The Turn Of The Screw Literary Analysis

Gaining control can feel empowering, but there comes a point where we are too prideful about our power. The accumulation of power and the misdirection from arrogance are themes that occur throughout the course of “The Turn of The Screw”, by Henry James. The story is told in the perspective of a governess, who takes up a job out in Bly where she is to care for and educate two upper class children, Flora and Miles. The Governess’ encounters with apparitions slowly fuel up her need to take control, fully confident that she will be able to protect the children and handle the situation herself. As the Governess rises in power, her pridefulness also starts to build up. Throughout the story, there are many instances where the Governess will try to take matters into her own hands, attempting to solve the problems herself. However, this results in a type of arrogance that leads the Governess …show more content…
Before her final confrontation with Miles, the Governess speaks to herself, “… by treating my monstrous ordeal as a push in a direction unusual, of course, an unpleasant, but demanding after all, for a front, only another turn of the screw of ordinary human virtue” (111). To turn the screw again is to push it past its limits, just as how the Governess has already taken her actions too far. She is so caught up in believing that she must save the children that she might actually be causing them harm. As the Governess finally confronts Miles, her actions ultimately gets him killed from fright. Whether or not the ghosts of Quint and Miss Jessel were actually real, the Governess’ actions built up fear and paranoia. She was far too determined to solve the ordeal herself, and this arrogance would be her downfall. Flora no longer wishes to be near the Governess’, and Miles has died. Ultimately, the Governess has failed her original duties as