# Sanity and Madness in The Return

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

The book constantly questions the boundary between sanity and madness, as Lawford fears for his own mental state while others debate whether he is ill, possessed, or simply delusional.

## Where it surfaces

- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/i): Lawford questions his own sanity as he struggles to understand the transformation and his wife accuses him of being mad.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/iii): Lawford desperately fears for his sanity, pleading 'my sanity, my sanity' and stating he would rather die than go mad.
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/iv): Lawford hears voices, considers his thoughts as insanity, and experiences a surge of indignation, teetering on the edge of mental breakdown.
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/vi): Lawford questions his own sanity, wondering if his transformation is a delusion, and fears being seen as a lunatic.
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/vii): Lawford questions his own sanity, considers hallucination and influenza as explanations, and experiences a sinister presence.
- [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/viii): Lawford's internal conflict and his craving for the graveyard suggest a struggle with sanity; Sheila fears he is acting 'mad' and 'criminal.'
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xi): Lawford questions his own sanity, and Sheila and others treat his condition as a mental disturbance, blurring the line between reality and delusion.
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xii): Lawford fears he is going insane, but Herbert argues that his self-awareness proves otherwise, exploring the boundary between sanity and madness.
- [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xiv): Sheila accuses Lawford of madness, while Lawford describes himself as 'possessed,' blurring the line between mental illness and supernatural influence.
- [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xv): Lawford's descent into a hallucinatory state, his fear of madness, and his struggle to maintain rational thought are central to the chapter.
- [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xvii): The chapter explores the boundary between imagination and reality, as Herbert suggests Lawford's transformation is a product of self-hypnosis and delusion.
- [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xviii): Lawford fears his sanity is in question, and Grisel and Herbert's concern for his mental state is a subtext throughout the chapter.
- [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xx): Lawford's struggle with fragmented memories and his fear of being thought insane dominate the chapter.
- [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_se/chapters/xxii): Danton's insistence on Lawford's insanity and the plan to commit him reflect the tension between rational explanations and the uncanny.

## Links

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