Henry James' The Turn of the Screw

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Henry James' The Turn of the Screw

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 psychological case study of a neurotic young woman” (189). These two views of the governess seem to dominate the analytical world in terms of readings, typically being one view or the other and seldom being anything else. Unfortunately, most of the myriad readings focus only on the visible events as related by the governess. However, there is much that we are not told but that is pertinent to an accurate reading. Bruce Fleming argues that what we are not told in The Turn of the Screw is as important as what we are told (135). Wolfgang Iser suggests that there are “gaps” or holes within the sequence of the text. He further suggests that it is the reader’s responsibility to fill-in those gaps (Qtd in Beidler 226). The facts “not in evidence” are equal in importance to the information laid out before us. What happens “off-screen” or “off-stage” is just as important as what happens in front of the audience. Much of what we do not see and are not told impacts what we do see and are told so g...

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...Couldn't Say.” Studies in

Short Fiction 26.2 (1989): 135-143. Academic Search Premier.

EBSCO. BYUI Lib. 25 Oct 2005. http://search.epnet.com/.

Groome, David, and Nina Grant. "Retrieval-induced forgetting is

inversely related to everyday cognitive failures." British

Journal of Psychology 96.2 (2005): 313-319. Academic

Search Premier. EBSCO. BYUI Lib. 26 Oct 2005.

http://search.epnet.com/.

James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw. Peter G. Beidler. Boston:

Bedford, 2004.

Matheson, Terence J. "Did the Governess Smother Miles? A Note on

James's The Turn of the Screw." Studies in Short Fiction

19.2 (1982): 172-175. Academic Search Premier.

EBSCO. BYUI Lib. 25 Oct 2005. http://search.epnet.com/.

Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis. Educational Psychology: Developing

Learners. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2004.

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