Though the title “The Demon Lover”, suggests that the story is about a supernatural event, which is not the intention Elizabeth Bowen had in mind. From the beginning of the story until the end, Bowen captures and maintains the reader’s attention by throwing twists and turns into the story. She starts off by describing a gloomy and dark rainy day in Kensington London during World War II. Throughout the story, Bowen makes it clear on what her character is supposed to be like. For example, all the metaphors which are given to the reader throughout the story tell the reader that something is dark, painful, and hurtful. This perception is given because the character, Mrs. Kathleen Drover, is having a nervous breakdown during the story. Although Kathleen is having a nervous breakdown, it is important to figure out what led up to this and why she imagines the taxi driver dragging her off to Hell.
A lot leads up to the nervous breakdown that Mrs. Drover has once re-entering what was once her home, her sanctuary that has been destroyed by the Nazi bombings of World War II. The war alone was devastating, but the destruction it left in the place of Kathleen’s house was too much to handle as is seen when she has her nervous breakdown. When Kathleen first enters her decrepit home, she was “anxious to see how the house was”. This key word, anxiety, is…show more content… This is what detrimentally ruined her happiness. The war in London was destructive. The torment and the fear of being bombed constantly by the Nazis only led to anxiety and mental anguish. The anguish is described when the descriptions of the house are given. Some examples are the “bruise in the wallpaper” from the door handle or the “claw marks” left by the stored piano. Kathleen, was in a way, comparing her house’s destruction to her own mental
