Turn Of The Screw Essay

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.

A third-person limited narrative point of view is employed in the novel to relay Jamie’s thought processes as to reveal his inner

Readers might wonder with whom she was in love. Then the Master told the Governess about the previous governess and her death (James 296). The readers probably want to know the reason of the previous governess' death. When the Master talked about the duties of the Governess, he required her not to contact him in any way (James 297). We do not know why he made that requirement. As the story continues, the readers have many more unsolved questions such as why Miles was dismissed from school, why the Governess could describe Peter Quint exactly though she never meet him, and why the Governess thought that ghosts wanted to catch the two children. Ned Lukacher thinks that "[the way James] has said something also becomes a way of not having said something else" (132). For instance, James revealed some hints regarding the reason Miles was dismissed. We know that "[Miles]'s an injury to the others" (304) and Mrs. Grose thought Miles was "no boy for [her]" (305). However, these hints do not help the readers to completely understand why Miles was sent away from his school. Instead, more questions are posed, such as how such a ten-year-old boy could injure other students and why Mrs. Grose thought about Miles that way. The readers can not easily find the specific and reasonable answers in the story, so they have to guess the answers based on their own

The second visitation of the ghost of Peter Quint also occurs while the governess is by herself. As the governess, the children, and Mrs. Grouse are preparing for church, the governess goes back into the house to retrieve gloves she sees a visage of the same man she saw at the tower. When Mrs. Grose sees her face she immediately asks what is wrong. The governess goes on to describe the man that she has seen in an odd mixture of attraction and revulsion. This adds question to the reader on the subject of the validity of the testimony of the visitations

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

In the novel, the author uses characters in the novel to narrate the story in their eyes, therefore being a first person but in some parts in the novel, the narration is seen from an omniscient point of view. Though the novel is mainly first person, some can argue that some parts are in different point of

‘The Turning’ is a collection of short stories that follow the lives of the same characters at different critical moments in their lives, by the multi-award winning Australian author Tim Winton. These stories create their own turning, a sense that life somehow, even at its lowest, goes on. In the turning Winton combines accessibility and a strong sense of common character into seventeen short stories. Winton creates characters facing limited life choices which gives an engaging perspective to the characters inside the book. In this text response I’ll be focused on three of these included stories, entitled ‘On Her Knees’, ‘Damaged Goods’ and ‘Fog’. These stories all involve the story of Victor Lang and his life and relationships.

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 governess says that Flora and Miles were “extraordinarily at one” and she admires their “quality of sweetness” (James p.38), but when Flora denies seeing the ghost at the lake, the governess becomes irritated and Flora wishes to leave (James p.70). This evidence supports the claim that the governess is mad because her emotions are radical and she becomes irritated when Flora disagrees with her. This demonstrates that the governess is clearly emotionally unstable which supports the claim that she is

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.

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.

The Governess is the only one who could see the ghost/hallucination. Miles never seen Peter Quint that night and his heart stopped

This reason is made apparent to the reader from the metaphor ‘Turn of the Screw’, which gives the impression that the story will have a deep emotional impact on them like a screw being forced into a wall. Adding a ‘particular touch’ to the story are the two children, who give the ‘effect of two turns’. This shows the reader that the story will have a deeper impact on them than they originally thought, because the depth of the screw is dictated by the amount of turns forced upon it and also represents the impression made on the reader. Consequently, if the screw is turned twice then the story will have twice the impact. Douglas’ ‘wincing grimace’ at the thought of the story supports the reader’s assumption that ‘The Turn of the Screw’ is a horrific ghost story, but nothing more psychological than that.

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.

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