Bowen and Gilman:
Houses of Horror
The story, "The Demon Lover," written by Elizabeth Bowen and the poem, "The Yellow Wallpaper" written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, have house's that possess human characteristics. Each house is indicated at the beginning that they are houses which are old, cold and full of something supernatural other than human life. Each house are described by the authors as having a supernatural entity that lingers throughout the rooms. The essay will discuss further evidence that the houses actually take on human personalities which are mysterious and malevolent.
In the story written by Bowen, she starts off by describing air that comes to meet Mrs. Drover as she enters the house. She writes, "Dead air came to meet her as she went in" (p 703). Air is what keeps people alive. Air is life. Bowen describes air as dead. This dead air comes to meet Mrs. Drover as she is entering the house. Is this a welcome or a warning not to enter? The reader can almost sense that something is not right. The house is boarded up and one can imagine this uneasy setting. It is as though the author is letting the reader know that there is something in the house and that she is not alone.
One indication that she is not alone is described in the next quote. Bowen wrote, "A house can be entered without a key. It was possible that she was not alone now," (704). Everyone knows that you can not get into a locked house without a key. Bowen is suggesting to the reader that there is a ghost or at least something supernatural present. Mrs. Drover entered the house by herself, so who or what is in the house with her? The reader at this moment of the story senses that there is s ...