Archetype Myths in Turn of the Screw Essay

The article on the fantasy within the novella reveals the debate of the governess’s mental state during her time with the children. The debacle that can be depicted within the work can be surrounded through the idea that her fantasies represent the point in which she is at her most anxious. When her anxiety reaches a certain peak, the ghost then appears. This can especially be seen just before the first sighting, when she says, “I was giving pleasure-if he ever thought of it! - to the person to whose pressure I had yielded” (38). The pressure she is experiencing allows her mental state to bring out the fantasy aspect of the apparition. Using Zacharias’s article, the audience can see the fantasy is a mechanism that is used by the governess and

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.

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

One of the most critically discussed works in twentieth-century American literature, The Turn of the Screw has inspired a variety of critical interpretations since its publication in 1898. Until 1934, the book was considered a traditional ghost story. Edmund Wilson, however, soon challenged that view with his assertions that The Turn of the Screw is a psychological study of the unstable governess whose visions of ghosts are merely delusions. Wilson’s essay initiated a critical debate concerning the interpretation of the novel, which continues even today (Poupard 313). Speculation considering the truth of the events occurring in The Turn of the Screw depends greatly on the reader’s assessment of the reliability of the governess as a

Miles represents a socially and sexually corrupt figure by the ghost of Peter Quint who violated status on two occasions. His being “too free” with Miles leads to controversy as well as his love affair with the previous governess. The governess’s knowledge on the history behind Quint and Miles changes drastically as she learns more information to discover truth. Her rejection of the idea that Miles could be “bad” transforms into an obsession noting his every action in hopes to reveal that the children are being possessed by ghosts. Despite the connotation of Quint’s clash of class boundaries, the text also suggests the potential homosexual nature of his association with Miles. Therefore, the ghost of Quint stands for everything the Governess is afraid of, and his sense of menace dictates Miles living through his identity.

In The Turn of the Screw, Henry James employs class divisions through clothing, representing how the characters are inclined to act through their degree of conformity to societal expectations. First published in 1898, by Collier’s Weekly, a magazine company that had a reputation of reporting on integral societal events and topics people considered important to their lives, the magazine commissioned the help of famous writers to write on pressing historical events of the time (Elduff). It grew to be one of the most widely read magazines in the United States by 1892, which allowed James to write a novella that hit on concerns regarding social mobility on a larger scale platform. Since the Victorian era was marked by prosperity and innovations in technology, incomes rose leading to the growing of the middle class. This had a drastic impact on the culture and the elites who feared the middle class movement for “they had many reasons for resenting their practical stigmatization as second class citizens” (Best 238). James highlights this concern through pointing out clothing which denotes which class a characters associated with and coupling this with immoral actions of the times.

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 fact that both Mrs.Grose and Flora deny the figure he governess swears is Ms. Jessel suggest that the governess has gone mad. The governess also shows extreme signs of paranoia when it come some to the . She is convinced that he children are in cahoots with the ghosts, and even though she cares for them deeply she also remains extremely skeptical of them. Her unconscious sexual frustration is shown when she assumes the relationship between Miles and Peter Quint was indecent and sexual. As a result of the governess’s constant paranoia and fear she kills Miles.

Whether it be the sun, the moon, animals, or water, nature dominates in the world of archetypes. Being the representation of a universal language that archetypes are, they have come to find their way into almost every aspect of human life. To no surprise, James Dickey, an American poet and novelist, relied heavily on archetypes in his novel Deliverance. The archetype of the river, which represents change, life, and sometimes danger, is heavily referred to in this work. By presenting the protagonist of the story, Ed Gentry, as an out-of-shape man who is incapable of shooting a deer that is merely fifteen yards away, Dickey sets the reader up for the metaphorical U-turn that takes place within Gentry through his interactions with the river. By

Dominic Aragona had been paid to protect the life of Harold Peterson, senate hopeful, but now the candidate was in the intensive care unit, clinging to life. In the waiting room, Dominic sat with Peterson's oldest son, Lyle, each of them slumped in their chairs and visibly shaken.

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 that want to analyze the characters in the text can do so through the character archetypal theory to further understand the text and the characters in the text. When viewing the text from a character archetypal perspective, a reader may look at the literary work to understanding the characters better. Moreover, archetypal character theory helps the reader understand the characters` enthusiasm and the reasons for what they do. Therefore, looking at James Joyce`s “The Dead”, a reader may look at the characters with various character archetypes, such as, Miss Ivors, with the patriot archetype, Gabriel with the innocent archetype, and Greta with the good wife archetype.

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.

However, the children are probably not sure as what the governess is doing, and it has definitely harmed the psychology of the children. There is never mentioned in the story the clear intentions of the ghosts, and Miles and Flora have never accepted their sighting with the ghosts, but the governess insisted that the children were aware of their existence and were pretending as if they never knew what was going on. If this is viewed as if governess was pretending then she might be doing this to impress and prove her master how she cared about the children. But whatever the governess was doing, in reality, has confused the children about what she was referring to and they couldn’t understand her. This definitely made the children suffer, as for every child, image of ghost is very much terrifying .Whatever she was doing it resulted in Flora being sick and Miles dead at end of the story ( Poquette 257).

The archetype will never let us forget the psychology of the past. It inspires our natural instincts, behavior, and thought. The importance of these instincts is immeasurable within literature that focuses on the injustices of society and its "civilized culture." The repression of these instincts has allowed modern society to dictate how individuals should live. This is why the importance of symbols in literature usually has an archetypal background. Society has suppressed our natural thought to the extent that it can only be expressed within the symbolism of literature.