T he Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James that first appeared in serial format in Collier's Weekly magazine. In October 1898 it appeared in The Two Magics, a book published by Macmillan in New York City and Heinemann in London. Classified as both gothic fiction and a gh…
What is the plot of the turn of the screw?
The Turn of the Screw Summary. One day while Miles plays piano for the governess, Flora leaves the home unattended. The governess believes the two children conspired to make this possible, that Miles distracted her with his piano playing so that Flora could leave to meet Miss Jessel. She and Mrs. Grose head to the lake, and they find Flora there.
What genre is the turn of the screw?
The novella follows a governess who, caring for two children at a remote estate, becomes convinced that the grounds are haunted. The Turn of the Screw is considered a work of both Gothic and horror fiction . In the century following its publication, critical analysis of the novella has undergone several major transformations.
Why is the turn of the screw so important?
In the century following its publication, The Turn of the Screw became a cornerstone text of academics who subscribed to New Criticism. The novella has had differing interpretations, often mutually exclusive.
What is the imagery in the turn of the screw?
The imagery of The Turn of the Screw is reminiscent of gothic fiction. The emphasis on old and mysterious buildings throughout the novella reinforces this motif. James also relates the amount of light present in various scenes to the strength of the supernatural or ghostly forces apparently at work.
What happens at end of Turn of the screw?
On the surface, the conclusion of The Turn of the Screw seems to resolve the question of the governess's reliability in her favor. When Miles blurts out “Peter Quint, you devil!” he seems to acknowledge his awareness of the ghost, and he also seems anxious, or perhaps terrified, to see Quint himself.
What is going on in The Turn of the Screw?
Based on Henry James's chilling novella, Britten's The Turn of the Screw tells the story of a governess, desperate to protect her children from evil as they experience strange encounters at a remote country house.
What happens to Flora at the end of The Turn of the Screw?
Answer and Explanation: Flora does not die in The Turn of the Screw, but her brother Miles does.
Who kills Miles in The Turn of the Screw?
5. Hoffman, 1953:“Miles's death is caused by the governess's insistence on his confession; the confession is wrested from him, but he dies from the shock…. Miles is saved, Peter Quint has lost. But the experience – the fright, the horror, the recognition of evil – is too much for Miles” (104-105).
Why was miles expelled in Turn of the Screw?
Grose delivers a letter that has arrived from Miles' school. He has been expelled for causing “an injury to his friends.” The Governess and Mrs. Grose cannot make sense of this since they have only experienced the boy as kind and angelic. Encouraged by Mrs.
Who is the villain in The Turn of the Screw?
Peter QuintPeter Quint and Miss Jessel The specter of Peter Quint is the most obvious antagonist here. He's a kind of embodiment of evil itself; the Governess's descriptions of him make it clear that he emanates some sort of malevolent force.
Why does Mrs Grose take Flora away?
She believes that those creatures have made the child so clever that now little Flora can go to her uncle and make the governess "out to him the lowest creature — !" The governess believes that it is best for Mrs. Grose to take the child away from the region, and in that way, she might be saved.
What did Quint do to Miles in the turning?
Quint was also a bad influence on Miles, frequently taking him out of the house. Kate later reads more of Miss Jessel's diary and reads the disturbing entries on Quint, even finding pictures he took of her while she slept. During a lesson, the kids ask Kate to play Flashlight Tag with them.
Why does Flora and Miles forget?
As both Miles and Flora were possessed at some point by Peter and Rebecca respectively, they were both “tucked away” into their own memories while being possessed.
What actually happened at the end of the turning?
Flora is freed from Miss Jessel's spirit and escapes. However, when the governess tries to make Miles explain why he was expelled, Quint appears. The governess breaks Quint's hold on Miles, but the boy dies in her arms.
Who are the two ghosts in The Turn of the Screw?
The young governess soon realises that the seemingly innocent children are communing with two ghosts, whom she sees around the house and its grounds. The ghosts are those of her predecessor Miss Jessel and Jessel's lover, the malevolent Peter Quint, a valet.
Is Miles dead in The Turn of the Screw?
Miles's death in The Turn of the Screw is ambiguous. He dies in his governess's arms at the very end of the story, but it is not clear why. His governess believes that Miles and his sister are being controlled by the ghosts of their former governess, Miss Jessel, and her lover, Peter Quint.
What do the ghosts represent in Turn of the Screw?
The ghosts are those of her predecessor Miss Jessel and Jessel's lover, the malevolent Peter Quint, a valet. There are heavy hints that the pair had a profoundly inappropriate relationship with the children – sexual abuse is one interpretation.
Is Miles dead in The Turn of the Screw?
Miles's death in The Turn of the Screw is ambiguous. He dies in his governess's arms at the very end of the story, but it is not clear why. His governess believes that Miles and his sister are being controlled by the ghosts of their former governess, Miss Jessel, and her lover, Peter Quint.
What happens to the governess in Turn of the Screw?
The Governess decides to stay at Bly. The Governess tells Mrs. Grose about her encounter with Miss Jessel, but adds more on – she claims that the two of them spoke, and that the ghost told the Governess that she suffers the torments of damnation. The Governess resolves to tell the children's uncle about everything.
Why is The Turn of the Screw important?
In “The Turn of the Screw,” the governess is using an unconscious means of defense, projection, to protect herself from her superego, while continuing to hold onto her sexual desires. “The Turn of the Screw” is told in a setting that at once begins to make the reader doubt the story's validity.
What did Edmund Wilson say about ghosts?
In 1934, literary critic Edmund Wilson posited that the ghosts were hallucinations of the governess, who he suggested was sexually repressed. As evidence, Wilson points to her background as the daughter of a country parson, and suggests that she is infatuated with her employer. Prior to Wilson's article, another critic— Edna Kenton —had written to similar effect, but Wilson's fame as a literary critic shifted the discourse around the novella completely. Wilson drew heavily from Kenton's writing, but applied explicitly Freudian terminology. For example, he pointed to Quint first being sighted by the governess on a phallic tower. A book-length close reading of the text was produced in 1965 using Wilson's Freudian analysis as a foundation; it characterised the governess as increasingly mad and hysterical. Leon Edel, James' most influential biographer, wrote that it is not the ghosts who haunt the children, but the governess herself.
What is the significance of explorations of the governess?
Explorations of the governess have become a mainstay of feminist writing on the text. Priscilla Walton noted that James' account of the story's origin disparaged the ability of women to tell stories, and framed The Turn of the Screw as James thus telling it on their behalf. Others see James in a more positive light.
What were the criticisms of The Turn of the Screw?
After the debate over the reality of the ghosts quietened in literary criticism, critics began to apply other theoretical frameworks to The Turn of the Screw. Marxist critics argued that the emphasis placed by academics on James' language distracted from class -based explorations of the text. The children's uncle, who featured largely only in the psychoanalytic interpretations as an obsession of the governess, was regarded by some as symbolising a selfish upper-class. Heath Moon notes how he abandoned his orphaned niece, nephew, and their ancestral home to instead live in London as a bachelor. Mrs Grose's distaste for the relationship between Quint and Miss Jessel was noted to be part of a Victorian dislike for relationships that were between different social classes. The death of Miles and Flora's parents in India became a fixture of postcolonial explorations of the text, given the status of India as a British colony during James' lifetime.
How did James' focus shift away from whether the ghosts were real?
Focus shifted away from whether the ghosts were real and onto how James generated and then sustained the text's ambiguity. A study into revisions James made to two paragraphs in the novella concluded that James was not striving for clarity, but to create a text which could not be interpreted definitively in either direction.
What is the horror of the story?
The horror of the story comes from the force with which it makes us realize the power that our minds possess for such excursions into the darkness; when certain lights sink or certain barriers are lowered, the ghosts of the mind, untraced desires, indistinct intimations, are seen to be a large company.
What is the story of the depraved servants?
The story bears a striking resemblance to what would eventually become The Turn of the Screw, with depraved servants corrupting young children before and after their deaths. Towards the end of 1897, James was contracted to write a twelve-part ghost story for Collier's Weekly, an illustrated magazine.
What is the influence of Jane Eyre on the Turn of the Screw?
The Turn of the Screw borrows both from Jane Eyre 's themes of class and gender, and from its mid-nineteenth century setting.
What does Flora say to the governess?
Flora says that the governess is cruel and that she wants to get away from her, and the governess collapses on the ground in hysterics. The next day, Mrs. Grose informs the governess that Flora is sick. They decide Mrs. Grose will take Flora to the children’s uncle while the governess stays at Bly with Miles. Mrs.
Why didn't Luke send the letter to Flora?
Grose informs the governess that Luke didn’t send the letter she wrote to her employer, because he couldn’t find it . With Flora and Mrs. Grose gone, Miles and the governess talk after dinner. The governess asks if he took her letter. He confesses, and the governess sees Quint outside.
What happens to Miles and Flora in The Lull?
The governess is on her guard, but the days pass without incident, and Miles and Flora express increased affection for the governess. The lull is broken one evening when something startles the governess from her reading. She rises to investigate, moving to the landing above the staircase.
What does the governess decide to do in Bly?
The governess decides she will stay at Bly. Mrs. Grose and the children return, saying nothing about the governess’s absence at church. The governess agrees to write to her employer. That evening, the governess listens outside Miles’s door. He invites her in, and she questions him.
What does the governess see in the tower of the house?
The governess is reassured as she drives to meet Miles. One evening, as the governess strolls around the grounds, she sees a strange man in a tower of the house and exchanges an intense stare with him. She says nothing to Mrs. Grose.
Where does the governess meet Flora?
The governess begins her story with her first day at Bly, the country home, where she meets Flora and a maid named Mrs. Grose. The governess is nervous but feels relieved by Flora’s beauty and charm. The next day she receives a letter from her employer, which contains a letter from Miles’s headmaster saying that Miles cannot return to school. The letter does not specify what Miles has done to deserve expulsion, and, alarmed, the governess questions Mrs. Grose about it. Mrs. Grose admits that Miles has on occasion been bad, but only in the ways boys ought to be. The governess is reassured as she drives to meet Miles.
Does the governess sleep well?
The governess does not sleep well during the next few nights. One night, she sees the ghost of Miss Jessel sitting on the bottom stair, her head in her hands. Later, when the governess finally allows herself to go to sleep at her regular hour, she is awoken after midnight to find her candle extinguished and Flora by the window. Careful not to disturb Flora, the governess leaves the room to find a window downstairs that overlooks the same view. Looking out, she sees the faraway figure of Miles on the lawn.
Summary: Prologue
An unnamed narrator describes a house party at which ghost stories are told. The guests agree that a story in which a ghost visits a child is especially eerie, and an older guest named Douglas indicates that he knows a story in which a ghost visits two children.
Summary: Chapter I
The governess’s narrative opens with her drive to Bly, a country home in Essex, a county in eastern England. Here she meets the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, and the younger of her two charges, Flora, an exceptionally beautiful and charming little girl.
Analysis
By the time we finish the prologue and begin the governess’s narrative, we know that the story to come is a ghost story and that it involves a governess who is in love with her employer.
What happens after seeing the strange man up in the tower?
After seeing the strange man up in the tower, the governess returns into the home and sees Mrs. Grose in the hall. She decides not to say anything to Mrs. Grose about the event, though, and she hurries up into her room.
How does the governess describe her relationship with the children?
The governess describes her developing relationship with the children. She says that she is both developing an intimate familiarity with them and also finding in them “constant surprises” (though she does not explain what those surprises are in any detail).
What is Quint's ghost's second encounter?
The governess’s second encounter with Quint's ghost is now at eye-level, so she is more struck by the man this time than she was before. Her sense now seems to be that this man poses some kind of threat, which explains her quick reaction to pursue him outside.
Summary: Chapter XIV
The governess walks to church accompanied by Miles. Mrs. Grose and Flora are ahead of them, on their way to church as well. On the way, Miles brings up school, asking when he will be going back. He quickly adds that he has grown tired of always being around women and points out that he has been very well behaved, except for that one night.
Summary: Chapter XV
The governess turns away from church, feeling defeated by Miles and taken aback by the sudden revelation that he possesses “consciousness and a plan.” With the sudden intention of leaving Bly, she returns to the house and impulsively sits at the bottom of the staircase.
Summary: Chapter XVI
Mrs. Grose and the two children return home from church and act as though the governess’s absence is nothing unusual. The governess, hurt and upset, manages to get Mrs. Grose alone so that she can inquire as to whether the children “bribed her to silence.” Mrs.
Summary: Chapter XVII
The governess begins writing to the children’s uncle that windy evening. Restless, she gets up to listen at Miles’s door. Miles calls out for her to come in, saying he heard her walk across the passage. When the governess enters his room, Miles brings up the “queer business” of how the governess is bringing him up.
Overview
The Turn of the Screw is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in Collier's Weekly (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in The Two Magics, published by Macmillan in New York City and Heinemann in London. The novella follows a governess who, caring for two children at a remote estate, becomes convinced that the ground…
Plot
On Christmas Eve, an unnamed narrator and some of their friends are gathered around a fire. One of them, Douglas, reads a manuscript written by his sister's late governess. The manuscript tells the story of her hiring by a man who has become responsible for his young niece and nephew following the deaths of their parents. He lives mainly in London but also has a country house in Bly, Essex. The boy, Miles, is attending a boarding school, while his younger sister, Flora, is living in …
Genre
As a piece of Gothic fiction, critics highlight the influence of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847) on the novella. The Turn of the Screw borrows both from Jane Eyre's themes of class and gender, and from its mid-nineteenth century setting. The novella alludes to Jane Eyre in tandem with an explicit reference to Ann Radcliffe's Gothic novel The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), wherein the governe…
Background
By the 1890s, James' readership had dwindled since the success of Daisy Miller (1878), and he had encountered financial troubles. His health had also worsened, with advancing gout, and several of his close friends had died: his sister and diarist Alice James, and writers Robert Louis Stevenson, and Constance Fenimore Woolson. In a letter from October 1895, James wrote: "I …
Reception
Early reviews emphasised the novella's power to frighten, and most saw the tale as a brilliant, if simple, ghost story. According to scholar Terry Heller, most early reviewers saw the novel as a formidable piece of Gothic fiction.
An early review of The Turn of the Screw was in The New York Times Saturday Review of Books and Art, saying it was worthy of being compared to Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of D…
Adaptations
The Turn of the Screw has been the subject of a range of adaptations and reworkings in a variety of media. Many of these have, themselves, been analysed in the academic literature on Henry James and neo-Victorian culture.
The novella was adapted to an opera by Benjamin Britten, which premiered in 1954, and the opera has been filmed on multiple occasions. The novella was a…
External links
• The Turn of the Screw at Standard Ebooks
• The Turn of the Screw at Project Gutenberg (1898 book version)
• The Turn of the Screw public domain audiobook at LibriVox
• Author's preface to the New York Edition text of The Turn of the Screw (1908) Archived 11 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine