Gender Criticism and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

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

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

In one surface reading of Henry James’s Turn of the Screw, the governess appears to be a victim of circumstance. Some critics however, say that she is not without blame in the turn of events that characterizes the story. They claim that leading to her demise are certain character flaws, such as envy and pride. In categorizing her character as such, this novella resonates several themes found throughout literature. In Northrop Frye’s essay The Archetypes of Literature, Frye suggests that there appears to be a relatively restricted and simple group of formulas in literature. These formulas or converging patterns seem to correlate with the natural cycle. Frye considers criticism that searches for

The sanity of the main protagonist in “Turn of the Screw” by Henry James is a topic of debate even in this current year. It is unclear whether or not the ghosts in the story are real, or merely a figment of an insane woman’s imagination. However, the governess is sane, because the ghosts that she sees are real, and because of the unexplained death of the young child miles. The governess has the ability to see the spirits that dwell in the manor Bly.

In Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw, a young woman is recruited by a handsome man to be the governess to his niece Flora and his nephew Miles at a solitary mansion in the country. Enamored by the Master and charmed by Flora, the Governess finds the position to be ideal, compared to her poor life before it. After Miles returns home after getting expelled from his boarding school for “contaminating” other children, the Governess sees a strange figure while walking on the grounds. The Governess believes him to be a ghost after consulting with the housekeeper Mrs. Grose. She sees another ghost, presumably of her dead predecessor.

Resistance is the action of fighting back against an unwanted force that may be deemed oppressive in ones life. It is created for different causes and comes in many forms; it may be made verbal, explicit, implicit, physical, and even made humorous or satirical. Charlotte Brontë, a 19th century Victorian feminist wrote her novel Jane Eyre as a means of exposing the confining environments, shameful lack of education, and pitiful dependence upon male relatives for survival (Brackett, 2000). Charlotte Brontë used literature as a means of feminist cultural resistance by identifying the underlying factors of how the Victorian ideologies, gender and social construction of that time was limiting, and brings to light barriers that faced women in

In "The Scarlet Letter", Nathaniel Hawthorn gives Hester Prynne many different gender roles to accept and reject. Even though Hester follows some female stereotypes she follows more masculine roles than you think. She gives off a different setting in her time since stereotypes of genders were more serious than they are now. In Hester's times, females were not able to do hard outside labor or be guards. Women were suppose to be more of a housekeeper and be able to nurture children while men were suppose to be big and hardworking so that they can provide for the family.

There are numerous approaches to view The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James. From being in class talking about the book I seen that there was distinctive comprehension of the book. The Turn of the Screw is a typical representation of the contention in the middle of great and fiendishness. I will translate the phantoms of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel as insidious powers. I perceive that the phantom just seem to the tutor in light of the fact that malice slinks in nuance before it strikes. It is the obligation of the tutor to "identify and avert insidious." She must shield the kids from the horrendous phantoms. The tutor portrays Miles and Flora as wonderful little heavenly attendants whose just blame is their tenderness (James, 18-19). I see the youngsters ' excellence as an "image of the profound flawlessness of which man is competent."

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.

Jane always tries to keep herself respect at all cost despite the prevailing male dominance in her world. She knows that it is the time that obedience must end and resistance must begin if she wants to live according to her own will. Thus, Jane Eyre is created to set an example for females to give out her voices in the series of struggles in the man-dominant world.

“The Turn of the Screw” has been analyzed multiple times and each time with a different focus. Psychoanalytic criticisms are unique in the way that it is like analyzing the plot and characters of the story the same way a therapist would would their patients. Picking apart the things that make people wonder or the things that drive them to find the truth. In the story, we’re introduced to seemingly normal characters at first. The narrator, the governess, the master, Mrs. Grose, and Flora. However, once the reader becomes accustomed to the characters and begins to pick up the plot, Henry James introduces the notion of ghosts. How these ghosts are received depends on the reader’s specific mindset. Many see them as merely figments of the governess’s

Henry James’ novel The Turn of the Screw presents to the reader a story that seems as real as the recorded ghost sightings which were the primary influence for the book. Nevertheless, upon further examination, the reader might begin to wonder about the reliability of the narrator. Considering the setting in which the story is narrated, the storyteller’s confessions and pieces of unawareness impact emerging, the governess can be described as an unreliable narrator. Most people concentrate on Governess’ story instead of the introduction for the analysis of The Turn of the Screw. However, this novel is a frame story, and more precise information can be found in Douglas’ story and the conditions in which he narrates the story (James, p.5). At the

Gender issues also colors some parts of Winterbourne’s misperceptions about Daisy’s character. The author, Henry James, and the main character were both males. Each of them had contributed to the narator that Winterbourne couldn’t understand Daisy’s character for she was a female. The narrator descrips of Daisy by saying “she was very unsophisticated; she was only a pretty American flirt. Winterbourne was almost grateful for having found the formula that applied to Miss Daisy Miller” is an example of that (202). Second, both the Author Henry James and Winterbourne had described Daisy as “a flirt- a pretty American flirt”(202), which is an offense to the American ladies for the word ‘flirt‘ was then associated with sexual issues. These sexual behaviors altered, the clever girl, Daisy and blinded Winterbourne from seeing Daisy’s real character.

Analysing the Female Characters in Henry James' Fiction ‘A woman it seems to me has no natural place anywhere;

The very setting of the fireside at which Griffin's guests swap stories establishes an atmosphere with which many of us are familiar. We can all relate to sitting around a fire exchanging ghost stories. By employing this particular narrative frame James encourages the reader to abandon their scepticism and give themselves over to a belief in the ghosts. The reader shares in the eagerness of the guests to be frightened; to be delighted by horror. Upon seeing Douglas' distress at the thought of the tale he must tell, and its "dreadful - dreadfulness", one of the female guests actually cries, "Oh how delicious!"5