The Turn Of The Screw Literary Analysis

     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.

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.

Grose. They discover that Flora has disappeared while Miles plays the piano. They finally spot Flora on the far side of the Sea of Azof. When they begin their journey back to the house with Flora, the governess sees the ghost of Miss Jessel. She points the ghost out to Mrs. Grose, but she sees nothing. Mrs. Grose says,”She isn’t there, little lady, and nobody’s there—and you never see nothing, my sweet! How can poor Miss Jessel—-when poor Miss Jessel’s dead and buried?” (James 71). The governess is the only one that sees Miss Jessel for a second time. Mrs. Grose now knows that the no ghosts actually exist, and the governess is truly insane. The governess imagines all of the crazy things going on at Bly.

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

Certain it is, the place still continues under the sway of some witching power, that holds a spell over the minds of the good people, causing them to walk in a continual reverie. They are given to all kinds of marvellous beliefs; are subject to trances and visions; and frequently see strange sights, and hear music and voices in the air. The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions; stars shoot and meteors glare oftener across the valley than in any other part of the country, and the nightmare, with her

In the governess's insane pseudo-reality and through her chilling behavior, she managed to bring downfall to Flora and Miles, the children of Bly. With compulsively obsessive actions, irrational assumptions, and demented hallucinations, the governess perceived ghosts bearing evil intentions were attempting to corrupt and destroy the children she had taken the role of care for. In reality, the governess herself brought tragedy to the children through her own selfishness and insanity.

Miles represents a socially and sexually corrupt figure by the ghost of Peter Quint who violated status on two occasions. His being “too free” with Miles leads to controversy as well as his love affair with the previous governess. The governess’s knowledge on the history behind Quint and Miles changes drastically as she learns more information to discover truth. Her rejection of the idea that Miles could be “bad” transforms into an obsession noting his every action in hopes to reveal that the children are being possessed by ghosts. Despite the connotation of Quint’s clash of class boundaries, the text also suggests the potential homosexual nature of his association with Miles. Therefore, the ghost of Quint stands for everything the Governess is afraid of, and his sense of menace dictates Miles living through his identity.

The fear of Peter Quint had caused his heart to stop. He was dead, and the ghosts had gotten to him. The governess’ worst fear had com to life, no matter what she did she could not prevent what had occurred.She tried her best, but didn’t come through for Miles. She let the poor boy down, and it cost him, his life. The governess’ greatest mission was now a major failure. She promised herself that she would protect both of the children at all cost, but she could not keep keep her promise, as Miles fell to the hands of the apparition of Peter Quint.

The Governess could be the hero of the story right away. The story begins with her taking a new job in Bly, caring for two children, for a man she does not really know, completely on her own. Now, if the ghosts that she claims to be seeing are real, then her heroism shows throughout the entire story as she tries to save and shield the children from these ghosts. She shows nothing but love towards the children, even stating “My conclusion bloomed there with the real rose-flush of his innocence: he was only too fine and fair for the little horrid unclean school-world, and he had paid a price for it.”

The Governesses madness derived from the horrifying visits from the ghosts and the mysteries of Peters expulsion. The “along” perspective of madness reveals the most powerful harassment that would drive anyone to the state of madness. As well as the ghost visits and the childrens behavior, the internal struggles the Governess faced when battling the haunting uncertainty of what she should consider true or

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.

One critical response by Edmund Wilson regarded the Governess as hallucinatory. Suggesting that the ghosts she saw were so detailed that they were of her own imagining. “The governess is viewed as an unreliable narrator, either neurotic or actually insane; and the children are considered either uncorrupted or corrupted by the treatment of the governess herself (Henry James, The Turn of the Screw – Introduction).” He further goes on to suggest that, “…the governess is a neurotic spinster whose repressed passion for her employer, the children’s bachelor uncle, causes her to hallucinate.” Wilson took a very Freudian approach to his critical response of The Turn of the Screw, for when Wilson was reviewing it psychology was all the rage in 1934.

A simple fact of literature is that a story simply cannot be told without the presence of a nar-rator. This textual voice literally narrates the story and therefore wields the power to influ-ence it in many ways. Sometimes, it is not what the narrator reveals that is important, but what is left out. Writers can use the different aspects of narration to make their point more efficiently and it is therefore an obvious focus point when it comes to interpreting a text. Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw has for several reasons been in literary critics’ spotlight and this essay focuses on the changes in narrative voice taking place in the introduction along with the first three chapters of the story with some final comments on their relation to

After reading Turn of the Screw, I found the experience and life of Miles and Flora very interesting because they were different from the other children and the situations they got into were absurd. In my opinion I believe the ghosts were real because the behaviors that the children exhibited were abnormal and strange. For example when Miles went outside the mansion at night, it was strange that he was not afraid to go out alone at night and his only response when the governess asked him to tell her the truth was that he wanted to show how naughty he could be. A strange situation that happens with Flora is how she sings the song to Miss Jessel, but when the governess confronts her and tries to make her admit she sees someone she refuses. Overall,

Douglas clearly cares about the governess, and maintains personal connection to the story even though it’s been sitting in a drawer for twenty years. Douglas feels attached to the story because he lived the story so many years ago.(as Miles) “Nobody but me, till now, has ever heard. It's quite too horrible.”(p. 292) This shows that the manuscript isn’t just a good ghost story for him to tell people because he’s never shared it before. He also finds that Douglas’s audience is more perceptive than he appears ready. They make inferences about he and his love, and Douglas reveals bits and pieces about her. “I liked her extremely and am glad to this day to think she liked me, too. If she hadn't she wouldn't have told me.(p. 293) In the story, she mentions several times that Miles was the most beautiful boy that she had ever laid eyes on, and over infatuation with the boy like that would easily lead Miles to believe he was the object of her utmost affection. To add to the fact that the woman he was in love with was the governess was when one of the guests mentions that