Dr. Selgrove (All Souls')

Dr. Selgrove is a minor character who first appears in “All Souls’” when he is called by Sara Clayburn’s servants, after she breaks her ankle on All Souls’ Eve. He is from a fictional town called Norrington, the closest town to Sara Clayburn’s house. As it is natural for many doctors, he speaks politely, kindly and assuredly. Furthermore, he also appears competent because he instantly knows what to do regarding Sara’s ankle: ordering her to stay in bed and prohibiting her to move. He also seems to care about his patient’s well-being because he offers to send a nurse to keep company, because, in his opinion, Whitegates can be a “pretty lonely place.”[1] Sara however, rejects his offer and Dr. Selgrove promises that he will be back with the X-ray man two days later, on the following Monday morning.

However, Dr. Selgrove never again appears in person in the story. When Sara Clayburn is examined by the new doctor, the reader learns that Dr. Selgrove “[…] had been called away that morning to the bedside of an old patient in Baltimore […].”[2] But this is only the beginning of several reasons why he is not able to return. Sara Clayburn, however, desperately awaits his return, not because the new doctor is incompetent, but because he is the only one who can prove that thirty-six hours have passed between his departure from Whitegates and the arrival of the new doctor; making him the only one capable of verifying that something otherworldly is occurring at Whitegates. But then he “[…] had been taken suddenly ill in Baltimore, and would not be back for several days […].”[3] Following this, we learn that his illness was prolonged, and, after his recovery, he went on a West Indian cruise until spring. After Sara’s cousin questioned the new doctor about what Dr. Selgrove told him about Sara Clayburn, he told him/her that is was only a brief note which said “Broken ankle. Have X-rayed.”[4] Moreover, Dr. Selgrove was called to Switzerland for the summer. This is an important reason why Sara Clayburn decided to drop the topic about the mysterious incident and not to question her servants anymore.

Dr. Selgrove is, therefore, a minor character in “All Souls’,” who initially treats Sara Clayburn after her accident and therefore becomes a potential, though absent, witness to the mysterious events at Whitegates. However, he disappears for numerous reasons and never appears again, helping to create an unnerving atmosphere within the story.

[1] Edith Wharton, “All Souls’,” in: The Demanding Dead – More Stories of Terror and the Supernatural, ed. Peter Haining (London: Peter Owen Publishers, 2007), 187.

[2] Ibid., 199.

[3] Ibid., 201.

[4] Ibid.