A Sternous Decision-Making Process In The Turn Of The Screw

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The decisions people make are what ultimately shape their lives the most. But as important as our decisions are, choosing a course of action often follows a strenuous decision-making process. This is precisely what the governess undergoes in Turn of the Screw. Caught between two compelling and conflicting desires, the governess is torn between revealing and concealing her supernatural interactions at the estate of Bly with Bly’s owner, conclusively teaching the reader that prolonging a decision can result in the suffering of many. The governess’s inability to make a speedy decision leads to her own distress. After witnessing the ghost of Peter Quinn, a former valet at the Bly estate, the governess describes herself as “stricken with death” (James 16). These emotions escalate consistently through the course of the novel, causing her to ponder more seriously whether or not she should tell the owner of Bly of these strange sightings. Due to the shaken mental state the governess develops because of the ghosts, and because one of the children under her care died during her time of service, the governess soon relieved herself of her duties at the country home estate. Conversely, had she written to the owner of Bly, detailing her concerns about …show more content…

One night, Peter Quinn appeared distantly through a window while the governess and Miles were together. Out of instinct and agitation, the governess “sprang straight upon him (Miles)… press[ing] him against [her]” when her eyes landed on the ghost (James 86). The governess noted that Miles shook as she held him in her grasp and began asking him questions, ending with his death, as she felt “his little heart… stop” (James 87). The governess failed to realize how much the ghost consumed her behavior, including her physical actions, and the boy’s death would have likely been prevented had she informed Bly’s owner of the ghosts haunting her and the

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