D.H. Lawrence’s short story “The Blind Man,” published in his 1922 collection, England, My England, concerns a war veteran who returns home to his wife after being blinded in combat. The Blind Man’ is a delicate study of a loving relationship blighted by the man’s blindness and disfigurement in the first world war. The arrival of an old friend of the woman brings into the open feelings and fears previously suppressed.
Two men who are not very fond of one another and opposites in almost every way are brought together by their affection for the same woman. Isabel is the 30-year-old wife of Maurice Pervin and the longtime friend of Bertie Reid. While fighting in Flanders during World War I, Maurice is blinded and sustains a disfiguring facial scar. He also has episodes of major depression. Maurice and Isabel have become socially isolated since his injury. Although their first child died in infancy, Isabel is pregnant again and due to deliver soon.
Bertie, a bachelor and barrister, pays a visit. The three of them enjoy dinner together. Afterwards, Maurice becomes restless and leaves the house. When Bertie goes out to check on him, he finds Maurice in the barn. The blind man asks Bertie for permission to touch him. With one hand, Maurice examines Bertie’s skull, face, and arm. He then asks Bertie to touch his useless eyes and awful scar. Without warning, Maurice places his hand on top of Bertie’s fingers, which still rest upon the maimed face. The experience is a revelation for both men. Maurice suddenly understands the splendor of friendship while Bertie realizes how much he fears intimacy.
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