The Little Governess

Ambiguity in The Turn of the Screw The Turn of the Screw, is a tale about two young children who live under the care of their newly hired governess out in the countryside at Bly. Shortly after the governess’s arrival, two ghosts sporadically appear to her, but it is not long before she realizes that they are not there to see her. “On the spot there came to me the added shock of certitude that it was not for me he had come there. He had come for someone else” (James 34). Also, it just so happened

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

Additionally, James reinforces the female gothic conventions by utilizing the supernatural to drive the Governess into madness. After her encounter with Peter’s ghost, the house’s “darkness and quietness close in” onto her while she “circles about the place” as the overwhelming feeling of curiosity consumes her (James 27). This sublime of the truth “heightening or setting up terrible things” that will occur at the Bly mansion (Burke 381). The pleasure of knowing of this hidden truth drives the protagonist

sees, “and his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped.” P.403 one dismisses that theory as lost, but it isn’t. Perhaps one ignore the idea because of many unclear allusions to discrepancies. James’ use of deliberate vagueness was intended to create a second plausible ending. One may ask, how is it possible that Douglas and Miles are the same person if Miles died? James described that Miles’ heart had stopped. But there are two ways to interpret this, that Miles

In Henry James’ Turn of the Screw, Flora and Miles are some of the most important characters. The Governess, the caretaker of the children, has an unhealthy obsession with the children. She is intoxicated by their beauty and perfection. By the end of this book, readers can understand that infatuation can truly kill. The Governess loves her new job, but a bit too much, shown in this quote: “My charming work was just my life with Miles and Flora, and through nothing could I so like it as through

story is told through the limited perception of the narrator, a young governess. Left in charge of two young children, she begins to see ghosts of former employees of the estate and seeks to protect the children, while becoming suspicious of their actions as well. Her behavior becomes erratic and the reader is forced to question whether the ghosts are real or if they are fabricated by the governess. On one hand, the governess can be seen as ambitious, placing herself in a situation where she is required

Scrooge is the sole witness of these apparitions which suggest that Scrooge's stress, greed, and guilt cause these spirit visions. Henry James also writes of ghost visions caused by personal stress and struggle. In James’s The Turn of the Screw, the governess fabricates a story of ghosts haunting

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

gothic literature. In The Turn of the Screw, the governess plays the role by displaying her ongoing battle with the ghosts over the safety of the children. Within her first couple of days at the house, she is already seeing the ghosts of the old governess, Miss Jessel and the butler, Peter Quint. In the book, the governess constantly tells about her concern that the children are in danger. In the book, James writes, "Dear little Miles, dear little Miles, if you knew how I want to help you! It's

A governess is an educated woman who works for a family by teaching the school age children. It was the type of job that almost all young girls would not want to be but ironically the children of the household most likely admired and were very fond of their governess. Most children were closer to their governess than their own mother. If there was a governess in a home, the mother no longer had to take care of her children but could now devote her life to the church and her husband. The term governess