“The Turn of the Screw” is a novel written by Henry James in 1898. It tells a story of a young girl who starts to work in Bly Estate as a governess for two young children: Flora and Miles. During her residence at the country home, she starts to see ghosts of her predecessors. This extremely ambiguous, puzzling story, full of incomplete statements has inspired a stormy debate in the literary world. Critics and many scholars divided themselves into two opposite parties. Some of them claim it is an excellent example of the type of ghost story that was popular at the end of the nineteenth century, while others treat it as a psychoanalytic study of the hallucinations of a madwoman. If I were to state which interpretation I am in favour of it would be definitely “The Turn of the Screw” as a gothic story.
Each story in order to be classified as a gothic story should comply with certain features characteristic for this literary genre. These are: an atmosphere of mystery and suspense, the presence of supernatural figures, events as well as image of woman in distress. James’ work perfectly adapts all of them.
First of all, the author skilfully provokes the reader’s anxieties by the feeling of the unknown. The story is pervaded by vague information and guesswork. The first indication of it is governess’ meeting with the mysterious employer who entreated her to “never trouble him…neither appeal nor complain nor write about anything” (James 11). Another example, unrevealed through the almost whole story, would be reason for Miles’ being expelled from the school. Each of the characters draws various conclusions about it and probably each of the readers as well. The ending of the book, although extremely ambiguous and left in the middle of the things, proves my opinion that the novel can be classified as a gothic story. Nothing is clear, nothing is directly explained just like for instance the final scene of the book. “and his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped.” (James, 149) We do not know if Miles died, maybe he did, maybe not. If yes, we still cannot conclude what were the reasons. What we get is only a mystery, nagging doubt and irrepressible desire to learn the truth – basically everything you should expect from a gothic story. All these elements, not to mention ghosts’ revelations and descriptions building up suspense create enigmatic, ominous atmosphere.
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Secondly, in “The Turn of the Screw” we observe the presence of Peter Quint’s and Miss Jessel’s ghosts. Many critics claim that it is only pure fiction and the Governess’ hallucination. Yet, the ghosts are the ones who bedevil, who return, who follow their victims. The Governess sees revenants not once, but few times. She cannot liberate herself from them. As they only appear to her, one may state that they are unreal. You could not be further from the truth. The ghosts may be a representation of evil, which lurk in subtlety before they strike. Children are a symbol of beauty, purity, spiritual perfection that is why ghosts attempt to reach them as evil forces will constantly try to posses the human soul. Therefore, it is the duty of the governess to protect the children. She views herself as a zealous guardian, a heroine facing dark forces. That is why it is her who only sees the ghosts.
Thirdly, throughout the whole novel we observe the motif of woman in distress. The governess is a female character who faces events which leave her terrified, oppressed. She is the central figure in the novel. All events are closely related to her. Either she takes part in, or she is somehow affected by them. It is she who sees ghosts, who experiences strange things – not, for instance, Mrs. Grose.
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To sum up, I believe that “The Turn of the Screw” can be defined as a gothic story. All arguments I mentioned, all characteristics for this genre are easily found in the novel and supported with conclusive evidence. There is mysterious atmosphere, ghosts’ revelations, presence of supernatural powers as well as the image of woman in distress. In addition, many Henry James’ biographical facts contribute to my claim. The author wrote this novel in a time when belief in ghosts and spirituality was very prevalent in England and America. Hence, we find such creatures in the text. What is more, in his 1908 preface, Henry James called his book a ‘fairy- tale pure and simple’ and that none of his other ghosts stories are considered hallucination. Therefore ‘The Turn of the Screw’ is nothing but a gothic story.
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