Hello Demon Lover: The Woman Artist’s Journey Through Father Loss and Transformation

Abstract

When a daughter loses her father before she has achieved a necessary degree of psychological separation from him, her capacity to mourn his literal death may become complicated. Circumstances such as the ambivalent nature of their relationship while he was living or that she has was an adolescent girl at the time of his death made her ill equipped to emotionally digest the loss of such a vital relationship. The development of a demon lover complex in women who have suffered this early wounding of father loss is explored at length in the literature review. The five interviews completed with female artists who have experienced father loss, complicated mourning, and the demon lover complex share their experience and how creative expression has played an important role in mourning their father’s death. Furthermore, this work explores ways of coming into a conscious relationship with the demon lover complex and how this serves the female artists transformation from wounded daughter to creative woman.