Critical analysis of Elizabeth Bowen's short story 'The Demo

A detailed Summary of Critical analysis of Elizabeth Bowen's short story 'The Demo

Bowen uses vast amounts of narrative in this story as opposed to dialogue. This, combined by her created objects of dramatic function and choice of language convey the feeling of suspense and intensity that she wants the reader to feel throughout the story.

After detailed reading of the story, one cannot be sure Mrs Drover's return to the house is physically happening, however is definitely occurring in her mind. The "unfamiliar queerness" of the surroundings she should be so comfortable with further suggests that the "several things" she returns to the house to collect may be memories rather than actual objects. The point of the story seems to be Mrs Drover's journey into her past, in an attempt to find out how she used to be as she seems discontent and resentful at her current self, which is described as "prosaic". This suggests she is reasonably simple, ordinary and possibly quite a boring individual. Her "movements" are described as "circumscribed", which suggests her only real focus and ambition in life was to settle down with a husband and children. Thus meaning she wanted to follow convention more than find an enjoyable life, heightening the idea of her current personality being so "prosaic".

Bowen leaves the reader with an open ending. This gives the reader much to contemplate, as the majority of the story is open to many kinds of interpretation. Bowen's handling of narrative voice and close detailed diction allows the reader to see and feel what Mrs Drover feels with an intensity that provokes thought about possible outcomes throughout the story.

In relation to time, the discourse time disrupts the story time by means of Analepsis and Prolepsis in the form of her previous meeting with her husband and the anticipation and suspense of whether she's "being watched" and whether she is about to finally meet her former love. The duration is best described as a pause, as there is a sense of suspense from beginning to end.

We are never fully sure of "the hour arranged", and when this is to be. In one of the few parts of dialogue, Mrs Drover says,

"The Demon Lover" does set a slightly ambiguous and sinister tone, however provides some aide to many of the ideas the reader may have construed. The word "demon" suggests an evil, monster like creature, however gives backing to the idea of haunting Mrs Drover. The word "lover" is to reiterate to the reader that even if "he was never kind" to her, she did love

Some common words found in the essay are:
Demon Lover, , Analepsis Prolepsis, God God, demon lover, throughout story, enters house, story drover's, reader feel,

Approximate Word count = 825
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

join now Save Paper

Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

"Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
Jack M.
"With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
Brian P.
"I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
Sara J.
"I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
Rachel W.
"I love this site!!!"
Marie N.