The Turn Of The Screw Analysis

The Turn of the Screw is a ghost story that is mostly narrated by a young woman who is starting off her career as a governess. The governess gets a job where she takes care of siblings Miles and Flora. While she is watching the children she come across ghosts and convinces herself that they are after the children. As the story progresses and the governess begins losing control of the children as she starts to go slightly mad from the ghosts that only she can see. At the climax of the story Flore leaves the house with the house keeper Mrs. Grose after she suffer a brake down from the governess pushing her to reveal that she sees the ghosts. After Flore leave Miles is left with the governess and at the end of the story when they are both face with the ghosts’ miles suddenly dies without answering the question if the children really did see the ghosts.

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.

Through out the short novella, 'The Turn of the Screw,' by Henry James, the governess continually has encounters with apparitions that seem to only appear to her. As Miles' behavior in school worsens so that he is prevented from returning, and as Flora becomes ill with a fever, the governess blames these ghosts for corrupting the children, Miles and Flora, and labels them as evil and manipulative forces in their lives. But why is it that these ghosts only seem to appear to the governess even when the children are present at the time of the sightings by the governess? Evidence from the short story leads the reader to believe that the ghosts are not real but are merely the evidence of the fragmenting sanity of the governess.

Hamlet’s attitude in Scene 2 shows his respect and kindness for the people who work for him, which is seen when Horatio and Marcellus come to tell Hamlet about his father’s ghost. More so his hatred towards his uncle for blowing off the death of his father and so quickly after, the remarriage of his mother to his uncle.

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

But either way I don’t believe the governess saw the ghosts based on two main factors; first being, her vague description of Miss Jessel, and secondly, the fact Mrs Grose never saw either of the ghosts. I think the children need protection from the governess and her imagination. The governess comes across to have an unbalanced behaviour which doesn’t go well with the children. I also think madness links into the fact the governess is hallucinating. I believe the hallucinations have lead the governess to get carried away, which slowly turned her insane and made her very over-protective towards the children.

During the play Hamlet consistently see’s the ghost of his father. Hamlet is the only one who talks to the ghost. This would lead you to believe he has gone insane. However Hamlet wasn’t the only one who saw the ghost. Horatio also saw the ghost, he was the one who told Hamlet in the first place that he had seen the ghost of his dead father. In one part of the play when Hamlet is talking to his mom, the queen. Hamlet sees the ghost coming in he wants his mother to see the ghost. “His form and cause conjoin’d, preaching the stones, Would make them capable”(Act 3, Scene 4.) His mother see’s nothing and just believes Hamlet has gone insane. However one must ask himself this question, why would the ghost talk to anyone else but Hamlet? The ghost has absolutely no need to talk to anyone else. He wants Hamlet to avenge him, but he also wants Hamlet to remain safe. Everyone else is now

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.

The ghosts of Quint and Miss Jessel are simply just “hallucinatory manifestations of the governess’s hysterical mind” (40). The ghosts of Quint and Miss Jessel enter the world through the fragmented mind of the governess, and as Jennifer Sattaur says, “Seeing ghosts can be considered one of the symptoms of mental disturbance, regardless of whether the ghosts are real, imagined, or something else altogether”

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.

He does not believe that it is truly his father. Even after seeing the ghost himself, Hamlet remains cynical, although he does in fact emotional upon seeing it. The ghost tells Hamlet that his brother killed him in order to steal both his wife and the throne. Hamlet becomes confused after seeing his father’s ghost and is unsure of how he should react. However, he vows to seek revenge against his uncle, although he refuses to do so without first having sufficient evidence to prove his uncle’s guilt.

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.

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.

The critics from psychanalytic perspective claim that the existence of ghosts is the governess’s hysterical delusion. The ghost is the projection of governess's own sexual hysteria, which resulted from the conflict between native romantic impulses and idealistic innocence required by Victorian society (Renner). The inexperienced governess encounters the "handsome," "bold," young gentleman with "charming ways with women" (James, 4) and she