Narration in The Turn of the Screw

1616 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Role of governess in the turn of the screw

Narration in The Turn of the Screw

Henry James makes the governess the narrator because she keeps the

readers’ interest by also being involved in the story as a main

character. However, being involved on this personal level, it can make

the governess exaggerate at times and be over-emotional. Her

determined and curious nature makes her an ideal candidate to explore

the mysterious happenings, however her imagination keeps the reader in

suspense, as we are never sure how much she has exaggerated the story.

This also adds tension as the full picture is never revealed. This

choice of narrator is therefore challenged by Susan Hill’s description

that a narrator should be ‘unimaginative and straightforward’ as the

governess’ increasing exaggeration, hysteria and ambiguity make her

less than straightforward.

The governess’s character is established at the beginning of the novel

when she meets the master. Her impressionability is displayed when he

immediately charms her. She has little experience at being a governess

as it says she is ‘The youngest of several daughters of a country

parson’, which also indicates her simple country background. Her

naivety also makes her very romantic and imaginative. James writes

that she has ‘…come up to London from the country’ which hints that

the governess is very determined and eager for the job. Her trusting

nature is also revealed when she doesn’t question the master’s bizarre

rule; ‘that she should never trouble him again.’ She doesn’t question

him, as she is enthralled and under his spell, hinting at her

infatuation. This also could mean that the narrative would be biased

in his favour.

The governess first sees Peter Quint at dusk in the first few weeks of

her gove...

... middle of paper ...

...ry tragic and ambiguous

circumstances. It is very intense at the end, because it is just the

governess and Miles, and the governess is trying to force a confession

out of him. When he does confess, Peter Quint appears and the

governess immediately tries to protect the boy, seeing herself locked

in a battle of good versus evil, where she is good and Peter Quint is

bad. There are also several alternative reasons for Miles’ death open

for interpretation to the reader; either the governess smothered him,

shock (from seeing Quint), or Quint is involved somehow. The line

‘Peter Quint- you devil’ is in addition ambiguous. Miles is either

confessing that Peter Quint is a devil, or that he sees the governess

as tormenting him. James ends the story in this way because it leaves

the reader questioning how the boy died, and the narrator’s sanity is

also questioned.

Show More
Related

  • What Is The Turning Point In The Screwtape Letters

    1441 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Screwtape Letters is a book made up of letters sent from one demon named Screwtape to another demon named Wormwood. Wormwood is a tempter trying to coerce a human away from Christianity, and Screwtape, his uncle, is attempting to assist him in his work though letters of advice. The human Wormwood tries to tempt, called The Patient by Screwtape, does end up defeating Wormwood’s attempts to trick him and makes it to heaven. However, it was not an easy process, and it was filled with strife, and in some cases, failure. He converted, relapsed, then returned to Christianity, but his second conversion was very much different from his first. His second conversion marks a major turning point in the book, from the Patient being easily fooled, and

    Read More

  • The Role Of The Gogolian Narrator

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    The role of the Gogolian narrator is an unassuming revealer of what is hidden in the world. Revelations can be the world’s evils, morality, or a nation’s ultimate purpose. Gogol’s narrator is merely a puppet of his imagination and is kept within certain boundaries. Sometimes the narrator’s lack of transparency can make a story seem like a parable or folk tale like in “The Nose” and “Nevsky Prospect.” We can see this in what limited information the narrator is allowed to reveal to the reader and I will examine this theme in Gogol’s “Nevsky Prospect,” “The Nose,” and Dead Souls.

    Read More

  • Unreliable Narrator In The Tell Tale Heart

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    In life, many people strive to find a person that is reliable and to separate the people that are unreliable. Unreliable can be defined as an adjective meaning not dependable. Having read through the short stories “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “Strawberry Spring” by Stephen King, it is reasonable to conclude that each of these stories has its own unreliable narrator. The most unreliable narrator, however, is the narrator/killer Springheel Jack from “Strawberry Spring” by Stephen King due to the narrator’s cognition problems and the violent nature of the murders.

    Read More

  • How does Cormac McCarthy present the narrator or character in your chosen extract from The Road? Is it consistent with the rest of the novel?

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    The pages 276-278 begin with a confrontation between the man and the thief. This extract presents a harsh and unforgiving side to the man's character which differs to his portrayal in earlier parts of the novel. He is previously presented as kind and morally upright which contrasts to the cruel and almost immoral way his character behaves in this moment of the novel.

    Read More

  • Inner Conflicts in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fear, resulting in chaos, and overturned lives affected the personal decisions of John Proctor, thus creating inner conflicts, as well as desperation in the story. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, John Proctor's stand in a society where opinion drove fate created ignominy towards him and his beliefs. At first he hid his horrible sin inside, fearing the consequences. When he finally did, he was placed in a tangled labyrinth of feelings as to what his next action should be. Lastly, it's Proctor's defiance and integrity in his own self that proved him stronger than the entire community of Salem. Proctor's tremulous feelings and general unease of the situation built up to his defining point of confession. Theocracy came together to take coerce control Salem and it's actions. Proctor saw this and feared, for diabolism was a practice unheard of. Danforth states, "You must understand, sir, a person is either with the church or against it, there be no road between. We live no longer in the dusky afternoon and evil mixed itself with good and befuddled world. Now by God's grace the good folk and evil entirely separate"(63).

    Read More

  • Theme Corruption In Henry James's The Turn Of The Screw

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    throughout the novel that Peter Quint’s corruption of Miles could have been of a sexual nature.

    Read More

  • Lies And Deceit In The Crucible

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many characters in The Crucible fall under the trap of lying, if not to other people, then to themselves. The Crucible is a fictional retelling of events in history, surrounding the Salem witch trials. It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 and 1693. Additionally, Miller wrote the play as an allegory to mccarthyism, which is the practice of making accusations without evidence. In the play, Arthur Miller develops the theme of lies and deceit by showing Abigail lying for her own benefit, John Proctor committing adultery, and Elizabeth lying to protect her husband.

    Read More

  • The Turn Of The Screw Analysis

    1439 Words  | 3 Pages

    Peter Quint and Miss Jessel symbolize the indistinguishable nature of both the governess and Miles’s sexuality in Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw. Whether or not these ghosts actually exist in the literal sense, Quint’s presence evokes what could be construed as sexual desires in the governess while also reminding her of her social status. Similarly, Quint forces the reader to question Miles’s sexuality because of the implication that their past relationship was of a sexual nature. Miss Jessel, on the other hand, serves as the governess’s only reminder of the wickedness of her desire for a sexual self and ultimately, prevents her from acting upon those desires. These developments emphasize the mysteriousness of the connection between Miles and the governess and lead to a deeper sense of dismay about the true nature of their bond.

    Read More

  • Sexual Passion in The Turn of the Screw

    430 Words  | 1 Pages

    In a criticism on Henry James’s story The Turn of the Screw, Strother Purdy suggests that large amounts of sexual passion may be assumed to exist underneath the surface of the narrative. Purdy says that under a Freudian interpretation of the story, the sexual element is easily recognized and is used as the whole source of the action. According to this theory, the governess wishes to impress her master because she is in love with him and, therefore, exceeeding her authority with the children. Although the governess only sees her master twice, Purdy refers back to what Douglas had said,” it was the beauty of her passion.” Since the master is not impressed by her initial and ordinary course of governessing, she must make up some life-threatening danger to the children so she can rescue them and win the masters love and affection. She figures the danger must be terrible because he told her he did not want to be bothered with matters dealing with the children. He basically tells her he cares nothing for the children. Purdy suggests the governess is unconscious in doing this because she is sexually repressed and cannot admit her sexual motives to herself

    Read More

  • Things are Not What they Seem to Be in Henry James’s The Turn of The Screw

    1615 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hidden subjects, the corruption of innocence, gender, and the destructiveness of heroism, can all be argued to be the main theme of The Turn of The Screw but only one can really bring the truest theme out of the story by Henry James. Many argue that there is no theme, or more than one but I believe that Forbidden subjects is truly the source that really captures what the story is all about. We can easily come to this conclusion by looking at the items in the story and piecing them together. For example, the young male child named Miles suddenly gets kicked out of school, but the reason for the expulsion is never uncovered. As the story continues, there are more questions and mysteries that never become revealed, which I believe is the entire purpose as to why James wrote this; to simply leave us puzzled as a crossword. Yes, the other themes are well organized and presentable, but they are not the underlying theme that James is trying to convey. James skillfully incites the reader’s anxieties by arousing the psychological mechanisms of the horror of the unknown. Without the forbidden objects in the story, it would just be another ghost tale with no mystery. That is why I firmly believe that hidden objects and solving mysteries are the main and most important theme to Henry James’s “The Turn of The Screw”.

    Read More

  • The Turn of the Screw - A Look at a Criticism

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many different ways to interpret The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James. Many critics over the past century have voiced their opinions about the story. Each critical analysis of the story disagrees with the beliefs expressed in another. Robert B. Heilman is a critic who wrote in the mid-twentieth century. He interprets The Turn of the Screw to be a representation of the conflict between good and evil. Heilman's points are clear and obviously well thought out, but there are flaws in his argument that make his interpretation questionable.

    Read More

  • Marxist Interpretation of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    Interpreting The Turn of the Screw by Henry James from a Marxist point of view brings about serious social class distinctions and consequences of violation within that code. Miles and the unnamed Governess’ relationship demonstrate the wrongdoing of social and legal norms. The Governess’ indeterminate social status leave her as a forbidden woman in Victorian society taking on the role of primary caretaker to children, while Miles embodies the character of the absent master to whom the Governess feels intimately attracted. Mile’s union with rebellious, symbol of threat, Peter Quint, ultimately possesses him and lead to the breakdown of the social hierarchy. The Governess and Mile’s connection display the inappropriate boundary crossed between professional duties and desirable futures as a sexually active individual. Through the two characters moments alone, the rising apprehensions end in the governess’s infringement of social status as she employs to a mysterious sexual relationship with Miles.

    Read More

  • The Narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the first person narrator, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" illustrates how man's imagination is capable of being so vivid that it profoundly affects people's lives. The manifestation of the narrator's imagination unconsciously plants seeds in his mind, and those seeds grow into an unmanageable situation for which there is no room for reason and which culminates in murder. The narrator takes care of an old man with whom the relationship is unclear, although the narrator's comment of "For his gold I had no desire" (Poe 34) lends itself to the fact that the old man may be a family member whose death would monetarily benefit the narrator. Moreover, the narrator also intimates a caring relationship when he says, "I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult" (34). The narrator's obsession with the old man's eye culminates in his own undoing as he is engulfed with internal conflict and his own transformation from confidence to guilt.

    Read More

  • The Role of Sexuality in Turn of the Screw

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    Henry James's Turn of the Screw was written in a time when open sexuality was looked down upon. On the surface, the story is simply about a governess taking care of two children who are haunted by two ghosts. However, the subtext of the story is about the governess focusing on the children's innocence, and the governess trying to find her own sexual identity. Priscilla L. Walton wrote a gender criticism themed essay about the Turn of the Screw, which retells certain parts of the story and touches on the significance they provide for the sexually explicit theme. Walton's essay is accurate because James purposely put an undertone of sexuality and identity confusion in the Turn of the Screw.

    Read More

  • Ambiguous Issues: Throughout the Turn of the Screw by Henry James

    1597 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout The turn of the Screw by Henry James, the theme of ambiguous issues is constantly leaving the reader on their own. The ambiguity and uncertainty within this text causes the readers to come up with their own theories as to what the text really means. The ghost story perspective only adds to the infuriating vagueness. The title itself is about all of the twists within this story and basically foreshadows the confusion that the text will cause.

    Read More

More about Narration in The Turn of the Screw

Open Document