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Social Conflict In The Turn Of The Screw By Henry James

Decent Essays

Henry James’ array of characters helps to tie the reality of social conflict into 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.
James’ novella centers around a young governess who is in charge of watching her employer’s kids. 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 landowner who has “ his own town residence...but it [is] to his country home” that the governess is sent to work (James 149). It is important to note that it is perhaps the governess’ first job (Pouquette 257) and that she is still young and inexperienced (Chase 261). During the 1850’s, middle-class women were “expected to fulfill their traditional role of bearing and raising children” and that for unmarried women, serving in someone else’s home was also “acceptable” (“The Turn of the Screw” 255). The social difference between the governess and her employer and the lack of communication between the two seems to add to her desire to maintain a good relationship with him. The employer has one rule of not being bothered with what goes on in the house and when the

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