In Henry James’ novella, The Turn of The Screw, the governess’ love for her employer causes her to go insane. In order to become the best governess he has ever employed, and to defend the children and household better than they have ever before been defended, she subconsciously creates the obstacle of ghosts in Bly Estate for herself to overcome. Tragically, both for the children and for herself, her faux-heroism destroys her and causes her to make Flora sick, and to ultimately cause Miles’ death. According to Freud “______________________.” As a result of this, he believes women to be ____________. In The Turn of The Screw, the governess embodies Freud’s thoughts on female sexuality. Douglas states in the introduction that the governess …show more content…
She develops a hero complex in which she imagines herself to be “at the helm… [of] a great drifting ship,” (15) guiding the “lost… passengers,” to safety. Before her hallucinations even begin, the governess is already experiencing delusions of grandeur. The governess narrates that she “find[s] a joy in the extraordinary flight of heroism the occasion demand[s].”(41) She states that she “now saw that [she] had been asked for a service admirable and difficult; and there would be a greatness in letting it be seen- oh in the right quarter!- that I could succeed where another girl might have failed.”(41) If it can be assumed that she refers to the uncle when she references to the “right quarter,” that sentence can be read as the governess hoping to show the uncle her ability to please the uncle by undertaking his difficult task and proving herself to be superior to the other girls she knows of him …show more content…
Though she imagines herself to be heroic, the is incapable of seeing that this is not the case. Because the ghosts from whom she imagines herself protecting the children aren’t real, her interpretations of the children’s behavior are also untrue. When the kids act up and behave as kids, she imagines that they are becoming possessed by the ghosts. After the governess finds out from Mrs. Grose that Miss Jessel was both inherently feminine and able to express her sexual desires, the governess interprets this to be a reflection of her own inability to save the kids from corruption. The governess weeps to Mrs. Grose “I don’t save or shield them! It’s far worse than I dreamed. They’re lost!” (48) The governess failed to protect them from nothing! She only failed within her own reality in which she pictures the former governess as a lurking and corruptive force/ghost, as opposed to a mere figment of her own hysterical and jealous imagination. Later on in the novella, the governess exclaims to Miles that she “just wants [him’ to help [her] save [him]” (91). This is the first time in the book that the governess openly and explicitly tells a child that she believes him or her to be in actual physical danger. Miles reacts with anger and confusion, but the governess interprets this as a sign of his corruption, rather than a nonsequetor on her
The manipulation of point of view through the narrators is what makes this novella a masterpiece; James’s use of point of view not only alters the scheme of a traditional ghost story but also connotes an effort to involve the reader in the story in order to question the narrator’s reliability. As said above, a first narrator introduces the reader to the story as well as explains the nature of it through a character named Douglas, but it is the presence of a second narrator what establishes a difficulty to the reader. The interior voice of the manuscript, so to speak, embodied in the figure of the governess, makes problematically decide whether the apparitions are real or mere delusions. This is because the governess' point of view does not provide conclusive evidence about her experience; hence, the conflict remains a mystery and open to the interpretation of the reader.
One issue which, like the rest, can be answered in more than one way is why Mrs. Grose believes in the Governess when she tells her about her ghost encounters. Usually one would second-guess such outlandish stories as the ones that the governess shares throughout the story, yet Mrs. Grose is very quick to believe our borderline-insane narrator. One of the explanations for such behavior could be the underlying fact that Mrs. Grose and the governess have a similar socio-economic background, therefore making them somewhat equal even if the governess does not always seem to think that way. This fact makes them susceptible to trusting and believing each other, and to believing that the ghosts are there, for the people that the ghosts are presenting used to be servants and therefore from a similar socio-economic background. To add on to that, Bruce Robbins proposes in his Marxist criticism of The Turn of the Screw that the idea of a ghost is synonymous to that of a servant, subconsciously making the two lower-class workers of Bly more vulnerable to believe that the ghosts were real; in other words, servants were ghosts....
As humans, we can’t help but to jump to conclusions, but the governess’s assumptions are too misguided and are taken too far without substantial proof. When she first arrives at Bly, she automatically infers that Ms. Grose, although not showing any hint of it, is relieved that the governess is there and simply “wish[es] not to show it” (7). This could be the case, or, as it would seem to any sane person, Ms. Grose could just be unmoved by the governess’s arrival. Her second assumption with Ms. Grose is when they agree on one thing and the governess assumes that “on every question [they should] be quite at one” (9). Some people can hope that a person may have similar ideas to them, but they wouldn’t expect to agree on everything all the time. People understand that we all have different views, but obviously the governess does not. Then, the governess goes on to guess that Miles got kicked out of school because “he’s an injury to others” (11). She has no specific proof that shows he was kicked out for any reason but she is quick to make the inference. She hasn’t talked to the school, the uncle, or even Miles himself to find out what happened, but instead goes along with her own imagination. She also makes many assumptions about the ghost when she hasn’t even been talking to them. She deduces the ghost of Peter Quint “was looking for Miles” but she only had a feeling to base that off of
Interpreting The Turn of the Screw by Henry James from a Marxist point of view brings about serious social class distinctions and consequences of violation within that code. Miles and the unnamed Governess’ relationship demonstrate the wrongdoing of social and legal norms. The Governess’ indeterminate social status leave her as a forbidden woman in Victorian society taking on the role of primary caretaker to children, while Miles embodies the character of the absent master to whom the Governess feels intimately attracted. Mile’s union with rebellious, symbol of threat, Peter Quint, ultimately possesses him and lead to the breakdown of the social hierarchy. The Governess and Mile’s connection display the inappropriate boundary crossed between professional duties and desirable futures as a sexually active individual. Through the two characters moments alone, the rising apprehensions end in the governess’s infringement of social status as she employs to a mysterious sexual relationship with Miles.
When the governess first arrives at the small town of Bly to begin her assignment over the niece and nephew of her employer, she describes her self as having gone through many ups and downs in terms of her emotional and possibly mental state. She says, "I remember the whole thing as a succession of flights and drops a little see saw of write throbs and the wrong" (page 121). It appears evident even from the beginning of the story that the governess is not in an 'even keeled' state of mind, neither stable nor calm enough to hand the task set before her in any means.
The governess sees a woman on the other side of the lake and jumps to the conclusion that Flora has seen her and is choosing to act like she didn’t. The child was playing with a boat and had her back turned to the lake. Why would she think that she had to have seen her? There is no proof and does not even ask the child if she saw anything. She automatically assumes it’s Miss Jessel, the previous governess who died and that she is after Flora. She tells her story to Mrs. Grose drawing her in more deeply into believing her crazy hallucinations and Mrs. Grose asks her if she is sure its Miss Jessel and the governess replies “Then ask Flora—she’s sure!” and then immediately comes back to say “no, for God’s sake don’t! She’ll say she isn’t—she’ll lie” ((James 30). She comes to the conclusion that the child will lie about it when there is no reason to suspect that she would. Again, this is her jumping to conclusions, because there is not any proof to say that the children have seen or know anything about the ghost’s. “Thus a very odd relationship develops between the governess and the children, for the more she loves them and pities them and desires to save them, the more she begins to suspect them of treachery, until at last she is convinced that they, in league with the ghosts, are ingeniously tormenting her’ (Bontly 726). “The ghosts appear, thus, when the governess is both aware of the corruption which threatens the children and convinced of her own power to preserve them untainted” (Aswell 53). It’s the governess fabricating all this up in her mind again so she can play the part of
...t want to be the only one who does. It is another feeble attempt to prove her sanity to herself and to others. However, because she “is so easily carried away”, she soon believes that the children do in fact see the ghosts by reading into their every remark and behavior. By piecing all of this together, the governess proves to herself that she is not insane. The governess in The Turn of the Screw, is a highly unreliable narrator. From the beginning of the story, her energetic imagination is displayed to the reader. With this knowledge alone, it would not be irrational to conclude that she had imagined the appearances of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. However, these facts in addition to her unsubstantiated inferences allow the reader to intelligently label the governess as an unreliable narrator. Works Cited Poupard, Dennis. “Henry James.” Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism: Volume 24. Ed. Paula Kepos. Detroit: Gale research.; 1990. 313-315.
Lastly, an intermediary between the first two personal conceptions is her belief that it is her responsibility to “protect” the children from sexuality and, in particular, homosexuality. To cope with this striking disparity, her ego then employs the Freudian defense of external displacement, whereby she attempts to alleviate her personal anxiety by shifting it to an externality, in this case one created by her imagination: the ghosts of Peter Quint and Ms. Jessel. Unable to directly cope with the fact that the children are slipping out of her control, she extradites the blame to the previous charges as well as the ghosts thereof. Thus, she is able to characterize them as a corrupting force to the children to alleviate her anxiety over lost power, a coping mechanism that gradually pushes her toward insanity (even if it is temporary).
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.
Because of the manipulation of point of view through the narrators, this novella is considered a masterpiece. Henry James’s use of point of view not only is an effort to involve the reader in the story in order for the reader to question the narrator’s reliability but also alters the structure of a traditional ghost story. As said above, a first narrator introduces the reader to the story as well as explains the origin of the story through a character named Douglas. Then, a second narrator is introduced; the interior voice of the manuscript, so to speak, embodied in the figure of the governess, who makes problematically decide whether the apparitions are real or mere delusions. This is because the governess' point of view does not provide conclusive evidence about her experience; hence, the conflict remains a mystery and open to the interpretation of the reader.
The next unclear situation is when the Governess learns of Miles’ expulsion. This is one of the main mysteries within this story. The question, “What does it mean? The child’s dismissed his school,” is the only question that the reader has throughout the conversation between the Governess and Mrs. Grose (165). Even though their conversation does inform the reader that the school has “absolutely decline[d]” Miles, it doesn’t clarify what exactly he has done to be expelled (165). The Governess comments, “That he’s an injury to the others” and “to corrupt” are her own opinions as to why Miles was expelled (165, 166). Nevertheless, her comment does not help the reader in any way because the remark in and of itself is unclear. Her first comment suggests that Miles might be causing physical harm to other students but her second ...
“I was literally able to find joy in the extraordinary fight of heroism the occasion demanded of me (324).” After the governess’s first vision of a ghost, she is delighted that so that she could use this opportunity as a tool to rise as a hero. She also comments that she would thus we able to “succeed where many another girl may have failed (324).” By rising as such a hero, eventually she would obtain the notice and approval by her master.
As a whole, he points out how obsession drives the story from the selfless woman we know from the beginning of the book to the dangerous one we see at the end of the story. This is somewhat shadowed as the governess tries to defend her actions, but it is obvious how she becomes fed up with emotion and fear. It is this fear that changes everything and causes everything to fall apart. However, it is evident that it is all a part of the governess’s head, and through this she is driven by a sense of
In his 1948 essay, Robert Heilman explores the suggestion that The Turn of the Screw is a symbolic representation of the conflict between good and evil. Heilman interprets the apparitions of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel as evil forces. He explains that the ghosts only appear to the governess because evil lurks in subtlety before it strikes. It is the duty of the governess to "detect and ward off evil." She must protect the children from the awful ghosts. The governess describes Miles and Flora as beautiful little cherubs whose only fault is their gentleness (James, 18-19). Heilman views the children's beauty as a "symbol of the spiritual perfection of which man is capable." Heilman explains the ghosts' attempts to reach the children by explaining that evil forces will always try to conquer and possess the human soul. Heilman continues to draw from the descriptions of Miles and Flora to support his theories. He points out that the two children are described as having an "angelic beauty" and a "positive fragrance of purity" (James 9, 13). The governess describes them as if they are perfect and beautiful in every way. This repeated vision of beauty, radiance, and innocence parallels the image of Eden. The house at Bly also resembles this image, "I remember the lawn and the bright flowers..." (James 7). The governess makes mention of the "golden sky" and of Flora's "hair of gold," which Heilman believes connects Bly and Flora with these images of golden hues (James 7, 9).
In the novel, The Turn of the Screw, there were moments when James had epitomized the governess as a delusional character. The governess had the belief that the cynical ghosts of her predecessor, Miss Jessel, and the previous valet, Peter Quint were after Miles and Flora to corrupt them. In this novel, the only cynical phantoms lurking in Bly were all in the depraved mind of the governess. Before the governess arrives in Bly, there were no ghosts mentioned that were supposedly lurking around town. In addition, while Mrs. Grose and the governess were in search for Flora, the governess had seen the ghost of Miss Jessel and had revealed to Mrs. Grose that she was in front of them, but in return, Mrs. Grose had stated, “‘What a dreadful turn, to be sure, miss! Where on earth do you see anything?’”