The Little Governess

Escaping the Governess in The Turn of the Screw   At the end of The Turn of the Screw, great ambiguity exists surrounding Miles's death because serious questions remain about the credibility of the Governess who was the original author of the story. The ambiguity lies with the question of whom Miles was saved from at the end of the novel: the Governess or Quint. At the end of the novel the Governess holds Miles dead body in her arms and says, "...he has lost you for ever... We were alone

focus on the reliability of the governess, the narrator of the story. After making a close examination of her state of mind while she is at Bly, readers of The Turn of the Screw will have many more clues to ponder again and to decide to what extent the governess can be believed. While critics like Heilman argue that there are problems with the interpretation that the governess was psychopathic, textual evidence incorporated with scientific research show that the governess did go through a period of psychical

James’ novella centers around a young governess who is in charge of watching her employer’s kids at an estate in Bly. The governess’ social standing and desire to keep her job reveal the instability of jobs for women in this era. Her employer, the uncle of Miles and Flora, is a typical wealthy

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

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

In The Turn of the Screw, Henry James utilizes many aspects of the “point of view” technique, yet his most palpable use comes in the form of the first person narrator. The use of the first person narrator with the governess enables James to present the reader with many opportunities to question the validity of her account, while at the same time adding to the complexity of the story. Due to James’ clever use of the first person narrator, there is not necessarily a right or wrong way to observe 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

“The Turn of the Screw”, by Henry James, the governess continuously encounters ghosts that seemingly only appear to her. As the story progresses, the governess starts postulating a relationship between Miles, Flora, and the supposed corruptive ghosts. However, due to the fact that the ghosts are not seen when others are present at the time of the sightings indicate that they fail to exist. Moreover, through the evidence presented in the text, the governess is an unreliable narrator and her actions should

against expedience in a corrupt world. The governess confronts immorality and malevolence all of her time at Bly estate. From the moment she understands the depth of the depravity at the manor, she pledges to protect the children under her care at whatever cost. “I was there to protect and defend the little creatures in the world most bereaved and the most lovable, the appeal of whose helplessness had suddenly become only too explicit” (179). As soon as the governess makes this declaration, she acts in

there is plenty of evidence that proves the Governess is insane.In the novel she is constantly thinking irrationally, she turns against the people she trusts and the children she adores, and there is a significant amount of evidence that the ghosts are all apart of the governess’ imagination. The governess’ irrational thinking, paranoia, and hallucinations prove that she is insane and that the ghosts are all in her head. The irrational thinking of the Governess provides a substantial amount of evidence