How The Governess In The Turn Of The Screw

Turn Of The Screw and psychological Illnesses In Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw the governess, who is hired to care for two young children, exhibits signs of mental illness as she tends to the estate, the servants, and her own sexual frustration. During the story she claims to see Peter Quint and Miss Jessel, who had close ties with Flora and Miles. The governess shows great benevolence and protection over the niece and nephew. She also displays great loneliness and in return she may be fantasizing these characters.

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

Through out the short novella, 'The Turn of the Screw,' by Henry James, the governess continually has encounters with apparitions that seem to only appear to her. As Miles' behavior in school worsens so that he is prevented from returning, and as Flora becomes ill with a fever, the governess blames these ghosts for corrupting the children, Miles and Flora, and labels them as evil and manipulative forces in their lives. But why is it that these ghosts only seem to appear to the governess even when the children are present at the time of the sightings by the governess? Evidence from the short story leads the reader to believe that the ghosts are not real but are merely the evidence of the fragmenting sanity of the governess.

Queen Guinevere is the only woman who does not fully conform to what is expected of her. She does not passively consent to Mordred’s intention to inherit her like an item. She makes use of the women’s persuasive power and feigns the desire to look good on their wedding day to pave her way out of Mordred’s captivity. She is the master of flirtation and she knows how to stroke the male ego.

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

In the governess's insane pseudo-reality and through her chilling behavior, she managed to bring downfall to Flora and Miles, the children of Bly. With compulsively obsessive actions, irrational assumptions, and demented hallucinations, the governess perceived ghosts bearing evil intentions were attempting to corrupt and destroy the children she had taken the role of care for. In reality, the governess herself brought tragedy to the children through her own selfishness and insanity.

There has been a lot of speculation about The Turn of the Screw, and what makes it so interesting is that Henry James never tells the reader if the ghosts are real or if the governess is sane or insane. That leaves the interpretation of the governess' mental state up to the reader. The governess is the one that tells most of the story, and in my opinion, she proves herself to be very unreliable and, therefore, insane. The reasons why I think the governess was insane are as follows.

The governess in the Turn of the Screw hallucinates ghosts throughout the novella. The novella is in order of all of her memories on the situation and is in her perspective. In the Turn of the Screw, Henry James reveals an ambiguous reality through the governess, who eventually doubts her own perceptions. In the beginning, the governess trusts her own perception entirely, but after some time it is revealed through her actions that neither she nor the readers can completely trust her perception of what is real and what is not. The governess’s misconceptions of reality are contributors to her ghost sightings. She is a very suspicious and doubtful woman. Her suspicions cause her to know and see things she does not want nor need to know or see. The governess is loving and affection toward Miles and Flora, but her affection exceeds its limits.

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.

On the other hand, readers are reluctant to rely on her as a narrator because her inner thoughts display her defense mechanisms that alter her reality. While some readers might assume James uses first person narration to heighten the mystery and horror of his Gothic Tale, those who consider the Governess’s narrative in light of Psychoanalytic criticism see that The Turn of the Screw exposes the subjective nature of reality.

She tells John that she wants to visit Henry and Julia, her cousins, but he tells her that “she wasn’t able to” (Gilman 45). She is left feeling helpless: “what is one to do?” (Gilman 39). By suppressing her feelings, the narrator slowly “creeps” (Gilman 52) towards insanity.

At the time the book was written it was the late 19th century, Victorian era; and at the time Victorians were fascinated by ghosts - a perfect reason to write a psychological ghost story.

Henry James was a prominent figure in Victorian Era literature known for his attention to conscious perception and ambiguous writing. Because of the mystery shrouding his works, people have become adept at reading between the lines and filling in his plot holes with their own inferred ideas. His book The Turn of the Screw is one of his most vague and intriguing pieces and has therefore been a subject of much conflict among critics. Of all possible theories, most boil down to the reliability of the governess; is she telling the truth, or has she gone insane? Given James’ background living with a philosopher father, a psychologist brother and a sister with numerous mental health issues, critics often choose the latter theory.

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.