The Demon Lover

Content Warning: This section mentions wartime violence, relationship abuse, sexuality, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and demon possession.

The historical context of “The Demon Lover” is essential to understanding the story and Mrs. Drover’s emotional state—particularly the complex trauma she might have suffered as a bystander to not one but two world wars: World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945).

World War I started with the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in 1914. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history; the technology and military strategies were so new and unfamiliar that the outcome of any given engagement was difficult to predict. Men who had grown up with horse-drawn carriages suddenly faced modern instruments of war, including gas attacks, machine guns, and artillery bombardment. Participants often expressed their sense that the violence of war baffled explanation. More than 1 million British soldiers were killed or went missing in action. Mrs. Drover is between the ages of 17 to 20 when the war occurs. Her engagement ends with her fiancé’s disappearance during battle.

Of those soldiers who returned, it is estimated that 250,000 or more were diagnosed with “shell shock,” which we would today call post-traumatic stress disorder. The symptoms of shell shock—tremors, confusion, heightened awareness, severe anxiety, sensitivity to noises, and periods of amnesia—could be triggered by experiences that caused the soldiers to relive their war experience. Psychological and physical stress affected not only combatants and officers but also medical professionals, caretakers, and civilians who witnessed terrifying events, lost loved ones, or experienced radical disruptions in their daily lives. During the war, German airships bombed London extensively, curtailing daily routine, and the British government rationed many food and clothing essentials.

When England declared war on Germany in September 1939 after Nazi forces invaded Poland, it was less than 20 years after the end of the first World War. World War II’s loss of life, sustained violence, and political alliances were all reminiscent of the previous altercation. By 1941, the German blitz—the sustained campaign of aerial bombing—of London had occurred for a solid year, and many citizens had moved their families to safer locations in the countryside. British citizens were on a heightened state of alert, particularly in London, which provides the backdrop for Mrs. Drover’s story. For many, the similarities between the conflicts reignited symptoms of shell shock.