In "The Demon Lover," a story unfolds rich in literary artistry, woven together through intricate style and technique. The narrative employs a blend of third-person omniscient narration and strategically placed shifts to first-person perspective to delve into the inner world of its protagonist, Mrs. Drover. Through a carefully constructed setting and layers of symbolism, the story illuminates themes of war, memory, and psychological distress, culminating in a haunting narrative that draws on gothic elements to leave a lasting impact.

Point of View

The narrative technique in "The Demon Lover" predominantly utilizes a third-person omniscient point of view, offering readers a comprehensive vantage point that transcends time and place. This perspective allows for an intimate exploration of Mrs. Drover's thoughts and emotions, as the story frequently shifts to her first-person perspective to amplify the intensity of her internal turmoil. These transitions create a dynamic narrative rhythm, enabling readers to engage directly with her psychological state as she confronts past and present fears.

Setting

The setting in "The Demon Lover" plays a crucial role in shaping the story's eerie and suspenseful atmosphere. The narrative unfolds within a house scarred by wartime bombings, its structural cracks mirroring the fragility of Mrs. Drover’s mental state. Positioned on a deserted street on a stiflingly humid day, the setting becomes a character in its own right, with a mysterious draft from the basement and the relentless ticking of the clock underscoring the tension. Set against the backdrop of World War II London during the Blitz, the story draws parallels between past and present conflicts, as Mrs. Drover's thoughts drift back to the First World War, blurring the lines between the two.

Symbolism

Symbolism is intricately woven throughout "The Demon Lover," with the damaged house reflecting the protagonist's frayed mental state. The relentless pressures of wartime have compromised both the structural integrity of the house and Mrs. Drover's psyche. The story's pivotal moment, a letter inexplicably signed with the initial "K," symbolizes her repressed wartime memories and the haunting presence of her former lover, a World War I soldier. This mysterious figure emerges as a symbol of war itself—faceless, yet omnipresent, promising to return. As Mrs. Drover grapples with these resurfacing memories, the draft escaping from the basement and her screams upon encountering the taxi driver—whom she perceives as her demon lover—underscore her psychological unravelling and war's enduring grip on her subconscious.

Gothicism

The narrative taps into gothic literary traditions, particularly the motif of the demon lover—a spectral figure returning to exact a promise from his unfaithful lover. The soldier's vow to reunite with Kathleen echoes through the narrative, haunting Mrs. Drover as she struggles to recall his visage. Gothic elements are further reinforced by the story’s ominous tone and the implication that the taxi driver embodies the demon lover, whisking her away to an uncertain fate. This blending of personal memory with broader historical trauma enriches the storytelling, leaving readers to ponder the boundaries between reality and psychological distress.

"The Demon Lover" by Elizabeth Bowen offers a fascinating reinterpretation of the age-old folk legend about a lover's return from the grave to reclaim his promised bride. The story adheres to this traditional narrative, with the character K. resurrecting from the dead to remind Kathleen of the vow she made a quarter-century ago. As the tale unfolds, a haunting taxi ride through an ethereal cityscape symbolizes this spectral reunion, suggesting Kathleen must fulfill her morbid promise. Yet, while this supernatural interpretation captivates, it barely scratches the surface of Bowen's nuanced storytelling.

Within the wider context of Bowen's 1945 collection, The Demon Lover, which scrutinizes the domestic repercussions of war, the story assumes a deeper thematic resonance. Bowen, in her postscript to the collection, encapsulates the core theme: "life, mechanized by the control of war-time . . . emotionally torn and impoverished by change." "The Demon Lover" thus transcends its ghostly premise to explore the psychological turmoil wrought by war's relentless havoc on the home front. Here, the once-dormant emotions stirred by the earlier conflict erupt anew under the strain of a subsequent war, leading to Kathleen's intense psychological distress. This reading presents the narrative as a poignant depiction of a nervous breakdown, precipitated by the incessant pressure and transformation imposed by wartime conditions.

Bowen’s narrative diverges from typical wartime literature, which often centers on the battlefield's direct confrontations. Instead, she offers a compelling glance at the invisible scars borne by civilians, highlighting the mental and emotional erosion experienced by those ostensibly removed from the front lines. By focusing on these less visible yet profound effects of war, Bowen enriches the traditional elements of the folk legend with a modern exploration of trauma and the enduring impact of conflict on the psyche.

World War II and the Blitzkrieg

The short story collection The Demon Lover and Other Stories (1945), which was released in America as Ivy Gripped the Steps and Other Stories (1946), was composed between 1941 and 1944. During this time, Bowen was employed in London at the Ministry of Information during the day and served as an air-raid warden at night. She experienced the height of the German air raids on London during World War II firsthand. Starting on September 8, 1944, bombs with nearly one-ton warheads began raining down on London, and later that year, the V-2 (revenge weapon 2) bombs also started falling. More than a thousand of these bombs struck Britain, resulting in over 2,700 deaths and 6,500 injuries.

The setting of “The Demon Lover” is the deserted streets of London, abandoned by its residents due to the destruction of their homes.

Against the next batch of clouds, already piling up ink-dark, broken chimneys and parapets stood out. In her once familiar street, as in any unused channel, an unfamiliar queerness had silted up: a cat wove itself in and out of railings, but no human eye watched Mrs. Drover’s return. . . .  The door . . . had warped . . . [and] dead air came out to meet her as she went in.

The atmosphere is foreboding as she cautiously ascends the darkened stairs and opens the bedroom door. Unlike other houses, hers has only minor damage, allowing her to open a window even during the blackout conditions at night.

The reader is spared the noise of the V-2s since she does not stay there at night, but the silence of the empty streets is “so intense—one of those creeks of London silence exaggerated this summer by the damage of war.” Understanding the broader historical context of both World Wars is essential to grasping the story’s depth.

World War I

The soldier-lover from World War I is central to Mrs. Drover’s mental state. He remains vividly etched in her memory twenty-five years later, although she cannot recall his face. He had been on leave from France when he vowed to return to her “sooner or later,” regardless of his fate. She believed he was going far away, but the French battlefields were relatively close to England. She recalls how his sharp uniform buttons cut her hand and how she looked at him as if he were already a ghost.

Douglas A. Hughes, in his article “Cracks in the Psyche: Elizabeth Bowen’s ‘The Demon Lover’,” published in the Fall 1993 issue of Studies in Short Fiction, contends that Mrs. Drover experiences a mental breakdown after her fiancé is declared missing in action. “A pledge of binding love—not at all uncommon among young lovers—exchanged with her fiancé before he returned to the trenches became, after his death and her subsequent derangement, a ‘sinister troth’ and he himself became a cold, ominous figure in her imagination.” Hughes asserts that she never fully recovers from this trauma, though she manages to marry and live cautiously. The house and the letter provoke the resurfacing of Mrs. Drover’s repressed memories and her experiences from World War I. As the letter-writer notes, “nothing has changed.” War appears to escalate, and Mrs. Drover finds herself unable to cope mentally. By layering the psychological strain of two world wars within a single generation, Bowen imposes an immensely heavy burden on her protagonist.

"The Demon Lover" was adapted for a radio broadcast on August 27, 1946, with Evelyn Russell as the reader.

On January 10, 1974, "The Demon Lover" was produced again from the original adaptation for Radio 4 in Bristol, England.

Sources

Farrelly, John, "The Art of Elizabeth Bowen," in New York Times Book Review, April 7, 1946, pp. 1, 37.

Green, James L., and George O’Brien, "Elizabeth Bowen," in Critical Survey of Short Fiction, edited by Frank N. Magill, pp. 261–8. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1993.

May, Charles E., "'The Demon Lover,' by Elizabeth Bowen, 1945," Reference Guide to Short Fiction, edited by Noelle Watson, pp. 688–9. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994.

Stern, James, "War and Peace," in New Republic, April 29, 1946, pp. 628–630.

Further Reading

Austin, Allan E., Elizabeth Bowen, Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1989, p. 100.
A comprehensive study of Bowen’s life and works, including a chapter on her short stories, providing literary and historical context.

Book Review Digest, 1946, pp. 83–84.
This entry includes excerpts from contemporary reviews of Bowen’s short story collection, in which "The Demon Lover" was first published.

Partridge, A. C., "Language and Identity in the Shorter Fiction of Elizabeth Bowen," in Irish Writers and Society at Large, Irish Literary Studies 22, edited by Masaru Sekine, Colin Smythe & Barnes and Noble, 1985, pp. 169–80.
This article contrasts Bowen’s short fiction with that of Henry James. It references the collection The Demon Lover and Other Stories but does not specifically analyze the title story.