Please Read "The Demon Lover" by Elizabeth Bowen and answer the following questions:
1. (a) Where and when does the story take place?
(b) Why does Mrs. Drover visit her house in London?
2. (a) Who has written the letter Mrs. Drover discovers?
(b) Why is she so upset by it.
3. (a) How does Mrs. Drover plan to escape from the house?
(b) Does she succeed in her plan? Explain.
4. In the first paragraph, the narrator remarks that "no human eye watched Mrs. Drover's return" to her house. In what way is this remark ironic?
5. (a) What words does the author use to describe Mrs. Drover's reaction to the letter?
(b) What feelings do you think the author hoped the description would prompt in the reader?
6. One of the strengths of this short story is its ambiguity. Provide both a supernatural and a rational explanation for (a) the letter, and (b) the cab driver's knowing in which direction to take his passenger before she has spoken up.
7. Why do you think the author devotes so much space to Mrs. Drover's thought processes following the flashback?
8. What do you think is Mrs. Drover's ultimate fate? Explain the basis for your answer.
9. The story seems to be suggesting that one of the most damaging effects of war is the psychological vulnerability it produces in human beings.