Summary: Psychological Perspective Of Turn Of The Screw By Henry James
Chloe Louzon
May 14, 2012
Psychological Perspective of Turn of the Screw
Henry James was one of the most famous writers during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was known as an innovative and independent novelist. His novel, The Turn of the Screw, written in 1898, has caused a lot of controversy among many critics and each of them interprets it in a different way. Turn of the Screw builds a close relationship between the novel and it’s readers. The reactions to this can be psychologically analyzed by how James developed his story. He raises rhetorical questions, provides an unreliable narrator, unexpected changes, an interesting prologue, and useful imagery in order to provide a sense of vagueness that only the readers …show more content…
James ' story did not scare people by cliché imagery such as dark castles, black cats, blood, or secret doors. The images and words in The Turn of the Screw gave the readers some hints and made them guess and imagine what were going to happen. In fact, the imagination of the readers created a much more scary story in their minds. For instance, when the Governess suddenly saw a stranger at the tower, she felt "two distinct gasps of emotion;" at first she was in shock then surprised (James 310). The readers imagine the sharp emotion that stirred up inside the Governess, feel her heart beating faster, and probably experience the terror themselves. Creepy, unnatural silence is a sign of Peter Quint 's presence in both his first appearance and when he shows up inside the house on the staircase. In the first of these scenes, the Governess, who is strolling happily outside, notices that everything goes quiet when the mysterious figure appears, even the peaceful sounds of birdsong. This is a signal that something abnormal and certainly unnatural is happening – even though she doesn 't yet know that he 's a ghost yet, she can already tell that he 's not meant to be there. When the Governess first met Flora, she described the little girl as a "radiant image" and "angelic beauty" (James 300). By the end of the story, Flora 's image was totally changed. The Governess said "Flora continued to fix me with her small mask of reprobation... her incomparable childish beauty had suddenly failed, had quite vanished... she had turned common and almost ugly." (James 382). James used these opposite descriptions to stress on the changes inside the Governess; therefore, the readers could better understand how the Governess felt. Even some readers might imagine that the ghost of Miss Jessel was inside Flora 's body, and the Governess actually saw Miss Jessel instead of the little girl.
May 14, 2012
Psychological Perspective of Turn of the Screw
Henry James was one of the most famous writers during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was known as an innovative and independent novelist. His novel, The Turn of the Screw, written in 1898, has caused a lot of controversy among many critics and each of them interprets it in a different way. Turn of the Screw builds a close relationship between the novel and it’s readers. The reactions to this can be psychologically analyzed by how James developed his story. He raises rhetorical questions, provides an unreliable narrator, unexpected changes, an interesting prologue, and useful imagery in order to provide a sense of vagueness that only the readers …show more content…
James ' story did not scare people by cliché imagery such as dark castles, black cats, blood, or secret doors. The images and words in The Turn of the Screw gave the readers some hints and made them guess and imagine what were going to happen. In fact, the imagination of the readers created a much more scary story in their minds. For instance, when the Governess suddenly saw a stranger at the tower, she felt "two distinct gasps of emotion;" at first she was in shock then surprised (James 310). The readers imagine the sharp emotion that stirred up inside the Governess, feel her heart beating faster, and probably experience the terror themselves. Creepy, unnatural silence is a sign of Peter Quint 's presence in both his first appearance and when he shows up inside the house on the staircase. In the first of these scenes, the Governess, who is strolling happily outside, notices that everything goes quiet when the mysterious figure appears, even the peaceful sounds of birdsong. This is a signal that something abnormal and certainly unnatural is happening – even though she doesn 't yet know that he 's a ghost yet, she can already tell that he 's not meant to be there. When the Governess first met Flora, she described the little girl as a "radiant image" and "angelic beauty" (James 300). By the end of the story, Flora 's image was totally changed. The Governess said "Flora continued to fix me with her small mask of reprobation... her incomparable childish beauty had suddenly failed, had quite vanished... she had turned common and almost ugly." (James 382). James used these opposite descriptions to stress on the changes inside the Governess; therefore, the readers could better understand how the Governess felt. Even some readers might imagine that the ghost of Miss Jessel was inside Flora 's body, and the Governess actually saw Miss Jessel instead of the little girl.