December 1990 Issue [Fiction] Ladies and gentlemen Download PDF Adjust Share by Joyce Carol Oates, This article is only available as a PDF to subscribers. Download PDF Tags 20th century Fiction Ocean travel Parent and adult child United States More from Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates In “The Return,” Joyce Carol Oates’s story for the latest issue of Harper’s Magazine, a woman visits an old friend whose husband has recently died, only to discover that the… The Return My friend was a widow, not really old but already a widow twice. You think of Oscar Wilde’s wisecrack. To lose one husband may be regarded as a misfortune, to… Detour Too early for spring, you couldn’t trust such blinding-white sunshine in mid-March. And the smell of damp earth thawing, reviving—too soon. Abigail was feeling light-headed. Unreal. A seismic sensation, as… Adjust Share