The Turn Of The Screw By Henry James

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James continues to stir up an immense amount of controversy for such a short novel. Making a definite, educated decision on the actual truth considering the countless inquiries that develop while reading this story proves more difficult than winning a presidential election. That being understood, taking one particular side on any argument from a close reading of the story seems impossible, because the counter argument appears just as conceivable. Any side of the controversy remains equally disputable considerably supported by textual evidence from the novel. One issue which, like the rest, can be answered in more than one ways is why Mrs. Grose believes the

Humans have the power to perceive and can take objective information and develop it into a highly subjective opinion. The governess exemplifies how one’s own mind and the power of perception shape every relationship and ultimately determine the outcome of one’s life. In The Turn of the Screw, Henry James effectively uses ambiguity to make the reader question if the governess is paranoid or experiencing paranormal activity of Miss Jessel and Peter Quint. James allows the readers to see the undeveloped parameters of the setting and characters, but he does not give subjective information. This leaves most of The Turn of the Screw left open to interpretation without crucial details to influence the readers.

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne summarizes Hester Prynne’s perspective of the forest in one phrase. Early in the book, as Hester leaves prison, Hawthorne describes the forest as “dark, inscrutable… open to [Hester], where the wilderness of her nature might assimilate itself with a people whose customs and life were alien from the law that had condemned her” (75). Hawthorne explains Hester’s connection to the evil, isolated, and free forest, which serves as the location for her conversations with Pearl, Dimmesdale, and Chillingsworth. In contrast to Puritan society, Hester Prynne not only identifies with the sinful nature of the forest, but also finds its isolation and freedom liberating.

In Isaiah 30:15 it says, “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” Hester would have none of it. Hester never repented for committing adultery with Dimmesdale, even after Dimmesdale repented for his sins. Therefore, she never had the salvation that was offered by the Lord. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, who is well known for his other works such as, The House of Seven Gables and, Young Goodman Brown. He was also a Romantic and an Anti-Transcendentalist. The Scarlet Letter is about a woman named Hester Prynne, who is living in Boston during the 1640’s. She is publicly shamed in front

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.

In Turn of the Screw the women in the story must follow a specific role. The governess was an important person. Her role as a Victorian female was to symbolize sexual innocence. The governess developed sexual feeling towards Miles a young boy that she is to be watching for the man she thinks is so handsome. Peter Quint and Miss Jessel symbolizes the ¨wickedness¨ that lives within sexual desires. Peter Quint was a very sexual person with all the females.

Consequently, this information helps identify whether the governess in the novel, The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James is a reliable narrator or an unreliable narrator. Because the governess does not tell the truth when she talks to Ms. Grose about her encounter with Ms. Jessel, she is most likely an unreliable narrator. “I came home, my dear… for a talk with Miss Jessel”… “Do you mean she spoke?”… “It came to that” (James 41). Not only does she lie, but she also seems to speak with a bias; that bias being to get Ms. Grose to believe her. As a result, this changes the whole perspective on the governess’s

Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw is famous for presenting various ambiguities about people, ghost, and scenes that can be interpreted in multiple ways. These ambiguities have sparked discussion on the various interpretations for over a hundred years. James presents the events through the Governess’ ambiguous narration, which means that we can only infer what the experience felt like from the children’s perspective.

Henry James’ array of characters helps to define the reality of social conflict in this fictional horror story. His characters each have unique 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.

Henry James was born in New York in 1843, where he studied law, wrote short stories, and book reviews. Also, Henry James older brother William James, wrote books that contribute to the explosion of psychology and could had as well contribute to James Character’s. Nerveless, Henry James was fascinated with “spiritual Phenomena” stories and wrote many ghost stories aside from Turn Of The Screw. Nerveless, Turn of the screw was influenced from a ghost story told by Edward White Benson, who’s tells of two children that where haunted by ghost and nevertheless, psychology to let us question The governess state of mind.

In the equivocal Victorian novella The Turn of the Screw, author Henry James details events surrounding a tyrannical, oppressive governess as she assumes the care of two seemingly angelic children and subsequently delves deeply into insanity. Purposefully ambiguous, this story is left open to numerous interpretations ranging from viewing it as a frightening ghost story to a tale of manipulative, inherently evil children. In the psychoanalytic perspective, which follows teachings from prominent figureheads such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, analysis of the text reveals that the apparitions were merely hallucinations, viewable only by the protagonist. When reading the novella with this interpretation, it should also be seen in a satirical manner,

Peter G. Beidler informs us that there have been “hundreds” of analyses of Henry James’ spine-tingling novella, The Turn of the Screw (189). Norman Macleod suggests that James himself seems to be “an author intent on establishing a text that cannot be interpreted in a definite way” (Qtd in Beidler 198). Yet, the vast majority of analyses of The Turn of the Screw seem to revolve around two sub-themes: the reality of the ghosts and the death of Miles both of which are used to answer the question of the governess’s mental stability: is she a hero or a deranged lunatic? As Beidler points out, “It is an amazingly fine creepy, scary, soul-shuddering ghost story or, alternatively, it is an amazingly fine

Henry James’ novella the Turn of the Screw is a highly ambiguous piece of fiction. Set in Edwardian England, a very naïve woman is left in charge of two young children. The beautiful Bly however appears to be hiding a few dark secrets. The appearance of two ghosts plays on the governess’ mind, she comes to the conclusion the children are in danger and being possessed by these two horrors. Throughout the novella James successfully creates a mystical atmosphere, his ambiguous style forces us to think twice about what is written and decide for ourselves whether or not this is purely a ghost story or something far more sinister. However after several reads and a close look behind the words, it becomes clear that the ‘ghosts’ that haunt the

    The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James, is an odd story about a young woman who, leaving her small country home for the first time, takes a job as a governess in a wealthy household.  Shortly after her arrival, she begins to suffer from insomnia and fancies that she sees ghosts roaming about the grounds.  James is a master story-teller and, at times, the complexities of the story make it difficult to follow.  The Turn of the Screw is a story within a story, the tale of the governess being read aloud as a ghost story among friends.  Harold C. Goddard wrote a fascinating piece of criticism entitled "A Pre Freudian Reading of The Turn of the Screw."  When applied to the book, his

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.