The Governess In Peter Quint's Turn Of The Screw

There was also a quote that stated, "Philippa had what are known as High Church proclivities, and took the matter seriously." This quote shows that they take church and religion seriously. Throughout the story, religion is talked about showing that the religion theme is extremely important to the narrator. Also in the story, you see that fasting and praying is a major part of their lives. Mr. Yeates also discussed how his wife was highly honored and always brought a gift with her. Lastly, Mrs. Knox praying for her family also shows that religion was important to these people. The next theme that was present is feminism because throughout the book the woman dominated the man, instead, of the man dominating the woman. You can see this in the beginning when the narrator talks about them dating for 5 years and Philippa, finally, giving him an ultimatum. The next example is when Mr. Yates said, "chiefly, I imagine, because I was a worm before her, and thankfully permitted her to do all the talking." Next, you can see this when Mrs. Knox and Mr. Hamilton had sometime gotten into a fight, and she would not go to church with him, but drove five miles away and go to another church, and the church they went to as a family was right in their back door. During this time period it was unthinkable for a woman to stand her ground against a man, and especially her taking the stance to not only go with him to church, but to go to another church on her own. I think it is pretty ironic, and funny that even though Mr. Yeates' wife dominated him, he defended his wife when needed. Love was a major theme because the story began with the narrator talking about getting married. Marriage is a big symbol of love because normally you do not get married if you do not love the other person. I think the theme love is a great theme for this story because they show their love

The governess has a deep obsession for the little boy Miles. He is charming, handsome, and so many other things she desires in a man and an obvious sexual tension is present between the two throughout the entire novel. The governess says, "…everything but a sort of passion of tenderness for him was swept away by his presence. What I then and there took him to my heart for was something divine

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.

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

Miles and the Governess also resemble extremely ambiguous behavior. The scene of the governess’s questioning due to Mile’s appearance outside in the middle of the night seems elliptical. His kiss that the

The Turn of The Screw and Affinity are told through first person narration of two female characters. The Turn of The Screw is narrated through the Governess she gives an subjective outlook on the mysteries of Bly. Unlike some first person narrators, the Governess is biased by her own thoughts and feelings, this is similar to Miss Prior, the protagonist within Affinity. Similarly both these protagonists are subjected to oppression within 18th century these characters are both isolated and entrapped by the social conventions of the time. Sarah Waters's novel Affinity echoes the entrapment felt by women both in prison and those imprisoned by society and expectation within the Victorian era.

After reading the novel The Turn of the Screw one is left thinking; are the ghosts real or is the governess mad? The governess in The Turn of the Screw is clearly mad because the ghosts are only seen by her, she is emotionally unstable, and she makes unsupported assumptions. The first reason why the Governess in The Turn of the Screw is mad is because the ghosts are only seen by her. While beside the lake, the governess points at the ghost of Miss Jessel but Mrs. Grose sees nothing saying, “Where on Earth do you see anything?”

The Turn of the Screw is about a Governess who starts to witness supernatural encounters from the previous governess and the previous valet. She becomes convinced that the two children she cares for, Miles and Flora,

The Governess is somewhat shocked when she hears that “her” angelic Miles was bad in the past, according to Mrs. Grose. Mrs. Grose explains that in the past Miles was “bad” and had lied often to cover up his relationship with Peter Quint (192). When she first noticed that “Quint and the boy had been perpetually together” she went straight to Miss Jessel (193). However, instead of Miss Jessel being professional and putting a stop to their relationship she tells Mrs. Grose to “mind her business” (193). Mrs. Grose also mentioned earlier that "It was Quint's own fancy. To play with him, I mean—to spoil him." She paused a moment; then she added: Quint was much too free…too free with everyone!” which exemplifies Quint and Miles’ relationship but also suggests that something inappropriate must be occurring (182). These are some of the quotes that make it so difficult to understand their peculiar relationship. The reader is left wondering what exactly the relationship between Peter Quint and Miles was; and what would Miss Jessel’s reason be for being rude to Mrs. Grose for Miles. If Miles and Peter Quint were simply friends, then Miss Jessel should have had no reason to hide it from Mrs. Grose. The Governess responds with “You reminded him that Quint was only a base menial?” which is odd because instead of her being stunned that there is a chance that Miles might be involved with an older man, she cares more about their

Douglas, the narrator, presents the book in the introduction involving two children to be another turn of the screw. This concept paints a

      Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters, the county attorney, and the sheriff are the four main characters of the play that introduce the audience to the crime that has just been committed.  The sheriff and Mrs. Peters are married so the audience also learns from these

The existence of the ghosts in The Turn of the Screw has always been in debate. Instead of directly discussing whether the ghosts are real or not, this essay will 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 disorder that caused her insomnia, out of which she created

The insanity of the governess constantly shows throughout The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. The governess believes the ghosts she sees control the children’s behavior. Rather than accepting that their misbehavior might just be childish Mischief, she blames the ghosts of Quint and Miss Jessel. She also sees ghosts that do not appear to be seen by Mrs. Grose, Miles, and little Flora. The children, especially Flora, ultimately grow to fear the governess. The governess proves her insanity instead of her heroism through many of her actions and beliefs during The Turn of The

The governess’ knowledge of Quint and Miss Jessel’s affair, despite their social class, gives the governess the idea of her and her employer’s possible relationship. The difference in the governess’ and her employer’s social standings compared to that of Quint’s and Jessel’s are quite similar, with Quint being the valet at Bly and Miss Jessel being the previous governess. The governess is “drawn to her employer...who has a higher rank than she, [so] she makes much of the illicit affair between… Miss Jessel and Peter Quint, a man of much lower class” (“The Turn of the Screw” 252). Mrs. Grose describes Miss Jessel as simply a “lady” and that Quint is “dreadfully below” her (James 185). Wilson continues to tie Jessel and Quint’s relationship with

The Turn of the Screw was published in the Victorian era where sexuality was a repressed topic, especially for women, many believing women were only worthy of being married had they abstained from sexual activity. Genealogical doctor William Acton famously stated that “the majority of women (happily for them) are not very much troubled by sexual feelings of any kind” (Acton 235), which was a bold claim and not entirely representative of all society.