The Turn Of The Screw By Henry James

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

In Turn of the Screw the women in the story must follow a specific role. The governess was an important person. Her role as a Victorian female was to symbolize sexual innocence. The governess developed sexual feeling towards Miles a young boy that she is to be watching for the man she thinks is so handsome. Peter Quint and Miss Jessel symbolizes the ¨wickedness¨ that lives within sexual desires. Peter Quint was a very sexual person with all the females.

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne summarizes Hester Prynne’s perspective of the forest in one phrase. Early in the book, as Hester leaves prison, Hawthorne describes the forest as “dark, inscrutable… open to [Hester], where the wilderness of her nature might assimilate itself with a people whose customs and life were alien from the law that had condemned her” (75). Hawthorne explains Hester’s connection to the evil, isolated, and free forest, which serves as the location for her conversations with Pearl, Dimmesdale, and Chillingsworth. In contrast to Puritan society, Hester Prynne not only identifies with the sinful nature of the forest, but also finds its isolation and freedom liberating.

The Turn of the Screw is one of the most controversial works in literature and the text has provoked a variety of critical interpretations from its publication in 1898. In this novel, the governess tells her experience with two apparitions that no one but she could see. And the governess accuses the ghosts of servants for corrupting the children, Miles and Flora. Critics concerning about the truth of the story are divided two basic camps based on their acceptance or rejection of the governess's credibility as a storyteller. Some critics believe that the ghosts are real and the governess is a rational and credible narrator, while the others believe that the ghosts are hallucinations of the governess and regard the governess as an incredible and mentally abnormal narrator. Also, we could speculate the author’s intention on the basis of his life experience and other works of Henry James. This essay will examine the reliability of the governess on the basis of the text and interpret Henry James’s intention on the basis of other sources.

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James continues to stir up an immense amount of controversy for such a short novel. Making a definite, educated decision on the actual truth considering the countless inquiries that develop while reading this story proves more difficult than winning a presidential election. That being understood, taking one particular side on any argument from a close reading of the story seems impossible, because the counter argument appears just as conceivable. Any side of the controversy remains equally disputable considerably supported by textual evidence from the novel. One issue which, like the rest, can be answered in more than one ways is why Mrs. Grose believes the

Henry James’ array of characters helps to define the reality of social conflict in this fictional horror story. His characters each have unique economic backgrounds and interact differently with each other. This diversity brings these social conflicts to light and helps readers understand the root of these conflicts. In The Turn of the Screw, Henry James uses characterization and conflict to reveal the horrors of social class in American society.

Peter G. Beidler informs us that there have been “hundreds” of analyses of Henry James’ spine-tingling novella, The Turn of the Screw (189). Norman Macleod suggests that James himself seems to be “an author intent on establishing a text that cannot be interpreted in a definite way” (Qtd in Beidler 198). Yet, the vast majority of analyses of The Turn of the Screw seem to revolve around two sub-themes: the reality of the ghosts and the death of Miles both of which are used to answer the question of the governess’s mental stability: is she a hero or a deranged lunatic? As Beidler points out, “It is an amazingly fine creepy, scary, soul-shuddering ghost story or, alternatively, it is an amazingly fine

    The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James, is an odd story about a young woman who, leaving her small country home for the first time, takes a job as a governess in a wealthy household.  Shortly after her arrival, she begins to suffer from insomnia and fancies that she sees ghosts roaming about the grounds.  James is a master story-teller and, at times, the complexities of the story make it difficult to follow.  The Turn of the Screw is a story within a story, the tale of the governess being read aloud as a ghost story among friends.  Harold C. Goddard wrote a fascinating piece of criticism entitled "A Pre Freudian Reading of The Turn of the Screw."  When applied to the book, his

Throughout The turn of the Screw by Henry James, the theme of ambiguous issues is constantly leaving the reader on their own. The ambiguity and uncertainty within this text causes the readers to come up with their own theories as to what the text really means. The ghost story perspective only adds to the infuriating vagueness. The title itself is about all of the twists within this story and basically foreshadows the confusion that the text will cause.

Humans have the power to perceive and can take objective information and develop it into a highly subjective opinion. The governess exemplifies how one’s own mind and the power of perception shape every relationship and ultimately determine the outcome of one’s life. In The Turn of the Screw, Henry James effectively uses ambiguity to make the reader question if the governess is paranoid or experiencing paranormal activity of Miss Jessel and Peter Quint. James allows the readers to see the undeveloped parameters of the setting and characters, but he does not give subjective information. This leaves most of The Turn of the Screw left open to interpretation without crucial details to influence the readers.

Consequently, this information helps identify whether the governess in the novel, The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James is a reliable narrator or an unreliable narrator. Because the governess does not tell the truth when she talks to Ms. Grose about her encounter with Ms. Jessel, she is most likely an unreliable narrator. “I came home, my dear… for a talk with Miss Jessel”… “Do you mean she spoke?”… “It came to that” (James 41). Not only does she lie, but she also seems to speak with a bias; that bias being to get Ms. Grose to believe her. As a result, this changes the whole perspective on the governess’s

Henry James was born in New York in 1843, where he studied law, wrote short stories, and book reviews. Also, Henry James older brother William James, wrote books that contribute to the explosion of psychology and could had as well contribute to James Character’s. Nerveless, Henry James was fascinated with “spiritual Phenomena” stories and wrote many ghost stories aside from Turn Of The Screw. Nerveless, Turn of the screw was influenced from a ghost story told by Edward White Benson, who’s tells of two children that where haunted by ghost and nevertheless, psychology to let us question The governess state of mind.

In Isaiah 30:15 it says, “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” Hester would have none of it. Hester never repented for committing adultery with Dimmesdale, even after Dimmesdale repented for his sins. Therefore, she never had the salvation that was offered by the Lord. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, who is well known for his other works such as, The House of Seven Gables and, Young Goodman Brown. He was also a Romantic and an Anti-Transcendentalist. The Scarlet Letter is about a woman named Hester Prynne, who is living in Boston during the 1640’s. She is publicly shamed in front

Henry James’ array of characters helps to tie the reality of social conflict into this fictional horror story. His characters each have various economic backgrounds and interact differently with each other. This diversity brings these social conflicts to light and helps readers understand the root of these conflicts. In The Turn of the Screw, Henry James uses characterization and conflict to reveal the horrors of social class in American society.

In Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw the governess believes that the ghosts of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel, the past governess, haunt Flora and Miles. The governess believes that they contribute to the poor behavior of Miles and Flora. The ghosts appear to be real to her when in all reality she is only imaging them. Whenever she sees Miss Jessel or Peter Quint, Miles, Flora, and Miss Grose do not seem to see them. The governess may be seen as a heroine in this story, but her insanity appears in many examples throughout The Turn of the Screw.