The Turn of the Screw had a slew of questions arising from the many mysteries twisted amongst the plot. One of the most intriguing characters was the main character, the new governess. An unnamed governess was sent to watch Miles and his little sister Flora at the Bly Estate after the previous governess suddenly disappeared. She arrived when it was just Flora and the housekeeper Mrs. Grose. Flora was an angelic beauty, always well-behaved and even volunteered to show the governess around the house. One day she received a letter from Miles’ school that stated he could never return. It was strange to the governess because Mrs. Grose only ever talked highly of Miles and how kind he was. When the boy arrived, she discovered he was even more attractive
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Since it was her first time being out in the world on her own, she was susceptible to multiple influences in the outside world. This includes her sexual urges and ambiguity. Looking beyond the descriptions of innocent and beautiful children, beyond doing her best to protect the children, the governess was sexually attracted to Miles and him to her. The Turn of the Screw was released in 1898, three years before the Victorian Era ended. During that time period people knew sexual relations were happening between adults and children, but they figured if they did not see anything happen, nothing was wrong. For that reason, it is easy to assume that the people who first criticized James’ alluring novel were “not the same set of Victorians that criticized The Turn of the Screw at the fin de siècle” (McCollum 39). Since the governess was seeing ghosts and described them almost in exact detail to Mrs. Grose, it would be assumed that Mrs. Grose believed the ghosts were there and could see them just as well as the governess. However, as the story progresses it becomes more obvious that she could not see them and had a hard time believing they were actually there. Something Mrs. Grose was always worried about when Peter Quint still worked for the family was how close he and Miles were. Many critics speculated Peter Quint made sexual advances towards Miles when they were
Since it was her first time being out in the world on her own, she was susceptible to multiple influences in the outside world. This includes her sexual urges and ambiguity. Looking beyond the descriptions of innocent and beautiful children, beyond doing her best to protect the children, the governess was sexually attracted to Miles and him to her. The Turn of the Screw was released in 1898, three years before the Victorian Era ended. During that time period people knew sexual relations were happening between adults and children, but they figured if they did not see anything happen, nothing was wrong. For that reason, it is easy to assume that the people who first criticized James’ alluring novel were “not the same set of Victorians that criticized The Turn of the Screw at the fin de siècle” (McCollum 39). Since the governess was seeing ghosts and described them almost in exact detail to Mrs. Grose, it would be assumed that Mrs. Grose believed the ghosts were there and could see them just as well as the governess. However, as the story progresses it becomes more obvious that she could not see them and had a hard time believing they were actually there. Something Mrs. Grose was always worried about when Peter Quint still worked for the family was how close he and Miles were. Many critics speculated Peter Quint made sexual advances towards Miles when they were