“Mrs. Drover’s mouth hung open for some seconds before she could issue her first scream” (Bowen, 1162). Set in London during World War II, “The Demon Lover” is a suspenseful story about a woman whose former fiancé, whom she previously assumed was dead, has come back for her twenty-five years later. In “The Demon Lover,” the author, Elizabeth Bowen uses various literary techniques that include imagery and mood, character development, and mood/tone to convey the suspenseful and mysterious mood and (spirit/feeling) of the story. The literary techniques of imagery and mood were used to promote a feeling of suspense and mystery in “The Demon Lover.” “It was late August; it had been a steamy showery day: at the moment the trees down the …show more content…
This piece of evidence also uses imagery and mood to create this feeling of suspense and to in a way foreshadow what is to come. Character development played a major part in “The Demon Lover,” in that, it caused the reader to better understand both the main character and the story. It did this by, in this case, showing the reader that the character had not changed, thus causing the reader to feel like they had a better connection to the main character. “She had been anxious to see how the house was—the part-time caretaker she shared with some neighbors was away this week on his holiday, known to be not yet back. At the best of times he did not look in often, and she was never sure that she trusted him” (Bowen, 1159). Nothing has really happened yet in the story, the author is just describing the scene, mood, and character before any major development. This evidence shows character development because it shows the main character’s natural mindset and attitude before any major events have happened. This literary technique helps the audience to understand that the main character has for the most part stayed the same. Specifically, this piece of evidence displays character development because it shows that Kathleen is an anxious and worried woman. This is important to the story because it later allows the readers to realize that Kathleen undergoes virtually no character development
Zacharias’s “The Extraordinary Flight of heroism the occasion demanded of me.’: Fantasy and Confession in The Turn of the Screw” describes the actions and the apparitions in the novella as a part of the governess’s anxieties and how they are the symbol which resemble the execution of her job. The readers first get an understanding of how fantasy is her coping mechanism when she first has troubles dealing with the job. As Zacharias puts it, “the fantasy relieves the anxiety she feels from feelings of inadequacy for the very fulfillment of the master’s expectations” (321). Zacharias then moves the audience towards the fact that the fantasy can also be the cause for anxiety, which is the intriguing aspect I would like to focus on.
Therefore, the foreshadowing in the story creates suspense for both the characters and the readers.
The events in Elisabeth Bower's 'The Demon Lover'; can be explained naturally. The story being as vague as it is leads most to concur with the title of the story and imagine that there is a supernatural aspect in the story. In the short story, Kathleen has returned to her home in London that has been abandoned during the bombing of World War II. She is not expected, yet she finds a letter addressed to her on a table in the hallway. Twenty-five years has past since the leaving of her former lover during World War I. Kathleen's lover is had been presumed dead after months of being missing in action and she has moved on. She is now married to a William Dover and living the countryside with her immediate
In the “Demon Lover”, Elizabeth Bowen uses foreshadowing, flashback, and point of view to convey a story of a young woman haunted by her pass. In the short story The Demon Lover, Mrs. Drover returns to her home to collect some personal belongings during the aftermath of a recent bombing, while gathering things she finds a letter and thinks of her long-dead fiancé. This causes for questions to rise. Imagery, flashback, and point of view are all used to convey the story of The Demon Lover by Elizabeth Bowen.
When she was nineteen she made a promise to her fiancé, who her mother claimed "was set on her, not in love." A couple months after he left for war he was reported missing and presumed dead. At thirty two she met and married her current husband and had children. Now, it seems that the demon wants his "fiancé" to keep her promise. Bowen may have chosen to give her the last name of Drover, because a drover is someone who herds animals to market and it seems as though her fate will meet the same demise as the demon takes her away. Mrs. Drovers internal conflict occurred when she did not come through on the promise that she made and now, it seem she can not even recall what the promise was. She is faced with an external conflict as well because she will no longer have her family. She is in the hands of a demon. The third person objective point of view forces the reader to conclude for themself what is really happening. We can not hear her thoughts so it is impossible to know if she really remembers this "so-called promise." The two main elements that really work together to make this story felt by the reader are setting and language. The excellent use of literal imagery evokes the readers senses and sends a chilling feeling of suspense and terror down the spine, thus, creating the perfect setting. A sense of uneasiness is created
It is a well known fact that Edgar Allan Poe‘s stories are famous for producing horror or terror in his readers beyond description. However, it is one of this essay’s attempts to precisely describe these two characteristics present in The pit and the pendulum and The black cat. Horror may be defined as “the feeling of revulsion that usually occurs after something frightening is seen, heard, or otherwise experienced. It is the feeling one gets after coming to an awful realization or experiencing a deeply unpleasant occurrence.” On the contrary terror is described as “the feeling of dread and anticipation that precedes the horrifying experience” These two concepts are thought to be crucial when analyzing Poe’s writings. It is going to be
Foreshadowing is a vital ingredient to any suspenseful story. It hints at the idea that something is off-kilter, without ever revealing exactly what that something is. This leaves readers with an uneasy feeling about the plot, but they can’t quite figure out why. Because of that suspicious feeling, readers are left with a burning desire to find out what happens on the next page. Foreshadowing can be achieved many different ways, such as through eree names, unpleasant conversations, and odd occurrences.
The battle with love is a major struggle to even the most pure souls. The obsessive nature controlling ones mind can cause people to act in demonic ways. In Demon Lover written by Elizabeth Bowen, the author portrays the short story in a setting surrounded by distress and chaos. The gloomy background followed the protagonist Kathleen Drover throughout the entire story, portraying her twisted fate. Like this story, the Scottish ballad of Demon Lover, whose author is unknown, had the protagonist in a similar predicament. The stories relate in the same plot and some of the main similarities include that both women were being stalked and hunted down, both women had families away kept away from their ex lovers, and both women end up with their lovers
Many people read for some sort emotion the words invoke. Whether it is joy, sadness, fear, or anticipation, readers love being able to feel the emotions the characters feel without actually going through the same experiences. This is especially true for horror and suspense stories. Elizabeth Bowen’s short story “The Demon Lover” is able to invoke a lot of emotion through different literary elements, which is why it is so popular. Elements such as point of view, suspense, and foreshadowing really put the readers on the edge of their seats.
Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, sets a tone that is dark, gloomy, and threatening. His inclusion of highly descriptive words and various forms of figurative language enhance the story’s evil nature, giving the house and its inhabitants eerie and “supernatural” qualities. Poe’s effective use of personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, and doubling create a morbid tale leading to, and ultimately causing, the fall of (the house of) Usher.
The main themes of Edgar Allan Poe’s works are death, perversity, revenge and destruction. The settings he employed in the given short stories, especially in The Fall of the House of Usher and The Black Cat are Gothic. Therefore, naturally the mood of these stories would be dark and sepulchral. However, this is not a trivial employment undertaken to put the reader in a certain kind of zone.
Foreshadowing and characterization express the emotions that are yet to come as well as the people that have been introduced and yet to be
“‘Watch out!” screamed Maggie. Suddenly the road took a sharp turn, and a huge oak tree loomed in my headlights”(Shusterman 39). When Neal Shusterman uses suspense it’s usually in a way that would probably end badly. He loves to try and hook the reader with suspense, so then the readers would want to keep reading that same book. As evidence in Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman and “The Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser, suspense can be effectively created through the use of imagery.
“The Demon Lover” by Elizabeth Bowen is a short story that takes place during World War II in London, England. The main character, Mrs. Drover travels by herself to the bombed city to return to her boarded-up house. While gathering belongings, Mrs. Drover notices particular and out of place that begins to haunt her. The reader witnesses her mental state deteriorate as she begins dreaming of safety. The use of vivid imagery and flashbacks in “The Demon Lover” by Elizabeth Bowen develops the mysterious and paranoid mood throughout the piece of literature.
As the tale begins we immediately can sympathize with the repressive plight of the protagonist. Her romantic imagination is obvious as she describes the "hereditary estate" (Gilman, Wallpaper 170) or the "haunted house" (170) as she would like it to be. She tells us of her husband, John, who "scoffs" (170) at her romantic sentiments and is "practical to the extreme" (170). However, in a time