“THE DEMON LOVER” By Elizabeth Bowen. “THE DEMON LOVER” Allusion English Ballad English...

“THE DEMON LOVER”

By Elizabeth Bowen

“THE DEMON LOVER”Allusion

• English Ballad

• Absent lover

• Intervening

marriage• Desertion upon lover’s return

“THE DEMON LOVER”Setting and

Mood• PRESENT• Month and year: August, 1941• War: London Blitz WWII• House with cracks on a deserted street• Weather: Humid, sunny day interrupted by rain

• PAST• August 1916, WWI

“THE DEMON LOVER”Setting and

Mood• Shut-up house• Steamy, showery day• Humid, yellow, afternoon sun• Batch of clouds…ink-dark• Broken chimney• Cat wove itself • No human eye watcher Mrs. Drover’s return

“THE DEMON LOVER”Setting and

MoodDeath and Decay

• War destroyed London - blitz

• Buildings and silence

• Abandoned

• Lives lost

“THE DEMON LOVER”Flashback &

Foreshadowing• Fiancé left for war and went missing

• Letter signed “K” from fiancé • Fiancé alive• Indicates she might have to confront him

• She broke promise

“THE DEMON LOVER”PoV

3rd Person OmniscientGod-like perspective not

restricted to time and placeSwitches to 1st person – why?

“THE DEMON LOVER”Protagonist

Mrs. Kathleen Drover• Age: • 44 years old

• Family: • husband, 3 boys, sister

• Physical appearance• Thin from wartime rations

Stability and dependability

Completely unnerved by the

letter

“THE DEMON LOVER”Symbolism

Structurally unsound HOUSE• Wartime damage• Mrs. Drover’s PSYCHE is damaged by war• Muscular flicker on the side of her

mouth

• Lost husband, displaced family

• Letter and taxi – exist??

“THE DEMON LOVER”Symbolism

The CLOCK• Passage of time

• Importance of time

• WWI – peace – WWII

“THE DEMON LOVER”SymbolismThe LETTER

• Signed by “K” – her own initial

• WWII triggers repressed memories of WWI –

lover

• Cannot remember lover’s face (may be

Everyman)

• War is a DEMON that lingers over her

“THE DEMON LOVER”Symbolism

The TAXI and the DRIVER• Knows where to take her• Heaven (save) or Hell (torture)• Can’t escape from taxi…WAR

• Driver• Only sees his face • Can’t remember face of fiancé• Does it/he exist??• Who do you think it is??

“THE DEMON LOVER”Themes

Appearance vs. Reality• Similar to “The Necklace”

Heaven vs. Hell

Sanity vs. Insanity

“THE DEMON LOVER”Themes

Death vs. Life – surviving the war

War vs. Peace – after WWI• War disrupts Drover’s family• Takes her fiancé• Internal war of lover returning• War or driver cause her to scream in

taxi?

“THE DEMON LOVER”

By Elizabeth Bowen

Does she see the visage of her fiancé?

OR

Does she have an emotional and psychological breakdown?