Governess

Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw presents a governess as the central character. For years, literary critics have argued over the sanity of the protagonist. Sanity, the condition of having a healthy mind, versus insanity is a major theme that James addresses throughout the novel. Ultimately however, the governess is sane because she possesses the qualities of courage, self-confidence, and intuition. The governess’ quality of courage displays how she is sane because she is able to do…

“The Of The Screw” is a story about a young women that is employed to watch over two young children, Flora and Miles. The story is being told by the governess and her ordeal while staying at Bly. See the governess is a young and beautiful lady that was raised in a sheltered household with little to no life experiences. Her father was a preacher so she was religious. She gets emotionally fast and falls in love quick as well. After meeting her employer, Douglas for the second time she started to…

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…

Grose to the Governess Fear comes from people’s limitation of knowledge of each other, especially when it comes to group of people different from the mainstream of society, whether it is because of the difference in nationality, religion, gender, race, or social classes. People tend to consider them evil and categorize them as “others”. For example, in Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw”, the two dead servants, Peter Quint, the master’s former valet and Miss. Jessel, the former governess, come…

appointed governess begins to live in Bly, a wealthy estate, where she must care for two young children: Flora and Miles. As the governess repeatedly sees ghosts throughout the estate, she becomes invested in protecting the children but is progressively concerned whether they have deeper knowledge of the ghosts or not. Several events throughout the novella and actions of the governess reflect James’ intended theme of destructive heroism that greatly affects those around her. The governess’…

The Turn of the Screw, one of the main characters, the governess, tells us about the spine chilling events that take place in Bly, a country home in Essex, England. The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James is a story filled with suspense, horror, and madness. The author of this book shows how the governess deals with the struggles and fears of seeing the supernatural and how it has effect on her and her sanity. The story begins when the governess arrives at her employer’s country house in Bly. It…

story; innocent children, a haunted mansion, and a governess tormented by evil spirits. With a psychoanalytic perspective, this novel narrates a case of a mentally ill abuser and her victims. The governess is trying to suppress her sexual desires because she is a parson’s child and she is mentally unstable. Her strenuous attempt to suppress her desires escalates after a brief encounter with her employer that leaves her lust unquenched. The governess begins to abuse the children sexually when she…

the Screw the sympathetic reader looks at the Governess. She is young, inexperienced, naïve, and in a strange place with strange children. The governess is put in a difficult position when she takes on the children who seem to stray from normal mannerisms of youth. Readers are sympathetic towards the governess because the children seem deceitful and yet, act like angles. Miles and Flora go as far as to leave the safety of the house and trick the governess: There was clearly another person above…

In the Turn Of The Screw by Henry James, Peter Quint looked after Miles, who lived at his Uncle’s house with his sister after his parents died. Miss Jessel was a governess who looked after his sister Flora. Peter Quint was Miles tutor, however his relationship with him was a little too close to Miles suggesting a sexual relationship between the two. Miles meet Peter when he came to live with his uncle after his parents died. His uncle does not want to deal with Miles so he hires people to take…

First impressions have an effect over the Governess, for the first time she sees Peter Quint she associates him with a higher status then he really is. Not knowing exactly who she saw in front of her, the governess describes Quint as “a sort of sense of looking like an actor” (James, 23). She associated actor to him because of the way he dressed; an actor is someone of high class which leads to having a great fortune. Later on, the governess denies thinking that this man was a gentleman when…