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The turn of the screw
Plot
The novel starts on a Christmas- eve in an old house, where a group of friends is telling horror stories to enjoy them- selves. Here we meet the first narrator Mr. Douglas who had decided to read a book, written by
One of his friends just before dying, the story is about two children and two ghosts . because of this the audience is immediately scared .
At this point the narrator changes: the lady is telling us about her first experience as a governess. This lady was in charge of two children, Miles and Flora, during their uncle's absence. she soon began seeing ghosts, which she later understand being Mr. Quint - her employer's dead valet- and miss Jessel- her predecessor- and thanks to Mrs Grose- a servant- she knew their love story.
Quickly the governess became convinced that the children also saw the ghosts and that they are corrupted by them. After a series of incidents and apparitions, she decided that was her duty to protect them and wrote to their uncle to let him know the dangerous situation, but the letter disappears mysteriously. Meanwhile she obliged Flora to leave the mansion in order to feel better and get well. Alone with Miles the teacher tried to make the boy confess to the theft of the letter . the boy confessed, but suddenly died in his governess' arms, while she was pressing him hard about the existence of the two ghosts.
major conflict · The governess struggles to unlock the mysteries of Bly and protect her two pupils against what she believes to be supernatural forces.
rising action · The governess has a number of encounters with two different ghosts whom she believes seek to corrupt her unnaturally perfect students, who may be communicating with the ghosts behind her back.
climax · The governess points to the image of Miss Jessel as proof that the specter exists, but Mrs. Grose and Flora claim to see nothing, which implies that the governess is insane.
falling action · Flora becomes ill from fear of the governess and departs Bly with Mrs. Grose, leaving the governess alone with Miles to contend with the ghost she believes haunts him.
themes · The corruption of the innocent; the destructiveness of heroism; forbidden subjects
motifs · Vision; a ship lost at sea; silence
symbols · Light; the written word
Title:
By titling his work The Turn of the Screw,
James suggests that the phrase "the turn of the screw" is a fitting
representation of the tale. The phrase works as a metaphor that es a
tale's effect on its recipients to a screw boring into a hole. With each turn
of the screw, the story's point is driven home, and its recipients are pierced
further and on a deeper level. James turns the screw a number of times to
amplify his novella's ability to penetrate. He preambles the
tale with an intriguing but ambiguous prologue that foreshadows "delicious"
dread. James turns the screw when
Characters
The Governess
The protagonist of the novella, a twenty-year-old woman who has been put in charge of educating and supervising Flora and Miles at the country estate of Bly. The governess has had a very sheltered upbringing and little life experience, and her new job puts an immense responsibility on her, since she has no one to supervise or help her. She is intelligent as well as sensitive and emotionally volatile. Over the course of two short interviews with her employer, she fell in love with him, but she has no opportunity to see him or communicate with him. She is extremely protective of her charges and hopes to win her employer's approval. She views herself as a zealous guardian, a heroine facing dark forces. However, we never know for certain whether the ghosts and visions the governess sees are real or only ments of her imagination. No one else ever admits to seeing what she sees, and her fears, at times, seem to border on insanity.
Although the governess adores Miles and Flora when she first meets them, she quickly becomes suspicious of their every word and action, convinced that they hope to deceive her. She is fickle(inconstante), however, and frequently switches back to being absolutely sure of their pure innocence. At these times, her affection for the children can be intense. She embraces them often and with passion, going so far as to kiss Miles. The ambiguity of the text allows these displays of affection to appear both harmless and inappropriate. Her volatile relationship with the children renders her an unreliable narrator and a dubious source of information. According to Douglas, the governess's confidant and admirer, she is "the most agreeable person" he has ever known "in her position." However, he says also that she was "in love," as though this is an excuse for her behaviour, which he admits is questionable. Mrs. Grose's increasing scepticism casts doubt on the governess's visions and fears and suggests that the governess may indeed be losing her mind. The governess, with her overabundant concern(ansia) for the children and her violent suspicions of them, may be regarded as either a heroine or a villain. On one hand, she seems to be an ambitious young woman who unwittingly(inconsciamente) places herself in a position in which she is forced to struggle heroically to protect her charges from supernatural forces. On the other hand, she seems to be a sheltered, inexperienced young woman whose crush on her employer and nervous exhaustion at being in charge of two strange children result in an elaborate and ultimately dangerous fabrication or hallucination. James provides only the governess's side of the story, which may be inaccurate in whole or in part. In any case, the governess's account is by no means the full account, which we never learn.
Mrs. Grose
A servant who acts as the governess's companion and confidante. Mrs. Grose, who is illiterate, is very aware of her low standing in ison with the governess and treats the governess with great respect. Mrs. Grose listens patiently to the governess's constantly changing theories and insights, most often claiming to believe her but sometimes questioning whether the ghosts may not be imaginary. The governess, however, tends to overwhelm Mrs. Grose, often finishing Mrs. Grose's sentences or leaping to conclusions about what Mrs. Grose is saying. Thus, it can sometimes be difficult for us to judge whether Mrs. Grose is as strongly on the governess's side as the governess thinks. Mrs. Grose cares deeply about Flora and Miles and consistently defends them against the governess's accusations.
An illiterate servant at Bly, Mrs. Grose provides the governess with open ears and loyal support. Although the governess thinks her simple minded and slow witted, Mrs. Grose knows more of the story than the governess fathoms and is as capable of piecing things together as is the governess, though slower to leap to dire conclusions. Although Mrs. Grose is the source for most of the governess's information, the governess does not take her words at face value or ask Mrs. Grose for her opinions. Instead, the governess uses Mrs. Grose as a "receptacle of lurid things." The governess frequently attempts to seize moments alone with Mrs. Grose so that she can try out her latest speculations. Mrs. Grose is usually skeptical of these speculations, but the governess takes Mrs. Grose's incredulity for astonished belief. Like the reader, Mrs. Grose is willing to hear the governess out but doesn't necessarily agree with her logic or conclusions.
Miles
A ten-year-old boy, the elder of the governess's two charges. Miles is charming and very attractive. He seems unnaturally well behaved and agreeable for a child, never hts with his sister, and tries constantly to please his governess. He is expelled from school for an unspecified but seemingly sinister reason, and although he seems to be a good child, he often hints that he is capable of being bad. The governess is alarmed by the fact that Miles never refers to his own past and suspects that wicked secrets belie his perfect exterior.
Miles might be either a cunning and deceitful plaything of ghosts or merely an innocent, unusually well-mannered young boy. The governess repeatedly changes her mind on the matter, leaving Miles's true character in question. When the governess first meets Miles, she is struck by his "positive fragrance of purity" and the sense that he has known nothing but love. She finds herself excusing him for any potential mishap because he is too beautiful to misbehave. Yet she also senses a disturbing emptiness in Miles, an impersonality and lack of history, as though he is less than real.
Once the governess begins having her supernatural encounters, she comes to believe that Miles is plotting evil deeds with his ghostly counterpart, Quint, and indeed Miles does exhibit strange behavior. For example, he s an incident so that the governess will think him "bad," and he steals the letter she wrote to his uncle. Mrs. Grose tells us that Peter Quint was a bad influence on him, but we have no way to measure the extent or precise nature of this influence, and Miles's misdeeds may be nothing more than childish pranks. The fact that Miles is otherwise unusually pleasant and well behaved suggests that the sinister quality of his behavior exists only in the governess's mind. The governess eventually decides that Miles must be full of wickedness, reasoning that he is too "exquisite" to be anything else, a conclusion she bases only on her own subjective impressions and conjectures.
Flora
An eight-year-old girl, the younger of the governess's two charges. Flora is beautiful and well mannered, a pleasure to be around. Although the governess loves Flora, she is disturbed that Flora, like Miles, seems strangely impersonal and reticent about herself. Flora is affectionate and always ready with an embrace or a smile. She is so unusually well behaved that her first instance of misconduct is disquieting. The governess eventually becomes convinced that Flora sees the ghost of Miss Jessel but keeps these sightings secret.
Like Miles, Flora might be either angelic or diabolical. She appears to be a completely wonderful little girl, even preternaturally so, well behaved and a pleasure to be around. The governess thinks Flora possesses "extraordinary charm" and is the "most beautiful child" she has laid eyes on. Flora seems, however, to have a personality quite distinct from these glowing descriptions. When the governess questions Flora as to why she had been looking out the window, Flora's exation is evasive and unsatisfying. Flora's next turn at the window turns out to be, according to Miles, part of a scheme to show the governess that Miles can be "bad." At this point, the governess has already assumed Flora to be conniving and deceptive, but this is the first instance in which Flora seems to be exhibiting unambiguous deceit. The story remains inconclusive, however, and we never know for sure what Flora and Miles are up to. Flora may very well be the innocent child the governess thought her to be, her strange, diabolical turns existing only in the governess's mind.
The Children's Uncle
The governess's employer, a bachelor who lives in
Peter Quint
A former valet at Bly. Red-haired, handsome, and exceedingly clever, Quint was "infamous" throughout the area of Bly. According to Mrs. Grose, he was a hound and "too free" with everyone, Miles and Flora included. The governess describes his specter as an unnaturally white, silent "horror." She believes Quint's ghost is haunting Bly with the intention of corrupting Miles.
Miss Jessel
The governess's predecessor. Mrs. Grose describes Miss Jessel as a lady, young and beautiful but "infamous." Miss Jessel apparently had an inappropriate relationship with Quint, who was well below her class standing. The governess describes Miss Jessel's black-clad ghost as miserable, pale, and dreadful. The governess believes Miss Jessel's ghost is haunting Bly with the intention of corrupting Flora.
Themes
The Corruption of the Innocent
The governess only rarely indicates that she is afraid the ghosts will physically harm or kill the children. In fact, Miles's death comes as a shock to us as readers, because we are unprepared to think of the ghosts as a physical threat. Until she sends Flora away, the governess never seems to consider removing the children from the ghosts or trying to expel the ghosts from the house. Instead, the governess's fears focus almost entirely on the potential "corruption" of the children-whether they were corrupted by Quint and Jessel when the latter were alive and whether they contiue to be similarly corrupted by the ghosts. Before she even knows about Quint, the governess guesses that Miles has been accused of corrupting other children. Although the word corruption is a euphemism that permits the governess to remain vague about what she means, the clear implication is that corruption means exposure to knowledge of sex. For the governess, the children's exposure to knowledge of sex is a far more terrifying prospect than confronting the living dead or being killed. Consequently, her attempt to save the children takes the form of a relentless quest to find out what they know, to make them confess rather than to predict what might happen to them in the future. Her fear of innocence being corrupted seems to be a big part of the reason she approaches the problem so indirectly-it's not just that the ghosts are unmentionable but that what the ghosts have said to them or introduced them to is unspeakable.
Because the corruption of the children is a matter of fearful speculation rather than an acknowledged fact, the story doesn't make any clear and definitive statement about corruption. Certainly, the governess's fears are destructive and do not result in her saving the children. Notably, while the governess is the character most fearful of and vigilant for corruption, she is also the least experienced and most curious character regarding sex. Mrs. Grose is married, and the uncle, though a bachelor, seems to be a ladies' man. The governess is singularly horrified by Miss Jessel's sexual infraction and apparently fascinated by it as well. We might conclude that the governess's fear of the children's corruption represents her projection of her own fears and desires regarding sex onto her charges.
The Destructiveness of Heroism
The governess's youth and inexperience suggest that the responsibility of caring for the two children and being in charge of the entire estate is more than she could possibly bear, yet she does not look for help. Her isolation is largely her employer's fault, because he chooses to remain absent and specifically tells her to deal with all problems by herself. However, the governess responds to her experiences at Bly by taking on even more responsibility-to bury the headmaster's letter and keep Miles at home; to be the one who sees the ghosts rather than the children and who attempts to screen them from any exposure to the ghosts; and to save the children from the ghosts' corrupting influence. These decisions are all self-conscious-she is not forced to make them because she can't think of another way to respond. Instead, she deliberately chooses to view these challenges as "magnificent" opportunities to please the master and deludes herself into thinking that the master recognizes her sacrifices. Clearly, she is misguided on both counts. The master never comes down or sends any letter, and her crusade to save the children is an even worse disaster. Flora leaves the estate sick and in hysterics, vowing never to speak to the governess again, and Miles dies. Whether or not the governess was correct in thinking that the children were being haunted, she was definitely wrong in thinking she could be the hero who saves them.
The fact that the governess was misguided in adopting a heroic stance suggests several interpretations. One possibility is that the forces of corruption are too powerful for one person to oppose. Perhaps the governess could have succeeded only with the concerted efforts of the school and the uncle, and perhaps the children could not have been saved. Another possible reason why her heroism might have been inappropriate is that childhood and innocence may be too fragile to be protected in such an aggressive fashion. The governess's attempt to police and guard the children may have proven to be more damaging than the knowledge from which she wanted to protect them.
Forbidden Subjects
One of the most challenging features of The Turn of the Screw is how frequently characters make indirect hints or use vague language rather than communicate directly and clearly. The headmaster expels Miles from school and refuses to specify why. The governess has several guesses about what he might have done, but she just says he might be "corrupting" the others, which is almost as uninformative as the original letter. The governess fears that the children understand the nature of Quint and Jessel's relationship, but the nature of that relationship is never stated explicitly. The governess suspects that the ghosts are influencing the children in ways having to do with their relationship in the past, but she isn't explicit about how exactly they are being influenced. This excessive reticence on the part of the characters could reflect James's own reticence (which was marked), or it could be interpreted as a satiric reflection on Victorian reticence about sex. More straightforwardly, it could be a technique for engaging the imagination to produce a more terrifying effect.
Motifs
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text's major themes.
Vision
Throughout The Turn of the Screw, references to eyes and vision emphasize the idea that sight is unreliable. Vision and the language used to describe it are particularly important in each of the governess's encounters with Quint and Miss Jessel. She deems her first meeting with Quint a "bewilderment of vision," an ambiguous phrase that suggests she imagined what she saw. Characters lock eyes with each other several times in the novella. The governess shares intense gazes with both Quint and Miss Jessel and believes she can determine the ghosts' intentions by looking into their eyes. Although she and Miss Jessel do not actually talk, the governess claims Miss Jessel's gaze appears "to say" she has a right to be there. At times, the governess regards the clarity of the children's eyes as proof that the children are innocent. In these cases, she determines whether the children are capable of deception by looking at their eyes, when it may be her own eyes that deceive her.
A Ship Lost at Sea
Early on in the novella, the governess imagines herself at the helm of a "great drifting ship," and the metaphor of Bly as a ship lost at sea soon proves to be appropriate. When the governess goes out to look for the vanished Quint, she describes Bly as "empty with a great emptiness," as though it is a vast, unlimited sea. After her first ghostly encounters, she decides she will save the children but later cries that they are hopelessly "lost." Her navigation skills have failed her, and she envisions the children drowning. However, she perseveres, and when she speaks with Miles near the end of the novel, she feels she is "just nearly reaching port." The ship imagery extends further when, soon thereafter, she imagines Miles "at the bottom of the sea," a disturbing image that foreshadows Miles's fate. Ultimately, the governess is the character who is most lost. She cannot find a direction or destination for her theories and suspicions, and her perceptions are constantly changing.
Silence
Sound acts as a signal of life and nature in The Turn of the Screw, and its absence is a predictor of the governess's supernatural visions. Prior to the governess's ghostly encounters, she experiences a hush in the world around her. When she first sees Quint in the tower, the sound of birds stops and the rustling of leaves quiets. The governess takes the scene to be "stricken with death." Nothing else changes, however, and the visual aspects of the world around her are unaffected. The governess's sense of a hush is more marked when she meets Quint on the staircase. She interprets the "dead silence" of the incident as proof that the encounter is unnatural. In fact, she remarks that the silence is the specific thing that marks the event as unnatural and that otherwise she would have assumed Quint to be a living being. Quint's subsequent disappearance into silence suggests that the dead dwell in a realm without sound, making silence a mark of the unnatural and unliving.
Symbols
Light
Candlelight suggests safety in the governess's narrative, while twilight suggests danger. On a number of occasions, the governess's lighted candle is extinguished, always with the implication that something is awry. At the top of the stairs, her candle goes out at the exact moment she sees Quint. She views him in "cold, faint twilight." A week or two later, the governess wakes up to find her candle extinguished and Miles on the lawn in bright moonlight. Her view of him in that light suggests danger and, in a way, preures his imminent death. Later, Miles blows out the governess's candle, plunging the two into darkness. The lack of moonlight implies an absence of the supernatural, and the blowing out of the candle indicates a loss of protection.
The Written Word
In The Turn of the Screw, events become fully real only when they have been written down. The governess at first refuses to record the circumstances at Bly in a letter to her employer. If she preserves the events in a material document, she will have reached a point of no return-she will be forever unable to deny what happened. She also has relied on threats and passionate speech to persuade Mrs. Grose of her visions and theories, and convincing someone through the written word will be much more difficult. Eventually, she does write the letter, and she also writes down the entire account in the manuscript that we are reading. The manuscript, unlike the letter, allows her to present events in a way that will persuade her readers she is both sane and telling the truth. In keeping with the ambiguity of the tale, the trajectories of both written records, the letter and the manuscript, are interrupted, which further impedes our ability to determine whether the events are or are not "real." The letter is never sent, and the manuscript stops short of a definite conclusion. These interruptions suggest the story remains unresolved-and cast doubt on its reliability.
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