The brain is an intricately designed organ that helps in the aid of daily life. It is able to control all other organs and bodily functions and even manages all actions, memories, or feelings that can be experienced. It is essential in the functioning of daily life. However, there are times in which it can be deceitful, sometimes even showing things that are not even there. This causes one to doubt the very nature of things and can even explain why it is that things such as ‘second thoughts’ or ‘fear’ crosses the mind. Henry James, the author of The Turn of the Screw, uses these “defects of the mind” to destroy the barrier between reality and fiction. The Turn of the Screw exists in a reality that is retold more than once and in many instances, it depicts the twisted perception of a protagonist with an "overactive imagination" and even goes as far as to show how the reader perceives the certain perceptions of others. How one is able to view a certain 'reality, ' solely depends on a person 's reaction to certain situations as well as the mental stability during the action or moment. Galileo Galilei even stated that “tastes, odors, colors, and so on resides only in one’s head.” James tries to make us doubt whether reality is all it seems to be by interfering with the mental health of a person, giving way to many theories or conjectures through the use of perception.
To start off, the main protagonist is insane if seen as something other than a ghost story. Because of her
There are different ghosts, and each ghost represents a different aspect of human weakness or failure. As the readers keep reading, there are more characters introduced such as the grumbling woman and artist and each character has their meaning. Each of them highlights different personalities and the reasons for their spiritual
Why is sin important? It is believed that sin is important to people because their deity places guilt on their wrongdoings to show that those actions are not to be repeated. In contrary to this belief, there are people with religious views that hold no importance with sin. Depending on the individual’s religious views, sin can be a conflict between oneself and a “higher” being or it can not affect the individual at all. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Arthur Dimmesdale is an ordained Puritan priest that had committed a grave sin in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He had committed adultery with a married woman, Hester, the woman that is married to Roger Chillingworth. After Chillingworth has heard about this news, he seeks
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
Throughout The Turn of the Screw, Henry James walks a line so fine, one wrong step would put the whole story in jeopardy of losing its uniqueness. From page one, readers are presented with an image of a woman who has, up until this point, lived an incredibly sheltered life. So inexperienced in the ways of the world, she falls in love with the man who intends to hire her, all before he has said one word. While some may argue that the governess descends into a state of lunacy, it is unequivocal that the ghosts that appear to her take the shape of persons who have resided at Bly before her arrival, persons she could not have possibly have known. Additionally, a critical point upon which the argument for hysteria is built, and from which the discrediting
As great effect as emotions can have on someone, even greater is the effect of how one reacts to his emotions. Arguably the two most influential of these emotions are guilt and anger. They can drive a man to madness or encourage actions of vindication. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale are subject to this very notion in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter. Hester simply accepted that what she had done was wrong, whereas Dimmesdale, being a man of high regard, did not want to accept the reality of what he did. Similar to Hester and Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth allows his emotions to influence his life; however, his influence came as the result of his anger. Throughout the book, Hawthorne documents how Dimmesdale and Hester 's
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.
At the time the book was written it was the late 19th century, Victorian era; and at the time Victorians were fascinated by ghosts - a perfect reason to write a psychological ghost story.
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.
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’ 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 created a number of famous stories during his time The Turn of the Screw being one of his most iconic ones. James is a very iconic writer for his time and even till this day with the structure of his writing. This short story has been read over, for more than 100 years and will continue to be read. Throughout this story’s time frame, there has been a lot of controversy over certain characters in the story. Some might suggest that the characters were placed in their place to deceive the audience.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (2010) is designed to have many interpretations in terms of its characters, chain of events and its narration. Many people believe the main idea of this narrative is whether it is apparitionist or non-apparitionist. They question the Governess’s ability to see ghosts. However, this paper will demonstrate that this narrative is in essence a love story regardless of supernatural events. Through the analysis of the frame, it is easy to accept that the Turn of the Screw is a compilation of love stories. The frame presents three love stories; it describes a relationship between Douglas and the Governess, the master of Bly and the Governess, and hints at a love story between the Governess and Miles. The examination of diction, imagery, characterization and figurative language in these love stories will prove that each love story aids in the transmission, the transcription or the plot of the main narrative.
Oftentimes, the devil is depicted as an evil deity sitting in the depths of a burning pit, plotting the demise of mankind and creating all the evils that are in the world. However, in The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis, using a series of letters from an experienced tempter to his protégé, makes the case that this is false. He portrays the devils as a perverted spirit, the opposite of a guardian angel. Unlike God who truly loves man and embraces his individuality, the devil’s main objective is to cultivate humans for food, consuming their uniqueness. “We want cattle who can finally become food… we want to suck in… we are empty and would be filled”[i] Screwtape, the demonic mentor of Wormwood, writes bluntly in his letter in Chapter 8. In their
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.
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.