Henry James’s novel, The Turn of the Screw, presents a plot that can be interpreted several different ways depending on how the reader wishes to interpret it. Many readers believe the governess is really seeing the ghosts of Peter Quint and his mistress as well...
Henry James’ 1898 novel The Turn of the Screw is renowned for its ambiguity and its effectiveness as a psychological thriller. As a result, it has been adapted into many films, including one of the same name directed by Tim Fywell in 2009. This adaptation...
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...
The Turn of The Screw is a horror novella by the American author Henry James, It was published in the year 1898, the view on this novel has been different throughout the course of history especially looking at it through the lens of a feminist,...
The critical debates swirling around Henry James’ The Turn Of The Screw are a product of the intentional ambiguities written into the text. The psychological thriller centers around a Governess who, upon entering into a position for a man with whom she has become enamored,...
Henry James’ popular novel The Turn of the Screw is often subjected to re-examination because the writing is saturated with ambiguity preventing the reader from deriving a definitive resolution. This ghost story provides both faith in and distrust of the belief of ghosts who appear...
The Book of Genesis establishes the archetypal tale of the fall, and through it, develops the literary significance of a fall. In Genesis, the characters Adam and Eve are banished from paradise due to the seizure of knowledge. The fall they experience refers to their...
Henry James digs deep into the nuances of insanity and prompts the reader to see his protagonist’s madness with a “discerning Eye” in his novella The Turn of the Screw. Insanity, though shunned and often feared by the world, must be attempted to be understood...
In “The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James, the central character, the governess, feels so isolated that she will do anything necessary to quench the feeling. She decides that the way to do so is to be in love. Unfortunately, because she is located...
Central to The Turn of the Screw is the question of the governess’ reliability. Analyses of the text from both ‘apparitionist’ and ‘non-apparitionist’ perspectives hinge upon a verdict passed by the critic on the trustworthiness, or conversely the ‘hysterical, compulsive, sadomasochistic’ nature as John Lydenberg put it,...
‘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”. Whilst literal, aural silences...
Narrators of questionable credibility are common in American literature, forcing readers to think for themselves and make decisions about what to believe. Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw and Herman Melville’s Billy Budd: Sailor contain multiple examples of how the unreliable narrator can be...
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). Traditionally a dash indicates an abrupt change of thought, informal in...
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. The governess works to dissolve this ambiguity and does everything she can to obtain answers to her...
‘What is character but the determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character?’ – Henry James It can be argued that a person’s character and individual nature is affected by exterior incident. This occurs in both Henry James’ The Turn of the...
Both White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James are Gothic tales that share some traits in common with supernatural superstitions that remain popular today—ghosts, legends, and, of course, haunted houses. Rather than heavily featuring the genre’s...
The general rule of thumb when performing handiwork involving screws–ingrained in one’s mind from youth and persisting forever onwards–is that age-old, ever-so-slightly childish mnemonic, “Righty tighty, lefty loosey.” When one expects the screw to tighten, right is the way to turn it, and the reverse...
This paper postulates a subversive reading of Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw. The novella ostensibly relates the tale of a governess who struggles to shield her charges from supernatural malevolence. Yet I suggest that it is actually the story of a governess who...
Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw and his literary essay The Art of Fiction are entirely unalike in form, but contain thoroughly alike themes. Overall, a fascination with the acts of reading and writing is presented; these things are treated as “most beautiful”...
In S/Z, Roland Barthes so thoroughly maps out his narrative theory that he leaves little room for problematic tales such as Turn of the Screw. While Barthes’ example text Sarrasine revolves around a central unknown – the identity of the strange old man from the...
The Turn of the Screw has been read by some analysts as a straightforward ghost story and by others as a psychologically accurate – whether pre-or post-Freudian — portrait of mental illness or repression breaking out. However enjoyable it is to consider Henry James’ short...
The tale is told mostly through the journal of a governess and depicts her struggle to save her two young charges from the demonic influence of the eerie apparitions of two former servants in the household.
Theme
The major theme of the novel is ‘Corruption of Innocence by evil.’ Other themes include the supernatural, good vs. evil, appearances, repression, society and class, wisdom and knowledge, gender.
Characters
The Governess, Mrs. Grose, Miles, Flora, The uncle, Peter Quint, Miss Jessel, Douglas.
Critique
The story inspired critical debate over the question of the “reality” of the ghosts and of James’s intentions. James himself, in his preface to volume XII of The Novels and Tales of Henry James, called the tale a “fable” and said that he did not specify details of the ghosts’ evil deeds because he wanted readers to supply their own vision of terror.
Adaptations
The novella has been adapted numerous times, including a Broadway play (1950), a chamber opera (1954), two films (in 1961 and 2020), and a miniseries by Netflix (2020).
Quotes
“He was there or was not there: not there if I didn't see him.”
“There was nothing in the room the next minute but the sunshine and a sense that I must stay.”
“I was a screen - I was their protector. The more I saw, the less they would.”