reversed-- difficulties in relationships. opposition between people. the need to rebel against parents or society.

partly, the story of this romance derived from the idea that heaven and hell are really the same, because they both wield absolute power and use it to protect their privileges. in other words, they represent the upper classes, whether they take the roles of good guys or bad guys. at the same time, the characters embody the idea of sex and love overwhelming all rules and ideology.

most versions of the lovers depict them standing apart, in a rather stately manner. here we see them touching, and almost merging, for the demon seems to put her hand through her partner's body. their heads appear both inflated and fragile, like eggshells. we might think of the heads as representing the abstract ideas of good and evil. but here a kind of explosion breaks through these shells, merging them in love and desire. similar flashes of light appear in the darkness around their groins. both appear androgynous, almost identical to each other. when we look close, we see horns emerging from the head on the right, and truncated golden wings from the shoulder blade of the one on the left. the demon's horns penetrate her partner's skull.