Silence In The Turn Of The Screw By Henry James

Soon the family is on their way again but the grandmother forces her way by using the children. Getting the kids exited enough to annoy their father so much that he breaks down and changes the route and seeks out the old gothic house. We soon learn that the grandmother has made a geographical mistake thinking Georgia for Tennessee. Her ignorance starts a chain of events which will result in all their deaths: Brining the cat along even though she knew it wold not be allowed, forcing her will even when unsure if it was right (O'Connor, 2, 11). The grandmother's uncertainty of geography could be read as mirroring her spiritual uncertainty.

From the opening lines of the novel, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, the credibility of the narrator is questionable. The frame narrative opens up with an unknown narrator who is listening to manuscript written by the Governess, read by Douglas who acquired it through his sister. Furthermore, the events of the manuscript occur about 20 years prior to the reading of the manuscript in the beginning of the story. The initial narrator, Douglas describes the Governess as ‘young, untried, nervous’ (James 10). This already sets the tone for Governess appearing as an unreliable narrator. In her manuscript, the Governess is homodiegetic to the story,

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.

     Henry James was one of the famous writers during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was known as an innovative and independent novelist. One of James' novels, The Turn of the Screw (1898), has caused a lot of controversy among many critics, and each of them has had a particular interpretation. James' creative writing built a close connection between his novel and his readers. The reactions of the readers toward The Turn of the Screw can be researched psychologically by analyzing how James developed his story using questionable incidents, an unreliable narrator, unexpected changes, an interesting prologue, and effective images and words.

Grose. They discover that Flora has disappeared while Miles plays the piano. They finally spot Flora on the far side of the Sea of Azof. When they begin their journey back to the house with Flora, the governess sees the ghost of Miss Jessel. She points the ghost out to Mrs. Grose, but she sees nothing. Mrs. Grose says,”She isn’t there, little lady, and nobody’s there—and you never see nothing, my sweet! How can poor Miss Jessel—-when poor Miss Jessel’s dead and buried?” (James 71). The governess is the only one that sees Miss Jessel for a second time. Mrs. Grose now knows that the no ghosts actually exist, and the governess is truly insane. The governess imagines all of the crazy things going on at Bly.

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 and the Governess also resemble extremely ambiguous behavior. The scene of the governess’s questioning due to Mile’s appearance outside in the middle of the night seems elliptical. His kiss that the

The Real Her Desires, manipulation, and lack of communication leads a family to death. A desire is strongly wish for or want. When the grandmother desired for something she started to manipulate the family. Manipulation is when a person influence skillfully in a unfair manner. The grandmother manipulated the family which caused lack communication and a weak bond.

There is this trend of revengeful of killing that appeared through these texts. In “The Tell-Tall of the Heart” by Poe, Edgar Allan, it is about a man being obsessed with an old man's eye and he claims the eye scares him. In the story titled “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, a family embarks on journey to Georgia, but the grandmother leads them into a wrong road at a wrong time. They meet a Misfit who kills them all. Whereas, in “Usher II” by Bradbury, one of the main characters, Stendhal, kills Garrett because he came to destroy the house he had built.

The author uses the concept of good vs. evil to convey the main theme of the novel. The author took over two years to let this story marinate in his mind. He took a lease over of a mansion in London to be able to relate personal experience to his novel. In the novel “The Turn of the Screw”, James uses the main character, the governess, to question the concept of good vs. evil. The governess, through her conflicts with believing to see evil spirits, her relationships with the children, and the question of her sanity provides the reader with the choice to believe whether she is innocent or guilty.

Every time the governess is conflicted, her mind turns and is unstable. Even before Miles arrives at Bly, the governess questions his demeanor and is paranoid about his reason for dismissal from school. She assumes that he has done something evil and "that he 's an injury to others." (page 10). Mrs. Grose tries to persuade her that he wouldn 't be that way. However, she is yet unsure of Miles ' character and further discusses him with Mrs. Grose. The governess is still concerned about Miles ' wrongful ways, but when questioned if she 's afraid of him, she "gave way for the time to the apprehension of ridicule." (page 12). It is her paranoia that opens the door for negative thoughts and images to enter her mind.

As ‘The Turn of the Screw’ was written in the 19th century when most of his family were famous and praised for their study of the mind and investigations into spirit phenomena, this could have inspired Henry to write the story. The fact that his older brother was famous and successful man when it came to psychology and physiology may have contributed to sibling rivalry. Henry had written novels that hadn’t sold well and had written plays that were far too intellectual for many of the general public to even watch. Writing a psychological ghost story in a spirit-obsessed era when his family were renowned for their knowledge seems to be best explanation as to why the novella was written.

Thus, it is incumbent to the reader to interpret them; despite this, the stream of consciousness is unaffected. Conversely, Theodora Bosanquet, denying that theory, implies that Henry James could not have been irked by commas since he incredibly valued his books. In the light of this element, it also means that, if James valued The Turn of the Screw this much, he could not have made an ambiguity over the governess inconsequential, everything he does has a purpose either making the narrator omniscient and trustworthy or subjective and temperamental. Similarly, Timms asserts that her stream of consciousness is not linear in the term of the story timeline, but rather with the process of recoiling on the

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 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.