Essay on Escaping the Governess 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

The governess has a deep obsession for the little boy Miles. He is charming, handsome, and so many other things she desires in a man and an obvious sexual tension is present between the two throughout the entire novel. The governess says, "…everything but a sort of passion of tenderness for him was swept away by his presence. What I then and there took him to my heart for was something divine

‘The Crucible’ written by Arthur Miller and my related material ‘Happy Feet’ by George Miller is true to this statement “Understanding nourishes belonging…a lack of understanding prevents it” that represents the interpretation of belonging. To define belong is to have the correct personal and social assets to be a member of a particular group or it could be to fit a particular environment.

Humans are amphibians – half spirit and half animal. (The Enemy’s determination to produce such a revolting hybrid was one of the things that determined Our Father to withdraw his support from Him). As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time. This means that while their spirits can be directed to an eternal object, their bodies, passions, and imaginations are in continual change, for to be in time means to change. – Screwtape, Chapter 8, Page 37, Lines 7 – 15.

No sleep could pass the governess's eyes without continually casting thought to the mere beauty of the child she had met only days earlier. The meeting with the young master Miles only stringed the governess's infatuation with the physical features of the young children. After receiving by letter that Miles was expelled from school, the governess herself found malcontent for the boy, but her first glance at the boy on meeting him cast away all previous distaste.

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

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.

Many people would say that The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a tragedy. In this play the tragic events that happened in salem liked being accused for a witch and hung for it is connected to what happened in mccarthyism era. In this Joe Mccarthy accused politicians and higher power people of being communist. Those accused in both salem and the Mccarthy era were treated with harsh consequences and even death with no way to defend themselves.

In The Turn of the Screw written by, Henry James, the Governess may be insane. The Governess has taken a new job and has moved away from her family and home. The Governess is becoming overwhelmed with the two children and is going mad. There are many events that lead the readers to believe the Governess is going insane.

In the Turn of the screw by Henry James, Peter Quint looked after Miles, who lived at his Uncle’s house with his sister after his parents died. Miss Jessel was a governess who looked after his sister Flora. Peter Quint was Miles tutor, however his relationship with him little too close to Miles suggesting sexual assault between the two. Before Miles and Peter Quint have a close relationship, Miles and his sister Flora lose their parents. They have to go live with their uncle, but the uncle hires people to take care of the kids and sets them up in a different house.

In the stories of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the antagonist characters display parallel story lines through their searches for the enemy. Roger Chillingworth, the former husband of Hester Prynne and the antagonist of The Scarlet Letter, works against his wife in order to find her untold second lover. Frankenstein is a contrasting story in which an unnamed monster is the antagonist towards his human creator, Dr. Frankenstein. Yet despite quite different story lines, the two characters possess traits that exibit parallels between them. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth displays the startling passionate characteristics of an unwavering drive to seek out his foe, madness as his focus on his search takes over his entire being, and terrible anguish when his task is unexpectedly over, all of which are reflected in the daemon created at the hand of Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley 's novel Frankenstein.

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.

Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw is written with one clear and true ending where Miles dies and the readers are left to guess the rest for themselves. Or is it? Right from the prologue, a reader may assume that Miles and Douglas are indeed the same person, but when the reader sees, “and his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped.” P.403 one dismisses that theory as lost, but it isn’t. Perhaps one ignore the idea because of many unclear allusions to discrepancies. James’ use of deliberate vagueness was intended to create a second plausible ending.

The picture of Bly painted by the Governess pulsates with men who are not there; their absent presence agitates the Governess's anxiety over her own fragmentation. The master has abandoned her physically and emotionally, Miles has potential but is only a child, and Peter Quint is nothing more than air. Even though they are unavailable to her, the Governess's desire to be what these pseudo-men desire becomes the driving force behind her actions.