*Partial spoilers ahead*

I had read several of the author's stories and found a couple of them interesting in terms of atmosphere ("Mr. Kempe," especially), but I always had reservations about Walter de la Mare's writing. There was a lot of hinting and hesitating and beating around the bush that never really led anywhere: the kind of maddening English indirectness that made Henry James seem almost straightforward in comparison. I'm sorry to say that The Return has not altered my opinion of de la Mare. It's an unnecessarily lengthy novel, full of dreary, repetitive confrontations and crucial plot points which too often are inadequately emphasized, leaving all but the most hyper-attentive reader befuddled. (And take my word for it, you're not going to be in a hyper-attentive state while reading this thing.) Arthur Lawford, a mild-mannered, middle-aged gentleman recovering from the flu, wanders into a cemetery one evening and falls asleep while contemplating the grave of a Huguenot who committed suicide two centuries earlier. Lawford awakes to the terrible discovery that his face has changed, upending his comfortable suburban existence. Later he meets an eccentric brother and sister who live near the cemetery; their intentions seem to be good, but it's obvious that they know more about the situation than they're willing to tell Lawford directly.

The Return is one of those pieces that employ the supernatural as a vehicle to examine a social or philosophical issue. That's fine in principle--and it can be entertaining, as Rod Serling proved several decades later--but in this particular instance it's dull as dirt. So, while de la Mare's intent is somewhat clearer here than in his short stories, the ride takes a hell of a lot longer and isn't any more enjoyable. Unless you're looking for a challenge (or you're just a glutton for punishment), avoid. One and a half stars. ( )

I came to this novel only knowing it to be a ghost story of some sort. Being over one hundred years since it was written I was expecting some dated language and a social environment in keeping with the age, i.e. just out of the Victorian era. With regards to these expectations I was not disappointed, but as I read further into the book I was surprised to find de la Mare dealing with issues that are as valid today as they were when he penned this story.

In the earlier parts of the book I felt it was mediocre and that de la Mare was almost saying things but not quite. Having finished the book I suspect two things. One, either he was emulating the norms of the day and his hinting at things was sufficient for his 1910 audience to understand, or that he felt inhibited by the current mores of the day and could only hint at things in the confidence that he would be understood by those that mattered to him. The story itself deals with social attitudes and the attitudes held by some of his characters would support the latter suspicion.

Some of the themes I spotted were, suicide; supernatural possession; the isolation of the individual behind the outward mask he or she “must” wear in public; social pressure; intolerance, even to the extent of confining one’s own family member to an institution to avoid scandal; concern for the appearance of scandal; social status; hints at inappropriate relationships; self-righteous pomposity; evil in everyday life; the prevailing attitude towards women, even to the extent of, what I took to be mock, acceptance of the attitude by a female character; change and its impact on people; marital breakdown; acceptance of the status quo without question; one’s social obligation; attitudes to mental health; and others I am sure I missed and some I have forgotten to mention here.

This book can be read at the surface level and enjoyed on that basis but there is so much beneath the surface that I want to get Walter de la Mare to sit down with me of an evening to explore some of his views and ideas.

To give more detail on my thoughts on this book I must use the spoiler mask.

First of all, the supernatural elements could be interpreted as mere misunderstandings or be taken as operating at a much more significant level than that described overtly in the book. Initially when Arthur Lawford arrives home with a changed appearance his wife and the Rev Bethany do not specifically mention the facial change. For part of the book I felt the half-statements uttered were an indication that the change was not as Lawford described it. However, his wife’s reaction made it clear he appeared so different that it would be totally scandalous for “another man” to be seen to reside in the house and that “something” would have to be done. This reminded me of an incident in the 1960s when my father ordered a taxi to take a female employee home from work rather than drive her home himself as it would be dreadful if someone who knew him saw him alone in his car with “another woman”.

I also believe de la Mare used the supernatural in the same way Murakami uses the surreal in his stories. The supernatural or surreal is not the main purpose of the story. It is simply a mechanism to make the character, and consequently the reader, sit up and see things from a different perspective.

The total awareness of a potential for scandal overruled everything in Mrs. Lawford’s reactions to her husband’s predicament. Her every thought was how this scandal would affect the family’s image in society. She was also worried about what would happen if the servants got to know the situation and let news slip to the outside world. At the end of the story, when she admits to knowing the person is actually her husband, she is determined to have him put away to avoid any scandal.

In relation to the characters, Herbert and Grisel, I was waiting to see if they were identified as being from another world. I have a recollection that Herbert said he knew Sabathier, but that could be my faulty recall. In addition, Grisel was familiar with the name Nicholas Sabathier, even to the extent of referring to Lawford by that name when returning from a walk, and, I believe, was in love with him. For these notions to be true Herbert and Grisel would need to be almost two hundred years old if I am not mistaken. This was never made totally clear in the novel, but there were hints that Herbert and Grisel’s home was not noticeable to people and that they were not known to tradespeople Lawford dealt with. I also wondered if the old woman Lawford encountered after having left Grisel on his way home, and then backtracking, was actually supposed to be Grisel in a form closer to her real existence, if real existence is the appropriate term to use.

I believe de la Mare wrote this story to highlight the false front everyone puts on and to wake people up to the beauty of life around them with the hope that they would be more themselves in their dealings with others. To this extent I think Herbert is the author’s voice in many respects. Grisel is too, but she, or possibly de la Mare presented this aspect of the story to highlight the discrepancy between real life and the everyday society life we all lead, is affected by social obligation as much as Lawford. When Grisel and Lawford finally admit to their loving one another both of them are convinced that the only solution is for them to part. “Must” becomes an absolute, despite what is happening to these people’s emotions.

Lawford’s change experience in The Return is used by de la Mare to trigger a mid-life crisis, as we would call it now. It triggered the awakening of the inner man asking why he is putting up with a mundane existence simply because he has become imprisoned in a world constrained by his familial situation, social expectations, even his face. De la Mare, through the medium of face, questions the identity of self, and how our outward facing face influences our place in society and to a great extent dictates how we spend our lives.

One thing that struck me as strange was Lawford’s relationship with his daughter. The language used between them was more akin to that of lovers rather than father and daughter. Is this a change in language usage over the past hundred years, or was de la Mare hinting at a more unhealthy relationship? Phrases such as, “…it will be our little secret...” and “…he kissed his daughter passionately…” would certainly make a modern reader think the latter.

Change is a significant point in this story and there is discussion of the idea that every event or experience or moment in time makes everyone a different person. I am not the same person I was last year, nor am the same person I will be in a year’s time. Daphne Du Maurier makes this same point in [Rebecca]. It is such a similar point I wonder if she ever read [The Return] or was influenced in any way by de la Mare. (More research.)

I must comment on humour. This book is sprinkled with funny phrases and circumstances. My copy is full of underlining. Some of the quotes I enjoyed are listed below.

On genius:
”…it’s Falstaff is the genius, and W.S. merely a talented reporter”

On government:
“Grisel sends all my hush-money to the horrible people that do the cleaning up, as it were. I can’t catch their drift Government to me is merely the spectacle of the clever, or the specious, managing the dull”

On facetiousness:
”Besides, just that kind of question was getting too common. Now that cleverness was the fashion most people were clever – even perfect fools; and cleverness after all was often only a bore: all head and no body.”

On thinking about life:
…that the more one thinks about life the worse it becomes.”

On reading:
”It’s a habit this beastly reading; this gorge and glint and fever allat second-hand – purely a bad habit, like morphia, like laudanum. But once in, you know there’s no recovery. Anyhow, I’m neck-deep, and to struggle would be simply to drown.”



I intend to read up on de la Mare’s life. Apart from his artistic qualities and work, I wonder what other personal experiences influenced his writing the Return. The story makes me wonder if he was simply trying to call the world to action and to be more aware of the beauty in the world, or if he was writing from personal experience. Certainly his work held very accurate thought patterns for anyone affected by a troubled relationship. ( )