A critical passage can reveal a great deal about a book. In Henry James’s “The Turn of the Screw”, there a quite a few critical passages. One that is particularly critical is the passage where the governess is conversing with Mrs. Grose before the governess meets Miles, Flora’s brother:
“You will be carried away by the little gentleman!”
“Well, that, I think, is what I came for--to be carried away. I’m afraid, however,” I remember feeling the impulse to add, “I’m rather easily carried away. I was carried away in London!”(8)
This passage reveals critical information about the governess, the ghosts, and James’s idea of the corruption of the innocent. First, the passage reveals that the governess is “easily carried away” (8). To be carried …show more content…
The control that the governess has over her impulses is shown since the governess didn’t add the extra information about being carried away in London. The impulsive nature of the governess is later shown to have a detrimental effect on the children, particularly towards Miles. At the beginning of the book, the governess is well mannered and is not too impulsive towards the children. But at the end of the book, the governess’s impulses get the best of her. The governess is so stern on Miles that he should admit to seeing Peter Quint, that even when Miles knows of no ghost in the room, the governess is insistent on spoon feeding the information about what is ‘actually’ happening. Instead of protecting and caring for Miles, the governess now has Miles in her arms “and his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped” (87). It can be inferred from Miles’s heart stopping that he has died from the impulses the governess had that she had to show Miles the ghost. The governess, a naïve woman at the beginning, has had her eyes opened to ghosts, possibly the problems in society, and when no one wants to believe her about the ghosts, she goes crazy and kills Miles. An ultimate corruption of innocence is to go against the goal and end up being a murderer. Similar to what the governess has
“You will be carried away by the little gentleman!”
“Well, that, I think, is what I came for--to be carried away. I’m afraid, however,” I remember feeling the impulse to add, “I’m rather easily carried away. I was carried away in London!”(8)
This passage reveals critical information about the governess, the ghosts, and James’s idea of the corruption of the innocent. First, the passage reveals that the governess is “easily carried away” (8). To be carried …show more content…
The control that the governess has over her impulses is shown since the governess didn’t add the extra information about being carried away in London. The impulsive nature of the governess is later shown to have a detrimental effect on the children, particularly towards Miles. At the beginning of the book, the governess is well mannered and is not too impulsive towards the children. But at the end of the book, the governess’s impulses get the best of her. The governess is so stern on Miles that he should admit to seeing Peter Quint, that even when Miles knows of no ghost in the room, the governess is insistent on spoon feeding the information about what is ‘actually’ happening. Instead of protecting and caring for Miles, the governess now has Miles in her arms “and his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped” (87). It can be inferred from Miles’s heart stopping that he has died from the impulses the governess had that she had to show Miles the ghost. The governess, a naïve woman at the beginning, has had her eyes opened to ghosts, possibly the problems in society, and when no one wants to believe her about the ghosts, she goes crazy and kills Miles. An ultimate corruption of innocence is to go against the goal and end up being a murderer. Similar to what the governess has