# Isolation and Alienation in The Return

> Theme guide for The Return by Walter de la Mare.

Lawford experiences profound isolation from his wife, daughter, and community due to his altered appearance, highlighting the loneliness of being misunderstood and the fear of being deemed insane.

## Where it surfaces

- [Epigraph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/epigraph): The epigraph advises avoiding proximity to corruption, suggesting a need for separation from harmful influences.
- [The Return](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/the-return): Lawford's inability to convince Sheila of his identity deepens his alienation.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/i): Lawford feels detached from his wife and his former life, wandering alone in the churchyard and later locked in his room.
- [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/ii): Lawford feels utterly alone as Sheila disbelieves him and he is locked in his room.
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/iv): Lawford sits alone in a locked room, feeling the emptiness of the well-furnished space and the complete separation from his former life.
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/vi): Lawford feels cut off from his past and family, wandering alone on the common and contemplating flight.
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/vii): Lawford feels alienated from his family, especially after Alice's fearful reaction.
- [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/viii): Lawford feels trapped in his room and longs for solitude in the graveyard, alienated from his family and his former self.
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/ix): Lawford feels more at home among the dead than among the living; Sabathier is described as a stranger kept out by the community.
- [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/x): Lawford feels isolated by his condition and alienated from his wife and friends, who treat him with suspicion or pity.
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xi): Lawford feels isolated from his family, especially Alice, and is alienated by his own appearance and the disbelief of others.
- [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xiii): Lawford feels profoundly alone and afraid, but finds a momentary connection with Grisel who understands his fear.
- [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xv): Lawford is left alone in the house after his family and servants flee, and he experiences profound isolation, both physically and psychologically.
- [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xvi): Lawford feels 'friendless and foreboding ennui' in his solitude, and describes himself as an 'outcast from decent society.'
- [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xvii): Lawford feels detached and weary, describing his body as an 'old grinning tenement' and struggling to connect with others' perceptions of his change.
- [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xviii): Lawford feels estranged from his former self and from others, struggling to articulate his experience and find a place.
- [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xix): Lawford feels like a stranger in his own home, and the empty house mirrors his inner desolation.
- [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xx): Lawford feels profoundly alone, even among friends, as his mind drifts into inaccessible memories.
- [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xxi): Lawford feels like an outcast and a felon, mocked by the world and unable to return to his former life.
- [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xxii): Lawford's hidden presence and his feeling of being trapped in a 'poor play' underscore his alienation from his own life and family.
- [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xxiii): Lawford's profound sense of loneliness and detachment from reality is central, as he sits in the dark and feels like a spectator in his own life.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/themes/isolation_and_alienation
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/themes