Essay about Love in Henry James' Turn of the Screw

The governess was stuck between two different social classes. However, that was not the only area where she was stuck. She was frustrated and searching for her sexual identity. The only other main female roles in the story did not give the governess much to aspire to. Miss Jessel was allegedly a whore, and Mrs. Grose was old, married, and probably had not had sexual relations in awhile. Miss Jessel did what the governess could not, express her sexuality. Whether it was with Peter Quint or the children, she took charge in getting her sexual needs met. The governess does not have this temperament, so instead of focusing on finding her own sexual identity, she focuses on Miles's and Flora's.

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

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

In Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw the governess believes that the ghosts of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel, the past governess, haunt Flora and Miles. The governess believes that they contribute to the poor behavior of Miles and Flora. The ghosts appear to be real to her when in all reality she is only imaging them. Whenever she sees Miss Jessel or Peter Quint, Miles, Flora, and Miss Grose do not seem to see them. The governess may be seen as a heroine in this story, but her insanity appears in many examples throughout The Turn of the Screw.

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

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.

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.

The Governess enters the Imaginary Stage of Lacan's psychoanalysis theory when she sees herself in the mirror on her first night at Bly. She recalls,"the long glasses in which, for the first time, I could see myself from head to foot..." and as her idealized image gazes back, the Governess has now

There are several points mentioned in the story telling governess is not reliable in whatever she is saying. Things like governess promising Mrs. Grose to write a letter to her master telling what was going on at Bly which was stolen by Miles, but she letter admitted that it contains nothing, and telling Mrs. Grose that the ghost of Miss Jessel wanted to posses Flora but the story tells that

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.

Love has many different meanings to different people. For a child, love is what he or she feels for his mommy and daddy. To teenage boy, love is what he should feel for his girlfriend of the moment, only because she says she loves him. But as we get older and "wiser," love becomes more and more confusing. Along with poets and philosophers, people have been trying to answer that age-old question for centuries: What is love?

Love is difficult to define, difficult to measure, and difficult to understand. Love is what great writers write about, great singers sing about, and great philosophers ponder. Love is a powerful emotion, for which there is no wrong definition, for it suits each and every person differently. Whether love is between family, friends, or lovers, it is an overwhelming emotion that can be experienced in many different ways.

Love is a powerful feeling; it makes you do crazy thing. Many people spend years trying to find it, others give up thinking they’ll never find it. Love has been defined as an intensive feeling of a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone. Of course, Love doesn 't have to romantic and/or sexual. People who are ace, as in asexual, aromantic and agender, can still be in relationships that are satisfying for them without the needs of a romantic relationship. Familial love is also non-romantic-sexual. However, in this paper, we will be talking about romantic-sexual love, what it is, and why I believe it’s so important to understand and experience.

At the outermost layer of all, the title of the text itself, "The Turn of the Screw", imparts an ominous atmosphere. Whether or not the "screw" refers to a sinister thumb-screw for torture purposes, or merely to a simple fastening device, the implication is that a ghost story involving children is a degree more oppressive than one that concerns only adults.3 In the second paragraph of the text, Douglas says, "If the child gives the effect another turn of the screw, what do you say to two children-?"4