First, David Timms considers the vision of Leon Edel that Henry James wanted the governess to follow a stream of consciousness as a narrative discourse. Thus, her multitudinous thoughts throughout the book describes the mental path she went through from believing in the purity of the children to their utter corruption of evil. Moreover, “we are to take the governess's words as a record of feeling in that she 'feels' things rather than 'sees' them” which means the reader is utterly reliant of the governess and we already know that we can't take her word for it. As Edel suggests, “no doubts she gives us an honest record of what she thinks and how she feels” but a person who asserts things based on her feelings is not credible. For instance, nobody would believe that there are monsters under a bed just because the child is afraid of the dark. In addition, by comparing “the stream of consciousness” with “an internal monologue”, David Timms reinforces the madness hypothesis. To that extent, “the story assumes a reader” and “it would make no sense for the governess to say to herself [...]” (197) are also evidences …show more content…
Thus, it is incumbent to the reader to interpret them; despite this, the stream of consciousness is unaffected. Conversely, Theodora Bosanquet, denying that theory, implies that Henry James could not have been irked by commas since he incredibly valued his books. In the light of this element, it also means that, if James valued The Turn of the Screw this much, he could not have made an ambiguity over the governess inconsequential, everything he does has a purpose either making the narrator omniscient and trustworthy or subjective and temperamental. Similarly, Timms asserts that her stream of consciousness is not linear in the term of the story timeline, but rather with the process of recoiling on the
For a fulfilling, healthy balanced life Kevin M Norris confirms in his article “Finding Balance: 6 Dimensions of Wellness” that following the six dimensions could lead to improvement in unhealthy lifestyles. Norris expresses that when you evolve the six dimensions of wellness it could be used as a model or a guide. Norris begins to list off the 6 dimensions which are physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, environmental and social. When Norris begins to explain of each dimensions balance each other he states, “Each dimension forms a piece of a lifestyle pie; without one piece, there is a void, a missing link that imbalances the remainder of the dimensions’. In order to take control or to achieve a goal to become healthy and maintain
Henry James's Turn of the Screw was written in a time when open sexuality was looked down upon. On the surface, the story is simply about a governess taking care of two children who are haunted by two ghosts. However, the subtext of the story is about the governess focusing on the children's innocence, and the governess trying to find her own sexual identity. Priscilla L. Walton wrote a gender criticism themed essay about the Turn of the Screw, which retells certain parts of the story and touches on the significance they provide for the sexually explicit theme. Walton's essay is accurate because James purposely put an undertone of sexuality and identity confusion in the Turn of the Screw.
Interpreting The Turn of the Screw by Henry James from a Marxist point of view brings about serious social class distinctions and consequences of violation within that code. Miles and the unnamed Governess’ relationship demonstrate the wrongdoing of social and legal norms. The Governess’ indeterminate social status leave her as a forbidden woman in Victorian society taking on the role of primary caretaker to children, while Miles embodies the character of the absent master to whom the Governess feels intimately attracted. Mile’s union with rebellious, symbol of threat, Peter Quint, ultimately possesses him and lead to the breakdown of the social hierarchy. The Governess and Mile’s connection display the
Throughout the novel the governess hallucinates ghosts of Peter Quint and Mrs. Jessel, as well as having delusions of being the future savior of Bly and the protector of the children. In the quote “We were confronted across our distance quite long enough for me to ask myself with intensity who then he was and to feel, as an effect of my inability to say, a wonder that in a few instants more became intense” we see the governess Hallucinating the ghost of Peter Quint (James 11). A reason we know that this is a hallucination is because Mrs. Grose barges in while the ghost is outside the window and doesn’t see it, and the governess doubts if the ghosts are real. Along with hallucinations, the governess has constant delusions that she is the protector of the children and is the only one who can save them from the ghosts. When the governess considers leaving Bly after her first few encounters with the ghosts, she decides to stay and states “I was a screen-- I was their protector. The more I saw, the less they would”. This may seem honorable, but it also proves that the governess has delusions of being the protector of the children. Hallucinations and delusions are the biggest symptoms of insanity and along with the governess’ irrational thinking, and paranoia, it proves that the she is
The Turn of the Screw is one of the most controversial works in literature and the text has provoked a variety of critical interpretations from its publication in 1898. In this novel, the governess tells her experience with two apparitions that no one but she could see. And the governess accuses the ghosts of servants for corrupting the children, Miles and Flora. Critics concerning about the truth of the story are divided two basic camps based on their acceptance or rejection of the governess's credibility as a storyteller. Some critics believe that the ghosts are real and the governess is a rational and credible narrator, while the others believe that the ghosts are hallucinations of the governess and regard the governess as an incredible and mentally abnormal narrator. Also, we could speculate the author’s intention on the basis of his life experience and other works of Henry James. This essay will examine the reliability of the governess on the basis of the text and interpret Henry James’s intention on the basis of other sources.
Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw is one of the more disputed texts in all of literature, as it is famously known as an ambiguous text. The primary uncertain element of is whether there are ghosts scaring the governess and the children, or whether the governess is actually going insane. Even though a certain portion of the text is ambiguous, there are other portions of the text that are much more black and white. For example, the relationships in this novella are nothing close to normal. There are three key relationships in The Turn of the Screw: the Governess and Mrs. Grose, the Governess and Miles, and the governess and Flora. All of these relationships show how the governess’s maternal instinct influences her interactions and
The brain is an intricately designed organ that helps in the aid of daily life. It is able to control all other organs and bodily functions and even manages all actions, memories, or feelings that can be experienced. It is essential in the functioning of daily life. However, there are times in which it can be deceitful, sometimes even showing things that are not even there. This causes one to doubt the very nature of things and can even explain why it is that things such as ‘second thoughts’ or ‘fear’ crosses the mind. Henry James, the author of The Turn of the Screw, uses these “defects of the mind” to destroy the barrier between reality and fiction. The Turn of the Screw exists in a reality that is retold more than once and in many instances, it depicts the twisted perception of a protagonist with an "overactive imagination" and even goes as far as to show how the reader perceives the certain perceptions of others. How one is able to view a certain 'reality, ' solely depends on a person 's reaction to certain situations as well as the mental stability during the action or moment. Galileo Galilei even stated that “tastes, odors, colors, and so on resides only in one’s head.” James tries to make us doubt whether reality is all it seems to be by interfering with the mental health of a person, giving way to many theories or conjectures through the use of perception.
Henry James's The Turn of the Screw paints a landscape that is ripe for psychoanalytic analysis. He has chosen language and syntax that symbolize his main character's psychological fragmentation and her futile attempt to mend herself. Many of Lacan's theories emerge as the Governess reveals her motivations through her recollective narrative.
Throughout The turn of the Screw by Henry James, the theme of ambiguous issues is constantly leaving the reader on their own. The ambiguity and uncertainty within this text causes the readers to come up with their own theories as to what the text really means. The ghost story perspective only adds to the infuriating vagueness. The title itself is about all of the twists within this story and basically foreshadows the confusion that the text will cause.
Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw has been described as one of the best ghost stories of all time. However, there is clear evidence that the main character, the governess, suffers from delusions. The strange events that occur throughout the story happen in the estate of Bly. The anomalies, described as horrors or ghosts, only come to light after the governess arrives. These events are due to creations of the governess ' mind, her controlling intent to protect and overrule the children, and her unstable mental state. In this way, her thoughts and her actions are the cause of the strange events at Bly.
The governess is seen as an innocent and trustworthy at the beginning of the story but as one goes deeper in the story one beginnings to question if she is all that trustworthy. The governess would be seen as unreliable narrator as one goes on to read the story. It all starts with her hearing things “these fancies were not marked enough not to be thrown off, and it is only in the light, or the gloom, I should rather say, of other and subsequent matters that they now come back to me (James13)” from the beginning the governess has already started telling tales and saying that she hears thing that no one else can hear. Also, as well as how the governess sees the children for she is "dazzled by their loveliness (James22)" but then later on comes
The existence of the ghosts in The Turn of the Screw has always been in debate. Instead of directly discussing whether the ghosts are real or not, this essay will focus on the reliability of the governess, the narrator of the story. After making a close examination of her state of mind while she is at Bly, readers of The Turn of the Screw will have many more clues to ponder again and to decide to what extent the governess can be believed. While critics like Heilman argue that there are problems with the interpretation that the governess was psychopathic, textual evidence incorporated with scientific research show that the governess did go through a period of psychical disorder that caused her insomnia, out of which she created
Henry James’ arrays of characters helps to tie the reality of social conflict in this fictional horror story. His characters each have various economic backgrounds and interact differently with each other. This diversity brings these social conflicts to light and helps readers understand the root of these conflicts. In The Turn of the Screw, Henry James uses characterization and conflict to reveal the horrors of social class in American society.
Readers might wonder with whom she was in love. Then the Master told the Governess about the previous governess and her death (James 296). The readers probably want to know the reason of the previous governess' death. When the Master talked about the duties of the Governess, he required her not to contact him in any way (James 297). We do not know why he made that requirement. As the story continues, the readers have many more unsolved questions such as why Miles was dismissed from school, why the Governess could describe Peter Quint exactly though she never meet him, and why the Governess thought that ghosts wanted to catch the two children. Ned Lukacher thinks that "[the way James] has said something also becomes a way of not having said something else" (132). For instance, James revealed some hints regarding the reason Miles was dismissed. We know that "[Miles]'s an injury to the others" (304) and Mrs. Grose thought Miles was "no boy for [her]" (305). However, these hints do not help the readers to completely understand why Miles was sent away from his school. Instead, more questions are posed, such as how such a ten-year-old boy could injure other students and why Mrs. Grose thought about Miles that way. The readers can not easily find the specific and reasonable answers in the story, so they have to guess the answers based on their own
What is wellness? “Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy life. Wellness is also a process for change and growth” (Health Topic – What is wellness?). To have acceptable wellness you should have an equal amount of social, emotional/mental, and physical health. I, myself, believe that I have an okay wellness, I mean not like full wellness but just enough to pass I'll say. But how am I living in wellness?