Demon Lover: Comparison Of Same Named Stories

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The Demon Lover A Comparison of the Two Stories Weighted Comparison In Elizabeth Bowen’s “The Demon Lover” Mrs. Drover made a promise with her fiancé to meet him at a specific date at a specific time. The poem “The Demon Lover” by an anonymous writer also center’s around this subject. Mrs. Dover tries to remember his face but cannot for the life of her remember it. Years pass and the man returns to Drover, only to find that she has already married and had kids. The story ends as the man’s face is revealed to her and she is whisked away in a car to her apparent demise. Although the fiancé’s identity in the story seems to be a mystery, evidence suggests that the fiancé is a demon. The story open’s as Mrs. Drover is gathering things from her old house. She finds a note addressed to her from her fiancé, who was lost in a war twenty-five years ago. She remembers back to the last time she saw him under a tree where the darkness hid his features. In the darkness “… she imagined spectral glitters in the place of his eyes” (1408 Bowen). The fact that she didn’t see his face but saw supernatural phenomenon in place of his eyes suggest he is not quite human. As she reads the letter, she tries to remember her former fiancé’s features but “…under no conditions could she remember his face” (1410 Bowen). Near the end the taxi she found turned before said where she wanted to go. It seemed as if the taxi driver knew exactly where she wanted to go. The fact that she couldn’t remember the face of a man she was to marry suggests that something supernatural was involved. While the mysterious man is making his promise he presses he hand “… painfully on to one of the breast buttons on his uniform” (1408 Bowen). This scene shows that the fiancé does not care whether his bride to be is hurt or not. Lack of concern for others well-being is a trademark of the classic demons in
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