In the following essay, Calder debates the claims that Mrs. Drover of Bowen's "The Demon Lover" is either insane or unhappy in her marriage and instead examines the story as an allegory of life in England during the two World Wars. He also suggests that the setting of the story is a catalyst to Mrs. Drover's breakdown.

Of all of Elizabeth Bowen's short stories, none has been anthologized as often as "The Demon Lover." First published in The Listener in November, 1941, and reprinted in The Demon Lover and Other Stories (1945) and Ivy Gripped the Steps and Other Stories (1946), it is usually introduced as a clever tale of occult possession. Early critical commentary is typified by Allen E. Austin's remark that "'The Demon Lover' is a ghost story that builds up and then culminates like an Alfred Hitchcock movie."

This interpretation was first challenged by Douglas A. Hughes...