Review of “Seaton’s Aunt” by Walter de la Mare: Halloween Countdown

For October 24

Plot:

In exchange for a lavish treat, the narrator, Withers, agrees to spend a holiday with an unpopular boy, Arthur Seaton. Seaton appears “yellow” in color, with “slow chocolate-coloured eyes, and lean weak figure.” Because of his appearance, “most… true-blue Englishmen” treat him with condescension, hostility, or contempt.

A day or two before the holiday, Seaton reminds his reluctant houseguest of his promise to stay with him. “My aunt expects you. She’s sure to be quite decent to you.”

When they arrive at Arthur’s home, Miss Seaton greets them and tells Withers (whose name she often mistakes), “Come in, Mr. Withers, and bring him [that is, Arthur] along with you.”

She serves them an extravagant lunch, asking questions about her nephew, such as, “And is Arthur a good boy at school, Mr. Wither [sic]?”

Arthur eats mostly almonds and raisins.

That night, Withers is awakened by a terrified Arthur, warning him about the watchers and that his aunt knows everything he does. Withers dismisses these tales. Arthur insists his aunt barely sleeps. She’s in league with the devil.

To humor him, Withers agrees to sneak with Arthur into his aunt’s bedroom. The room is empty, but before they can leave, they hear her coming and quickly hide in the closet. After she falls asleep, they crawl back to bed. Arthur is beside himself.

They return to school the next day and never speak of the incident. Arthur leaves the school not much later.

They meet twice again as adults, the last time when Arthur is engaged

Thoughts:

This is a strange, sad little story. De la Mare weaves an air of menace around the aunt. At the same time, it’s easy to dismiss—as Withers does—that it was all schoolboy nonsense. At one point, Arthur says that his aunt “as good as killed” his mother. Is there any truth to that? The reader doesn’t know. By the end of the story, it’s credible, but no evidence is ever offered.

Miss Seaton offers sardonic comments, calling Withers “Mr.” when it’s unwarranted and seeking his evaluation of her nephew as if he were an adult. Later, she plays sentimental music for the engaged couple but with a sarcastic tinge.

The horror here is subtle, making the reader uncomfortable, as if things are off-kilter. The aunt’s hatred and abuse of her nephew are real but intangible. No one sees the harm, so it’s easy to disbelieve what Arthur says. After all, he’s not hurting for pocket money, is he?

Some details are not given at the end of the story, but they were never the point. The point, IMseldomHO, had to deal with Withers’ actions or inaction.

To the 21st-century reader, it might appear to meander, but it is nicely told.

Bio: Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) was a prolific UK poet and writer. He wrote hundreds of poems and more than 100 short stories. He wrote sophisticated fantasy and fairy tales for children and ghost and horror stories for adults. H. P. Lovecraft admired his writing. Notable among his works are the novel The Return and the short story collection Eight Tales.


This story can be read here:

This story can be listened to here: (1:19:04)


Title: “Seaton’s Aunt”
Author: Walter de la Mare (1873-1956)
First published: The London Mercury, April 1922
Length: novelette