlienationThe immediate conflict is not with the ghost of Sabathier but with the living. Lawford's wife Sheila represents the rigid societal structures of the era. Her reaction is one of visceral repulsion mixed with social anxiety. To Sheila Lawford's transformation is a scandal to be hidden rather than a tragedy to be understood. Her inability to recognize the true Arthur beneath the foreign features suggests that in her world identity is merely a surface-level contract. If the mask changes the person is effectively dead.The Vicar Mr. Bethany provides a counterpoint. He represents the struggle of faith against the inexplicable. While he is deeply disturbed by Lawford's new appearance he remains the only character from Lawford's old life who attempts to see through the mask. His presence highlights the tension between a materialistic worldview-where a change in features equals a change in personhood-and a spiritual one that seeks the permanence of the soul.