The Role of Sexuality in Turn of the Screw Essay

     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.

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

The Victorian Age was a time of moral behavior and ideas. Sexuality had no place with the norms and mores of society, yet as it is part of human nature, it continued to exist. With sex being a topic so repressed during the period, people took anything not specified in sexual connotations. Realizing this, the authors of the time used this to their advantage and laid a heavy underlying sexual atmosphere as a basis for their stories. Henry James does just that in his Turn of the Screw. Though never directly stating so, his main character suffers from sexual repression that came along with her position in the Victorian age and eventually acts upon it, while the ghosts in the story then serve as protection for the children she acts out

The governess, in her mind, believed she knew what the intentions of others were though, in reality, she had no evidence. After a simple agreement about the children's activities, the governess believed that herself and Ms. Grose would be in some sort of pact or pledge where they saw eye to eye on all situations. After this interpretation of Ms. Grose as a close friend, the governess began to feel distraught when Ms. Grose was busy cleaning the house and didn't habitually stop work to consult with the governess.

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

The change in society’s views on sexuality during the 1960s created a moral shift in which people and cultural values shifted away from many traditional biblical ethics. With inspiration from African American and their movements in civil rights, many young women sought to achieve gender equality with males despite the society’s cookie-cutter view of women as housewives in the 1950s. In 1963, Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique as an outlash against the view of the traditional American housewife. Friedan took inspiration from Holocaust survivor Bruno Bettelheim’s analysis of the psychological abuse imposed by the Germans on their prisoners and compared the average suburban home to “comfortable concentration camps” (Wolfe). Alan

In The Turn of the Screw, Henry James employs class divisions through clothing, representing how the characters are inclined to act through their degree of conformity to societal expectations. First published in 1898, by Collier’s Weekly, a magazine company that had a reputation of reporting on integral societal events and topics people considered important to their lives, the magazine commissioned the help of famous writers to write on pressing historical events of the time (Elduff). It grew to be one of the most widely read magazines in the United States by 1892, which allowed James to write a novella that hit on concerns regarding social mobility on a larger scale platform. Since the Victorian era was marked by prosperity and innovations in technology, incomes rose leading to the growing of the middle class. This had a drastic impact on the culture and the elites who feared the middle class movement for “they had many reasons for resenting their practical stigmatization as second class citizens” (Best 238). James highlights this concern through pointing out clothing which denotes which class a characters associated with and coupling this with immoral actions of the times.

​As the sexual revolution began in the 1950s, stag films became less and less popular. However, Irving Klaw filmed the popular pin up model, Bettie Page, in several specialty stag films from 1952 - 1957; and the film Smart Alec, starring Candy Barr, was released in 1951.

As the renowned American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson once have said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Many minor characters in To Kill a Mockingbird especially reflect what Emerson said. A major theme surrounding this acclaimed classic involves various social stigmas in early 20th century Alabama. Scout Finch, a precocious girl learns many valuable lessons throughout the book, while she faces many social adversaries such as racism and the pressure to conform under the expectations of being a women. Scout’s three main women role models, Calpurnia, Miss Maudie, and Aunt Alexandra, all guide her as she matures throughout the book.

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.

him to keep the plantation so, she tries to seduce him in bed in efforts of

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

Often, at the tables of discussions for the literature critics is the issue of psychosexuality of a woman or the issue of supernaturalism related to illusory ghosts, when it comes to the story of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw (Renner, 175). However, Stanley Renner narrows down his focus on the relation between Quint’s “ghost” and the governess in terms of “human physiognomy” and “sexual hysteria” (Renner, 176).

    Another way in which power discourses of sexuality are challenged in the film is through the contrast of colonial with Maori cultural value systems. Nineteenth century European culture allowed for only heterosexuality between adults, within the institution of marriage. This is evident in Stuart's reaction to the sex play of Flora and the Maori children; they are embracing trees in a sexual manner while the Maori women watch on, unconcerned. Stuart, upon seeing Flora's behaviour, is shocked and offended. "I'm greatly shamed! You've shamed these trunks." He chastises her, and in the following scene he is shown supervising her as she