May 2002 Issue [Fiction] The skull Download PDF Adjust Share by Joyce Carol Oates, This article is only available as a PDF to subscribers. Download PDF 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