Chapter Summary: The Governess And Mrs. Grose

-VIII: The governess again goes to Mrs. Grose to talk about the ghosts and the children, trying to make Mrs. Grose believe her. Mrs. Grose appears to believe her. When the governess comments further on the children’s “bad behavior”, asking more questions, Mrs. Grose gets annoyed and comes to the children’s defense, saying that when the two ghosts were alive, Ms. Jessel was fine with Peter hanging out with Miles and she with Flora and they all got along. The governess backs down and says she will not accuse the children without more evidence.
-IX: The governess continues to increase her affection towards the children, hugging them tightly and very often. The children return her affection, but the governess is still suspicious there is another motive behind their angelic façade. One night as the governess is reading, she becomes startled and goes out of her room. Then her candle goes out. She sees the ghost of Peter on the

stairway. She locks eyes with the sinister being once again, refusing to back down. Finally the ghost disappears.
-X: The governess goes back to her room to find Flora missing. She is not on her bed though the bed curtains are drawn. The governess notice there is movement behind the window blinds and finds Flora under it. Flora is unhappy that the governess has left, in turn the governess questions Flora on why she is not on her bed, to which Flora states she is scared and thinks someone is out there walking around. Flora says there is no one there, to the governess’s disbelief. She is convinced Flora is lying and that Flora is aware of the ghost. Flora also explains she hides under the curtains so she will not frighten the governess. Another day the governess sees ghost of Jessel sitting at the bottom of the stairs with her head in her hands. At night the governess wakes up to find the lights out and Flora not on her bed but at the window looking out. The governess thinks Flora is looking at the ghost but discovers through a window in another room Miles is out on the lawn.
-XI: The governess tells Mrs. Grose about Miles’s prank. She says she went out to find Miles, and Miles had told her he concocted the whole thing to show he can be bad. He had arranged the plan with Flora and is glad the prank worked.
-XII: The governess claims that she thinks the ghosts and the children are linked, and the children are meeting with the ghosts constantly. She claims that the ghosts possess the children and the children belong to the ghosts. Mrs. Grose suggests the governess asks the uncle take the children away, but the governess rejects this idea. Mrs. Grose then suggests she write to the uncle to explain everything. But the governess threatens to leave if Mrs. Grose utters a word. The governess thinks the uncle will think her as crazy. She even imagines the uncle laughing at her ridiculousness.
-XIV: The governess is on her way to church with the children and Mr. Grose. Miles says he wants to go back to school to be with his own, while the governess says his sister is his own. Miles then says he has been behaving well except that one night. The governess is unsuccessful in trying to find out the reason for Miles’s expulsion. Miles says he will make his uncle come to the estate before going into church.
-XV: The governess misses church because she is surprised and depressed to find out Miles has his own intentions and is no longer in her control. She returns home to sit on the staircase, contemplating leaving Bly. Then she jumps up in fear because she remembers this is where the ghost had sat. She goes into her room to find the ghost Jessel at her desk. She yells at the ghost to leave, calling her terrible names. The ghost stares at her before leaving. The governess changes her mind and decides to stay at Bly.
-XVI: The children and Mrs. Grose return form church, unperturbed by the governess’s absence. The governess becomes upset and inquires Mrs. Grose, who says that they do not want to upset the governess any further and this is why they keep quiet on the matter. The governess insists that she talked with Jessel and she wants to get hold of Flora. Then the governess talks about writing to the uncle, but says she will write on her own and rejects Mrs. Grose’s offer t write the letter, causing Mrs. Grose to break down in tears.
-XVII: The governess writes the letter. In the middle of the process she goes to Miles’s room and they talk. Miles says he does not want to go to his uncle and he wants his uncle to come to the manor. He says he wants to go to school because he is tired of being here on the manor and he wants to be with kids like him. The governess hugs Miles multiple times, all the while still attempting to figure out the reason for his expulsion. The candle goes out and Miles says it is because he blew it.
-XVIII: The governess tells Mrs. Grose she has written the letter but does not say she has not sent it yet. Miles plays the piano for her. After he plays the governess realizes Flora is missing and goes looking for her. Unable to find her, the governess goes to Mrs. Grose and says Miles has distracted her. She thinks Miles is with Peter and Flora is with Jessel. She leaves the letter to the uncle on the table for the servant Luke to pick it up.
-XIX: The governess and Mrs.

Grose go to the lake in search of Flora, finding the boat missing. They seek out Flora on the boat. Mrs. Grose hugs Flora, but Flora looks at the governess gravely and asks her about where Mile is. The governess says Flora should tell her first where Jessel is.
-XX: The governess sees Jessel on the opposite bank of the lake and yells at Mrs. Grose to see for herself. Seeing nothing, Mrs. Grose begs for her to stop. Flora becomes sick of the governess and tells Mrs. Grose to take her away. The governess thinks Flora is already lost and returns home.
-XXI: Mrs. Grose wakes the governess up at night to say Flora is very ill and scared of the governess. The governess asks Mrs. Grose to take Flora to her uncle and disallow any more contact between the children before Flora leaves. Mrs. Grose says Flora has been saying very shocking things about the governess. The governess dismisses it, knowing it must come form Jessel. Mrs. Grose says Miles stole the letter. The governess states the letter just has an interview

demand.
-XXII: The governess finds out from a maid Miles had breakfast with his sister before she left. She dines with Miles, who asks about her sister’s condition. The governess reassures him that she is fit to travel. They finish the meal and they are alone in the house.
-XXIII: The governess says they are not really alone, hinting at the ghosts. Miles agrees, saying there are others in the manor, but without specifying if the others mean other people of the ghosts. Miles tells the governess she will be truly alone if he leaves the manor for school, to which the governess says she is here for him. Miles promises the governess he will tell her everything, but he needs to talk to Luke first.
-XXIV: Miles admits to stealing the letter. The governess embraces him very tightly, and asks him if this is the reason he was expelled from school. Mike is surprised and says he got expelled for telling boys he liked certain things. Miles asks if she is here. The governess says the horror is here. Mike exclaims Peter Quint before asking “where”. The governess points to the ghost but Mike has died in her arms, his heart stopping to beat.