Obsession In Elizabeth Bowen's The Demon Lover

Obsession- Dana S.
Obsession is quiet
Soft as a rose petal
Obsession is vanilla
Smells sweet, tastes like poison
Obsession is water
Rushing about
Obsession looks flushed
Crazy

In Elizabeth Bowen’s short story “The Demon Lover,” the reader is captivated by an obsession from an old love. In the story, Mrs. Drover is returning to her abandoned town and empty house to collect some belongings only to be greeted by a presence. Mrs. Drover believes this presence is an old love coming back. In the poem “Obsession” by Dana S. the speaker personifies obsession and gets the reader to sense that obsession can be a presence to anyone. In “The Demon Lover,” the story opens up with a description of a woman, Mrs. Drover, who is returning to the house she
Drover as a young girl. The reader may be confused when Mrs. Drover states that “she had never seen him at all” when she is supposed to be in love with this soldier. The only thing that Mrs. Drover carries away when he leaves for war is “the cut of the button in the palm of her hand,” not the “love” she had for this soldier. Before the soldier departed he stated to Mrs. Drover “you need do nothing but wait” and she was supposed to await his return so they could be together forever. Later that year, Mrs. Drover found out that her soldier was presumed dead and he wouldn’t be returning to her. Mrs. Drover took the passing of her fiancé as a chance to start over and build a life; that’s when she met William Drover and they married and had
The speaker states that “obsession is quiet” like in the early stages of love the soldier might have felt a stronger pull of affection toward the other. The speaker uses a simile to state that “obsession smells sweet, taste like poison” because when someone becomes obsessed it can seem cute and loving at first, but then it leaves a bad impression and some people want it to go away, but the sweetness and attention pulls them back in. The metaphor “obsession is water rushing about” is like all the feelings that rushed through Mrs. Dover as she remembered her past with the soldier and when she saw his ghost. Throughout life today people are bombarded with the thoughts of obsession and is it good for you? Sometimes when people become obsessed with something, their health declines or their socialness decreases. Ultimately, Bowen and Dana S. have shared the consequences of an obsession and how it can lead to an unexpected