Shakespeare. Edgar Allan Poe. Stephen King. All these authors have effectively utilized insanity in their writings as a clever bait to further entrap readers into their story’s plot. Such madness is typically personified through states of frenzied activity, and extremely foolish, and irrational behavior. While there are many infamous examples of such insanity throughout numerous works of literature (Othello and Tell-Tale Heart come to mind), one isn’t completely certain that the protagonist of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James suffers from madness or not. Though the ambiguity of the text renders the question of the governess’s sanity inconclusive, by analyzing her behavior throughout the story readers can clearly infer the instability of
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One symptom of mental illness shown by our narrator are volatile mood swings that foreshadow her future unpredictability. Before she arrives at Bly manor, the governess describes her state of mind as “doubtful again...sure I had made a mistake,” (James 6). Yet upon moments of disembarking, her mood switches extremes and becomes joyous and enthusiastic; this instability of emotion is a clear warning sign that the governess’s marbles aren’t all neatly in place. Furthermore, her description of her charges varies from page to page. At once the children are simultaneously beautiful, radiant angles...and devious demon-possessed devils. While some scholars believe her suspicious behavior is justified because of the presence of malicious ghosts, not once in the story does anyone besides the governess confirm viewing the apparitions (James). This lack of verification regarding the spirits leads one to believe that the governess's grip on reality is swiftly slipping. In fact, the governess becomes so distraught when the girl refuses to acknowledge their deceased visitor that she “gives way to a wildness of grief” (James 72). Obviously, no balanced person dives into hysteria with the force of a distraught soap opera actress, so the governess's unrestrained display of despair further cements her derangement. Although the protagonist might appear on the surface level to be reacting normally to the presence of ghosts, her previous unnatural behavior suggests that she is simply suffering from insanity-induced
One symptom of mental illness shown by our narrator are volatile mood swings that foreshadow her future unpredictability. Before she arrives at Bly manor, the governess describes her state of mind as “doubtful again...sure I had made a mistake,” (James 6). Yet upon moments of disembarking, her mood switches extremes and becomes joyous and enthusiastic; this instability of emotion is a clear warning sign that the governess’s marbles aren’t all neatly in place. Furthermore, her description of her charges varies from page to page. At once the children are simultaneously beautiful, radiant angles...and devious demon-possessed devils. While some scholars believe her suspicious behavior is justified because of the presence of malicious ghosts, not once in the story does anyone besides the governess confirm viewing the apparitions (James). This lack of verification regarding the spirits leads one to believe that the governess's grip on reality is swiftly slipping. In fact, the governess becomes so distraught when the girl refuses to acknowledge their deceased visitor that she “gives way to a wildness of grief” (James 72). Obviously, no balanced person dives into hysteria with the force of a distraught soap opera actress, so the governess's unrestrained display of despair further cements her derangement. Although the protagonist might appear on the surface level to be reacting normally to the presence of ghosts, her previous unnatural behavior suggests that she is simply suffering from insanity-induced