The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - Essay Example

“The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James Henry James’ novel “The Turn of the Screw” is simply one of the most prominent ghost tales in history. Not only does James interest readers who like a decent thrill, “The Turn of the Screw” is also an example of any motivating author of suspense. “The Turn of the Screw” is popular for its lasting mysterious features. Even though the tale initially surfaced more than a century ago in 1898, it still shocks readers across the globe today (Lundberg 4). “The Turn of the Screw” has multiple puzzling twists and turns that sparkle discussions amongst critics since its release. Psychoanalysts and literary reviewers cross-examined James’ “The Turn of the Screw” from all sorts of different perspectives (Boehm 246). James himself has never informed his readers clearly and publicly what he wanted them to believe. As a result, this ambiguity makes the “The Turn of the Screw” one of James’ most prolific and popular short stories. At its center, “The Turn of the Screw” is primarily a tale about the struggle between good and evil. The author Henry James depicts this struggle through the corruption of the innocence, which leads him gradually to discard this struggle at the end of the novel. Corruption of the innocence in “The Turn of the Screw” The governess simply and seldom shows that she fears that the ghosts will harm her physically or murder the children. The demise of Miles shocks readers since many are not ready to believe the ghosts pose as a physical danger (James 47). It is until the governess exile Flora that she appears to think about taking the children away from the ghosts or at least attempt to banish the ghosts from the mansion. Rather, the governess’s fears concentrate nearly completely on the likely corruption of the children. This corruption would most probably be from Quint and Jessel or the ghosts (James 49). Before the governess even meets Quint, she presumes that Miles is accountable for the corruption of her children. The term corruption is a neutral term that allows the governess to remain unclear regarding what she implies. At the same time, the direct implication of the word corruption is the disclosure of knowledge about sex (Beidler 54). For the governess, the children’s disclosure to awareness about sex is a far more dreadful possibility than confronting the ghosts or her own death. Accordingly, the governess’ effort to rescue the children takes the form of a persistent pursuit to figure out what they already know instead of predicting what may occur to them in the future. The governess’ dread that others may corrupt her children’s innocence appears to be a great part of the cause for tackling the issue so implicitly (Beidler 60). It is not only because of the fact that the ghosts are a taboo, but what the ghosts said to the children or brought into their lives too are taboos. Since the corruption of the children is an issue of fearful speculation instead of a recognized fact, “The Turn of the Screw” does not have any direct and conclusive statement regarding corruption. Undoubtedly, the fears of the governess are harmful and do not lead to the rescue of the children (James 66). Clearly, the governess is the most dreadful and cautious character for corruption. At the same time, the governess is the least knowledgeable and most curious character when it comes to sex. Mrs. Grose has a husband and governess’ uncle appears to be very knowledgeable about sex and women even though he is not married. The governess alone is afraid of Miss Jessel’s sexual transgression and clearly captivated by it too (James 68). It is only right to argue that governess’ fear for the children’s corruption signifies the portrayal of her individual concerns and desires about sex onto her controls. Modern dictionaries define the “corruption of innocence” using the term cataclysm to depict an abrupt and aggressive physical measures that generates changes in the surface of the earth (Boehm 253). At the same time, the corruption of innocence amongst children is a form of cataclysm because it leaves their lives suddenly changed displaced and altered for good (Boehm 254). This miserable situation turns into a prevailing theme in James’ “The Turn of the Screw.” The two young and leading characters in the tale engage in malicious acts and inconspicuous circumstances. Readers witness the deterioration of innocence a single step at a time as the corruption of evil takes a prevailing part in the tale of a governess, two children, and a mystery-enraptured house (James 81). The governess assumes the role as head governess at a house called Bly. In this house, the governess takes care of and teaches two children whose mothers passed away and now reside with their uncle. Suspicious activities happen nearly suddenly as the governess talks to the head house help Mrs. Grose (James 84). After conversing with Mrs. Grose, the governess discovers that the school expelled the young boy Miles for no clear reason. The governess sees the ghosts of two previous servants residing in the house, yet no other person feels or witnesses their presence. This compels the governess to call for answers from the innocent children, which scare them and hinder her objective of finding solutions (James 47). “The Turn of the Screw” unveils the sinister and wicked ways of Peter Quint, making the corruption of innocence a dominating aspect of the book. Since people easily succumb to temptations, evil is the root of all corruption in “The Turn of the Screw” (James 49). This means that behind all the expulsion of Miles from school, the governess’ search for answers simply result in a profounder fog of uncertainty and fear. The fact that numerous children revere and have a need to trust and depend on grownups for safety jumbles the situation at Bly. The governess yearns for the affection of Miles and shortly lustful intents become clear to the reader. The corruption of innocence becomes clear to the reader when James unveils the reason for Miles’ expulsion (Boehm 247). The reader can also observe the corruption of innocence in the governess because the children were in charge of the relationship (Boehm 243). The thoughtful query of whom or what was controlling the house and taking possession of everyone residing in the house troubled the governess. The narrator says, “May the world dream that the future of the universe not lie in the hands of evil, but in the hands of kindness, morality, and wisdom” (James 103). This statement prompts the responses of the governess, which turn her into an arrogant character. This occurrence further imposes the innocence of the children. Unluckily, the corruption of innocence in the children today has become too widespread. This signifies the evil prevalent across the world. Yet morals form a characteristic numerous people struggle to do without throughout their entire lives (Beidler 104). The outside world exposes the children in “The Turn of the Screw” to the sexual and wicked acts of grownups. As a result, the children start to feel the loss of innocence in their lives and start lying about while dissolving their relationships with the grownups close to them. James indirectly asks his readers to ponder on the true meaning of the word innocence. In the process, this definition should relate to the role of corruption in “The Turn of the Screw” (James 38). In the story, the word innocent could mean without guilt or something wider like without knowledge. From the perspective of face value, “The Turn of the Screw” entails the traditional struggle between good and evil. The book has the obvious antagonist, who is also a disturbing ghost. On the other hand, a hero defends two innocent children from the grip of scary ghosts. From a deeper perspective, the problem becomes slightly more baffling for the reader. Depending on how one reads James’ “The Turn of the Screw,” the author assigns various characters to good and bad roles (James 40). Similarly, a reader may choose to argue that the black and white principles of good and evil are irrelevant to the story. Apparently, the specific ethical situation James provides so often is not existent in “The Turn of the Screw.” Before the novel opens, evil breaks the walls of innocence. “The Turn of the Screw” lacks a critical struggle between innocence and corruption (James 119). The corruption of children is certain. The book’s drama turns upon the presence of the ghosts of the individuals accountable for their depravity to the individual who seeks to discover the details of their depravity with such a keen curiosity. Evil corrupts innocence in “The Turn of the Screw,” which is the main theme (Wolff 20). The innocent and helpless children at Bly are under the care of immoral servants whose evil influence corrupts them. The governess notices that the immoral influence of the ghosts of the previous valet Peter Quint and Miss Jessel corrupts both Flora and Miles. The governess has a dark mind and relentless infatuation with ghosts as well. In turn, creates intense suspicion that tortures the children (Wolff 36). As a result, the children become innocent victims of their house helps and educators. At its center, “The Turn of the Screw” is primarily a tale about the struggle between good and evil. The author Henry James depicts this struggle through the corruption of the innocence, which leads him gradually to discard this struggle at the end of the novel. The fact that the ghosts and house helps wrongly advised the governess into assuming a heroic position proposes some explanations (Lundberg 18). One possibility is that the effects of corruption are too influential for a single individual to tackle. The governess possibly could have been successful in dealing with the intensive struggles with the school and the uncle. In the process, no one could be capable of saving the children from the ghosts and corruptions of the house’s servants. The book does not provide a direct answer to the definition or implication of innocence in the lives of the children. On the other hand, James does give a lot of vague food for thought for his readers to reflect. Ambiguity becomes James’ main formula for revealing the plot in “The Turn of the Screw.” Works Cited Beidler, Peter G. Ghosts, demons, and Henry James: The turn of the screw at the turn of the century. Demonology in literature; Ghosts in literature; James, Henry. Missouri: University of Missouri Press. Boehm, Beth A. "A Postmodern Turn of the Turn of the Screw." The Henry James Review 19.3 (1998): 245-55. ProQuest. 12 Dec. 2013 . James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw. California: Mundus Publishing, 1975. Print. Lundberg, Sanna. Fantastic Narrations: A Comparison of the Structures of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw and Doris Lessing’s The Fifth Child. Miami: Lund University. Print. Wolff, Robert Lee. "The Genesis Of The "Turn Of The Screw." American Literature 13.1 (1941): 1. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. Read More