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 Alienation The 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.