A Nineteenth Century Ghost Story in The Turn of The Screw by Henry James

Henry James’s “The Turn of the Screw” a young Governess is hired by a wealthy man who is the uncle to two children that live in Bly, the estate and setting in which the story takes place. In the ghastly tale by James, the Governess begins to notice things that are out of place. The old manor is home to a host of souls that have perished previous to her arrival, which leaves the governess on edge as she becomes more and more aware of the odd happenings in Bly. The story focuses on the haunting of the Governess by the former valet known as Peter Quint and the previous governess Miss Jessel.

The guests at the gathering in the prologue desire to hear a ghost story, and Douglas desires to tell them one. We, as readers, desire to hear this story also, and later to understand the presence of the ghosts within it – or whether they even exist. The Governess desires to please the Uncle, but most of all, she desires him. And it is perhaps this desire that is most long-lasting and pertinent throughout the text; its relationship with time being inextricably intertwined and influential upon one another. Henry James, purposely or not, sets up a strong link between measured time and human desire in The Turn of the Screw running throughout the novel, baring relevance to the Governess’ world, the frame narrator’s world, and our world.

The novel The Turn of the Screw emerged in 1898. Once it was published readers were frightened and it was kenned to be one of the most perturbing ghost stories indited. Henry indited this novel during a low point in his life. The majority of his inditements were about disjointing homes. Afore the final novel of The Turn of the Screw was published Henry revised it several of times. Henry indited many plays during his vocation but never got any appreciation from them.

In Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, the governess’ mental status is not known for certain. Throughout the novel, the reader is led to wonder if the specters she sees are real or fabricated by her own mind. This has sparked a lot of debate on the issue of the governess’s sanity and continues to be a controversial topic in the literary community. However, the governess is found to be insane through the points of her chronic stress, her obsession over Miles and Flora, and the lack of evidence behind her visions.

It’s been 1 year, since Mr. Hooper died. As much as the community liked him, nobody has spoken of him since. At his burial, there was another man, that was wearing a black veil. This made the people of the community begin to question what was going on. Some began to question, whether or not, it was the ghost of Mr. Hooper. The figure was only seen on that day.

Henry James constructs an epic novel of romance and mystery, engendering many interpretations of Turn of the Screw. James intentionally creates ambiguity by utilizing an incomplete frame to introduce the atmosphere of a ghost story through its diction, setting, and tone, in order to capture an active reader who must interact with the text. Frames hold a distinct purpose to provide insight and background to the coming story, which James succeeds in, but goes one step farther. James introduces the obvious ambiguity in the prologue through its point of view in order to establish a participating reader to make judgements on their own from the very beginning.

After reading “The Turn of the Screw”, by Henry James, I was left with many unanswered questions. The two main questions are, are the ghosts in the story real, or are they just figments of the narrator’s imagination? When I read though the essays of criticism, I took a stand on one particular argument. I took a stand that supports the argument that the ghosts are real.

The General not phased states "open the bag now Sheriff," what the general saw in the body bag was gruesome to say the least a human body stripped of all skin just bone remain the eye balls removed, the general turned to the Sheriff and rhetorically asks "and you think martial law is going too far Sheriff,"

For my chosen text I found interest in Henry James's " The Turn of the Screw." I discovered the Sherlock Holmes, investigative and suspense type short story to be, "right up my alley." That and the mention of ghosts made me excited. I grew up in a haunted house and love ghost stories. I have tried to read romance in the past and I have enjoyed it. "Allowing for possibilities such as horror and the fantastic while excluding psychoanalysis as an approach to the text." (Lee 2007) I soon fell in love, once I combined romance and horror. That’s what I love to read and write. I have not uncovered all the depths to this piece of fiction, but I am looking forward to it.

The Ghost Chamber is a ghost story about two men, Mr. Goodchild and Mr. Idle who spend a night in a haunted house (1). Late on the night of their arrival, Mr. Goodchild is visited by a strange old man while Mr. Idle falls asleep (1). The visitor relates to Mr. Goodchild the story of an avaricious man who married a widow for her money but inherits none of it after her death (4). Still determined to get his hands on her prosperity, he forges a will bequeathing the woman’s wealth to her daughter from a previous marriage (4). He appoints himself guardian of the weak and credulous child, and undertakes to provide for her an education administered in confinement (4). When she comes of age, he forces her to move in with him and get married (5). The

Being a fan of horror novels and especially ghost stories, I’ve been eager to make my way to more of the classics so as to see for myself where horror originated. The Turn of the Screw is one those, featuring two children who appear to be consorting with ghosts and a governess who’s sole purpose in life has become to save the children from these evil spiritual entities. Intriguing, but the incredible dense writing really killed this for me despite its short length.

Henry James was an American novelist and eventually became a naturalized Englishman, he was an important figure for the culture of transatlantic literature in his time.

In Henry James’ gothic horror novel he produces the element of suspense to keep his readers in engaged. The testimony of James’ himself about his intentions for the story is inconsistent and elusive (Bromwich 2011). The unreliable narrator makes the story nimble and questionable, the idea that ghosts are real or not. Bromwich elaborates that the governess cannot be trusted and that all the evil that scares the children is “channeled and communicated” through her. The governess herself is portrayed as a suspicious but psychotic caretaker who allows her mind to escape innocence of the children and the situation. James attempts to make the governess an inexperienced young woman who has severe anxiety and exhaustion at looking after the two

   All literary critics agree that the Ghost in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet is not an expendable character. Without the Ghost the show could not go on. He is absolutely essential to the plot, to ever aspect of the drama.

The Gothic genre is a product of the Romantic era and is believed to have started with Horace Walpole’s ‘The Castle of Otranto’ in the late eighteenth century; the popularity of the genre continued throughout the nineteenth century and still has influence in modern times, as evident in Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Jane Eyre’ and the film adaptation of ‘The Turn of the Screw’: Jack Clayton’s 1961 ‘The Innocents’. Gothic literature and cinema are famously known for their staple elements present in almost every text. Some of the most notable features of these texts are the supernatural, isolation, and women in distress. These elements are, arguably, what makes Gothic fiction so unique. In particular, these details create an overall suspenseful and otherworldly atmosphere, they also aid the story to reach its climax. Brontë’s ‘Jane Eyre’ and Clayton’s ‘The Innocents’ are examples of these Gothic features working together to create an enigmatic and theatrical story. ‘Jane Eyre’ follows the story of an orphan governess who, by fate, becomes romantically entangled with a wealthy gentleman who has dark secrets. Similarly, ‘The Innocents’ also observes the narrative of a plain governess who is employed to take care of strange children who live in a grand house full of mystery and concealment.