Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw is a difficult text, one so littered with ambiguity that the lack of clarity between characters becomes a significant plot element. This is a good example where James frames the dialogue in a way where from the governess's perspective that Flora is conspiring with Miss Jessel, and at the same time showing the audience the governess's unreliability as Flora seemingly did nothing wrong. The em-dash, often formed in print by two hyphens lacking separation, is a piece of punctuation “stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses” (Strunk and White 9). Print. Copyright © 1999 - 2020 GradeSaver LLC. In Genesis, the characters Adam and Eve are banished from paradise due to the seizure of knowledge. This two sided interpretation of the statement is one of the many ways James produces ambiguity through framing. as an answer to his own 'Where?' Modern Language Notes, vol. The story he wants to relate was narrated by a governess who has been dead twenty years. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Did the ghost just kill Miles; did the governess just kill Miles? The theme of good versus evil would be naturally deduced by the reader through interpretation. Until 1934, the book was considered a traditional ghost story. The conflict between her actual narration of the story and her actions and dialogue observed by audience creates the two-sided characterization of the Governess that exudes the ambiguity of the true good and evil of the novella. She has literally frightened him to death." 13 Feb. 2017. The story he wants to relate was narrated by a governess who has been dead twenty years. Another way James frames the text to convey ambiguity is Douglas' praise that the governess "was the most agreeable woman I've ever known in her position;" (James 117) shining a positive light on the governess and yet frames the situation to the audience in that if she's that agreeable, how can we as an audience, not say that this claim by Douglas is biased? Web. Yet looking at the character in a practical sense that she is a traditional heroine, the governess is doing her job, looking out for Miles and Flora and combats evil apparitions of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. The children of the Bly household, Miles and Flora, have also been in question on where they land on the good and evil spectrum. (James 125) even if a bit of a troublemaker. " Registered Data Controller No: Z1821391. A man named Douglas wonders if one child "gives the effect another turn of the screw," what would a story involving a ghostly visitation to two children do? Character List. James, Henry. © 2020 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. "The Turn of the Screw." The Turn of the Screw Summary The novel opens as a group of friends sit around the fireplace of an old house in 1890s England, telling ghost stories. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. Douglas admits that she was and that the beauty of her love was that she saw the man she loved only twice. If you think well of this one!'" Web. I panted. from your Reading List will also remove any No plagiarism, guaranteed! Here we have the revealing chapters concerning the appearance of the ghosts. The Turn of the Screw, as a Henry James's piece of work, is uniquely structured to convey ambiguity over benevolence and malevolence. - my big word left her at a loss. I explained it. A group of visitors are gathered around a fireplace discussing the possible horror of a ghost appearing to a young, innocent child. Parkinson, Edward J., Dr. "The Turn of the Screw-Chapter V - The Influence of Structuralism: 1958-1969." I held [Mrs. Grose] tighter. bookmarked pages associated with this title. "The Ambiguity of Henry James." A man named Griffin tells a ghost story featuring a little boy, and a man named Douglas proposes to tell a true story about two children. However, this is assuming that the audience interprets the governess as the classic heroine, and many believe that both children show what is normally considered as normal childish tendencies. Costello, Donald P. "The Structure of The Turn of the Screw." Good-bye.'" The governess initially adored the children (obsessively perhaps), until their innocence was "corrupted" by the ghosts of Quint and Miss Jessel. Previous 1379 Words | 6 Pages. "This double effect of The Turn of the Screw is a product of its structure, which is basically a double one: scenes in which the governess represents the action usually result in horror; scenes in which the governess interprets the action usually result in mystification." She was once his sister's governess and Douglas has heard the story firsthand. He gives 'the cry of a creature hurled over an abyss'. The Turn of the Screw and Other Stories. The creation of illusion and ambiguity are rhetorical strategies that add a unique layer to literature, making the audience take it upon themselves to assess the story determine what is actually occurring. While on the other side of the spectrum, Edmund convincing uses the example of the final scene where the governess confronts Miles about the ghosts, "From her point of view, we see that he must have taken her 'There, there!' (Wilson 170) On the other hand, the presumed and traditional way of reading the novella has the Governess be in full control of her mental state, as well as having the supernatural actually happen in reality. VAT Registration No: 842417633. The Turn of The Screw Turn of The Screw 4 Pages. Turn of the Screw literature essays are academic essays for citation. Central Intelligence and Point-of-View in. When the group has heard more about the governess, everyone wonders if she was in love. This brings the question to the audience: are the children evil through supernatural occurrences, or if the children are just being children. This ghost story provides both faith in and distrust... ‘Silence’ in Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw is integral to the text not only in a literal sense, but also figuratively; the gaps that are purposefully left in the plot and the reader’s knowledge also act, powerfully, as “silences”. Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? (James 130). Shmoop Editorial Team. The unnamed governess, the primary narrator, is inducted as the seeming good in the story. Registered office: Venture House, Cross Street, Arnold, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG5 7PJ. The interpretation that the Governess is a traditional heroine is counteracted in many ways in her characterization, including the fairly apparent obsession with the children, "But it was a comfort that there could be no uneasiness in a connexion with anything so beatific as the radiant image of my little girl, the vision of whose angelic beauty had probably more…" (James 124). she cried… The wretched child had spoken exactly as if she had got from some outside source each of her stabbing little words… 'Of course I've lost you: I've interfered, and you've seen, under her dictation…I've done my best, but I've lost you. The Turn of the Screw's characters contain the generic surface elements of a majority of other ghost stories, including the characterization of the heroine and the villain. 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