Elizabeth Bowen's The Demon Lover

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“The Demon Lover”
“The Demon Lover” written by Elizabeth Bowen was published in 1945. Elizabeth Bowen after having experienced the blitz and aerial bombardment herself, wrote a short story entitled “Demon Lover”. The short story was written during the time of WWII, where the main character named Mrs. Kathleen Drover returns to her old home. Mrs. Drover has not been back to this home since she and others had to evacuate during WWI. While walking through her former home, Kathleen finds herself flash-backing to a time when she lived in the home and of memories lost from many years prior. Kathleen finds a letter from her lover who had gone off to fight in the war and never returned. After reading the letter Kathleen seemed to need to rush from the home. Kathleen gets into a cab, and screams immediately when …show more content…

The short story leaves you unaware of what truly happened to Kathleen, and if the memories had caused her to go a little mad. “Remembering the effects of World War I, people in London were overwhelmed by the events of WWII”. (Encyclopedia) By setting a Gothic story “The Demon Lover”, the author explores real fears or anxieties about war.
The setting of the story “Demon Lover” takes place amiss WWII and depicts the effects of two wars on the main characters Kathleen Drover’s home. Due to WWI and the current setting in WWII, the buildings are described as having broken chimneys and parapets. “At the moment the trees down the pavement glittered in an escape of humid yellow afternoon sun.” (Bowen) The street where Kathleen once lived on seemed familiar to her and yet it was strange. There seemed to be no one in the homes and a lonely cat could be seen wandering on a railing. Kathleen Drover describes the scent when first entering

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