Social Conflict In Henry James's The Turn Of The Screw

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.

The Turn of the Screw has been so often object to literary criticism as barely another piece of literature has. The so called Freudian reading of the likes of Harold C. Goddard, Edna Kenton, and its maybe best known figure Edmund Wilson is probably the most remarkable interpretation. According to it the governess suffers sexual hysteria deriving from her suppressed amorous feelings towards the master. Unconsciously of them her fantasy conjures up the ghosts of Bly´s former valet Peter Quint and her predecessor Miss Jessel who want to get hold of the children. In saving her charges the governess can ply the heroine in her made-up drama to win the attention and love of the master.

Henry James’s ‘Turn of the Screw’ can be interpreted in many different ways. He constructed his novel in order to make allusions to sexual topics, (without stating anything explicitly) madness, ghosts and the Victorian society. In this essay I will be analysing each of the above in order to make a conclusion as to what I think the children need protecting from. As for the ghosts being present or not,

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

James opens the novella with a framing device where there are ghost stories being told around a fire on Christmas Eve and one of the members of the party, Douglas speaks about tale who was narrated by a governess, who was his sisters governess and dead for more than 20 years. As he is telling this tale the other members wonder if the governess was in love to which he replies that she was and only to a man she has seen twice and who tells her to not trouble her as she was to handle all the responsibility herself.

‘The Turn of the Screw is essentially an ambivalent text. Its narrative prompts divergent, even opposite readings, but does not reconcile them. What happens remains irrevocably uncertain’

Within The Turn of the Screw, Henry James uses clothing as a means of class division. He pairs the outward appearance with other aspects such as colors and diction to give a distinctive air to the characters within the novel. Through the description of clothing or the lack thereof, James is able to convey specific things about the characters through their degree of conformity to societal rules.

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.

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.

James’ novella centers around a young governess who is in charge of watching her employer’s kids at an estate in Bly. The governess’ social standing and desire to keep her job reveal the instability of jobs for women in this era. Her employer, the uncle of Miles and Flora, is a typical wealthy

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

Henry James's The Turn of the Screw paints a landscape that is ripe for psychoanalytic analysis. He has chosen language and syntax that symbolize his main character's psychological fragmentation and her futile attempt to mend herself. Many of Lacan's theories emerge as the Governess reveals her motivations through her recollective narrative.

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.

At the beginning of the Victorian Period, both single and married women’s rights were limited. The changes during this era in the identity of genders are represented in the characters the author Wilkie Collins describes. For example, Marian Halcombe is characterized as strong and predominant. She is Laura’s voice when regarding to her husband and protects her throughout the story. Although Marian knows her role as a woman in society, she disapproves with the beliefs of the era. On the other hand, Laura personalizes the conventional quiet woman that obeys customs. To emphasize this, in Collin’s novel, he lets the reader know that Laura is marrying the man that her father approved even though he is now dead. When she marries, her rights legally belong to her husband and is treated with the laws and customs of the Victorian era. Throughout this period, the distinction between classes was also notable. Comparatively, The Woman in White presents how the middle class as Laura and her uncle refer to the working class, Fanny the maid. Even though Fanny has always been their maid and is the only person they trust, they only communicate with her at their convenience. Moreover, Mr. Fairlie does not even call the maid by her name, but refers to her as “Young Person”. Certainly, the Victorian Period was a significant impact in the novel where

The Turn of the Screw is one of the most controversial works in literature and the text has provoked a variety of critical interpretations from its publication in 1898. In this novel, the governess tells her experience with two apparitions that no one but she could see. And the governess accuses the ghosts of servants for corrupting the children, Miles and Flora. Critics concerning about the truth of the story are divided two basic camps based on their acceptance or rejection of the governess's credibility as a storyteller. Some critics believe that the ghosts are real and the governess is a rational and credible narrator, while the others believe that the ghosts are hallucinations of the governess and regard the governess as an incredible and mentally abnormal narrator. Also, we could speculate the author’s intention on the basis of his life experience and other works of Henry James. This essay will examine the reliability of the governess on the basis of the text and interpret Henry James’s intention on the basis of other sources.