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Monday, May 9, 2011

Term Paper on Demon Lover

Research Paper on The Demon Lover

Many people think that the events and the language in "The Demon Lover" make it a classic ghost story but I am not sure that it really is a ghost story at all. Elizabeth Bowen's setting builds an eerie atmosphere and lots of suspense by drawing on concepts, images, and actions that I associate with being afraid. She begins the story by using some descriptions to set the scene. You can imagine what is looks like because of the depth of the description given. This description of the setting kind of seems a bit spooky especially with the comment about "no human eye watching her return." It could mean that maybe she is dead and that's why no human eye is watching her because they can't see her because she is a ghost or it could just mean that the only things watching her were animals. I think the interpretation depends on the reader. Some people will take it to be scary while others will not. I was not afraid after reading it but I was taken in and I wanted to read on. I think that's what a good setting will do for an author. It makes the person reading want to continue on because they cannot wait to find out what happens next.
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The story continues with night is falling, dark clouds are in the air and there's a rain shower. Mrs. Drover has trouble opening the door and the lock is stubborn. She is returning to her home in London that was abandoned during the bombing of World War II. From the setting, it seems that the house is empty and none is expecting her, yet she finds a letter addressed to her on a table in the hallway. She stops "dead" in the hallway when she sees a mysterious letter that has somehow been placed in the locked house.

She is annoyed by the fact that the caretaker has been so sloppy that he never delivered it to her but then after reading the letter her lips go white with fear. The letter is dated that day and she determines after reading it that it is from her former lover who she hasn't seen in twenty-five years. He was a soldier during World War I who went off to fight and he had been presumed dead after months of being missing in action. It took a long time but she finally met someone else and got on with her life. She is now married to William Dover and is living in the countryside with her immediate family. The former lover is purposefully kept mysterious. He was missing and presumed dead, but had said to Mrs. Drover "I shall be with you sooner or later. You won't forget that. You need do nothing but wait." He is implying that nothing, including his death, could stop this event from occurring. His name is not given, his face can not be remembered, and it is unknown when the "hour arranged" to meet is, so you get the impression that something could happen at any time. These are examples of how the author sets the scene by using all of descriptions of things that make us imagine a setting that is frightening. You would not want to be in this situation.

Mrs. Drover seems to almost snap back to the current time when she first remembers that the reason she came to the house was to get some specific belongings to bring back to her husband, her little boys and her sister. The setting and descriptions make her seem very calm, so although at this point, the story is a bit frightening, the fact that she is so rationale points you in the opposite direction. The setting, again, changes the mood of the story at that point in time. Just when you thought it was over, Elizabeth Bowen strikes again. This setting really got me going because I figured the mystery man would pop out right about now, but instead, Mrs. Drover gathers up her belongings and runs to the taxi stand. The taxi line has only one cab and no one is waiting for it. As she approaches the cab, "without looking round the driver started the engine".

Just as she gets to the door of the taxi, the clock strikes seven. Seven o'clock must have been the time when she was supposed to meet the lover. Once again, Elizabeth Bowen gives you the impression that this is some sort of supernatural event. The driver turned the cab around with Mrs. Drover even telling him where to go. She leaned forward to "scratch at the glass panel that divided the driver's head from her own" and the driver, stops the car and Mrs. Drover's head is flung forward. They keep getting closer to each other until finally she sees him and screams. If the person driving the taxi was Mrs. Kathleen Dover's former lover he must have stalked her or had some else stalk her to know where she was staying. When Mrs. Dover felt the draft from the basement she felt like someone was in the house and just left through a window. The person in the taxi could have already been in the house at the time she had walked in and watched her as she gathered her things or he could have been a ghost too.

Elizabeth Bowen utilizes many ways found to create an excellent scary atmosphere for the story. She keeps you in a state of suspense by the way she describes the scene. Her language is very descriptive and she gives you just enough information to make your imagination run wild. by keeping the reader uninformed enough that they have to use their imagination. It was a great story but I am still not really sure if it really was a ghost story. It kept me guessing.

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Warning!!! All free sample term papers and college term paper examples on Demon Lover topics are plagiarized and cannot be fully used in your high school, college or university education.

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