El rostro ajeno

The Face of Another
The Face of Another (1966) is both a psychological study and an existential allegory. The protagonist is again a scientist, "the section head of a respectable laboratory," whose face has been disfigured in a chemical explosion. This disfigurement creates a rift between the scientist and everyone he encounters --particularly his wife. The source of this rift is due less to others' repulsion at his face than to the scientist's self-disgust, both physically and mentally.
The destruction of his face triggers in the protagonist a debate of his essential worth. The logical steps linking the face and self-worth is as follows: the scientist acknowledges that he is being treated differently due to his face. As an intellectual he believes that his work, and not his exterior appearance, are of primary importance. However, since those around him base their reactions to him on his face, perhaps his works are of lesser importance than his appearance; perhaps his works are altogether worthless, perhaps he himself is worthless. This self-abnegation also widens the chasm growing between himself and his wife.
In creating a mask, so life-like that it could not be detected by an intent viewer, the scientist attempts to re-enter a meaningful life through the use of an external artifice. From an existential point of view, this attempt is obviously doomed to failure, since no external means could possibly overcome the inherent isolation of the individual. All the same, the mask is created, primarily to recapture the affection of his wife. The scientist writes to his wife, "Under any circumstances, I simply did not want to lose you. To lose you would be symbolic of losing the world." In his creation of the mask, he resorts to all the tools at his disposal. He provides an algebraic formula for the commitment to others based on age and "viscosity" of self. In selecting the specific visage for the mask, he consults psychological classifications which relate facial structure to personality. In determining which expressions the mask ought to make, he creates a list of 12 expressions, assigning each a percentage importance, i.e. abhorrence 6%, concern 3%, doubt 5%.... In presenting emotion in The Face of Another, it is not enough for the scientist to be lonely. On the contrary, he must admit to himself his loneliness, dissect it in order to ascertain its causes, and ultimately belittle himself for it. He writes, "Surely I have made to much of my loneliness. I thought my loneliness greater than all of mankind's combined."