Supernatural Stories: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and Henry James - Case Study Example

The Narrator’s perspective in ghost stories with special reference to works of Sheridan Le Fanu and Henry James Introduction: The supernatural narratives of Sheridan Le Fanu and Henry James establish arguments and scope for interpretation that besides existence of supernatural entities, an individual’s psychological condition, also to a great extent, helps him to encounter unearthly experiences. Vision and belief of both these writers have repeatedly been expressed through their respective narratives that a world definitely exists beyond the boundaries of human perception but in order to realize or appreciate existence of that world, an individual needs to possess a different mental set up, separate from conventional approach. When it comes to expressing their respective vision and belief in supernatural, Fe Fanu’s In A Glass Darkly and Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, are perhaps two most notable texts, where their narratives have attained artistic culmination. Thesis Statement: Acceptance of interpretations from psychological perspective has helped to introduce the idea that supernatural existence is not an entirely different phenomenon; rather root of such presence exists within the subconscious or unconscious mind of human beings. Narrative perspective of Victorian writers, such as Sheridan Le Fanu and Henry James, has clearly established evidence in support of such observation on a stronger foundation. Le Fanu: Exploring the dimensions of Horror in Victorian Literature through his vision and belief Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s development of vision and belief about supernatural, to a great extent, has been a result of his interest in Anglo-Irish traditions of life, afterlife, spirits and common myths (James 127). It has been a conventional approach that “folk imagination, supernatural manifestations are reactions to human action …” (Harris 128) and Le Fanu’s narrative, on several occasions, has provided evidence in support of the observation. The remarkable stories In A Glass Darkly, namely, “Green Tea”, “The Familiar” and “Carmilla” are set in the backdrop of Ireland and in each cases, protagonists are haunted by their respective supernatural experiences that have taken a realistic shape through fusion of traditional belief and haunted past. The story “Carmilla” can definitely be excluded from scope of such observation but Carmilla is surely “at once vampire”, “a woman of the dead” or “Si” (Irish fairies), who “…crave human beings, especially children … also young men and women, luring them away to live a kind of half-life under the earth” (Le Fanu and Tracy xxii). On several occasion, however, though Le Fanu’s stories have been described by critics as “macabre and grotesque” (Malcolm, and Malcolm 84), but narrator’s perspective has helped him to recognize the strong connection between the human world and the supernatural, “I believe that the entire natural world is but the ultimate expression of that spiritual world from which, and in which alone, it has life. (Le Fanu and Tracy 181). The kind of problem that Mr. Jennings and Captain Barton have suffered can be termed as hallucination or certain type of mental illness. In each case, there are scientific explanations also behind such behaviorist approach of the victims. Mr. Jennings encounters his tragic plight due to the recurrence of his sight and vision of the mysterious black monkey. The day, as he has suggested, that he did not take any green tea, the monkey appeared for the first time and it did not reappear almost for a month. However, suddenly, one day “on lifting … eyes from a book” he again viewed the monkey. References of sight and vision recur almost immediately as Dr. Hesselius observes that Mr. Jennings is “looking like death” (Le Fanu 197). During the course of sharing his horrible experiences Mr. Jennings on several occasions has looked in the doctor’s face as if to convince him about realism of his experience. During his trip in Shropshire, while he is with others, recurrence of such vision happens again and despite the fact that his niece did not witness anything but she was scared from the very look of Dr. Jennings (Le Fanu 201). Finally, in a terrified state of mind Jennings wrote a letter to the doctor, describing the vision that he had, “It is speaking It knows all that has happened. It knows everything – it knows you, and is frantic and atrocious” (Le Fanu 203). Out of sheer horror and trauma, though, finally, Mr. Jennings killed himself but if we try to interpret the sights or vision that he had about the monkey, it can be said that the monkey is actually a manifestation of his mental anxiety and out of fear that what wrong things he has committed in the past would be revealed, he finally kills himself. The themes of sight and vision receive a better treatment in the story “The Familiar.” In this story we see that like that of Mr. Jennings, Captain Barton is also suffering from certain traits of mental anxiety or hallucination and these aspects have received a human manifestation in the form of the person, against whom Captain Barton committed a crime. References of sight and vision have been used in such a manner by the author that a reader feels the protagonist is always watched and haunted by an unknown presence and proof of this aspect is quite clear in a letter from “The Watcher”, “You may as well think, Captain Barton, to escape from your own shadow as from me …” (Le Fanu 215). On several occasions the Captain has receive sights and visions of people, who are about to slay him but none of his companions actually experienced any such thing. Thus, in this context it can be asserted that despite Le Fanu literary application in these two stories seems to be like ghost narrative but those are actually not about supernatural. In each case sight and vision of protagonists have appeared to them or have received such manifestation that they have interpreted it as presence of an unearthly existence along with them and finally encounter their tragic plight. Apart from the story “Carmilla”, it is interesting to see that Dr. Hesselius’ narrator’s perspective is replete with references to male subjects or academic disciplines. Narrative of the stories, “Green Tea” and “The Familiar” has been presented on account of Dr. Hesselius, who is interested in treating patients, suffering from mental trauma. Compared to other stories, where women have been chosen as popular subjects as victims of supernatural experiences, a reader, through narrator that is Dr. Hesselius’ perspective, finds highly educated males are suffering from such problems. Application of such literary device can be interpreted as the author’s intention to show that even strong human beings also become extremely vulnerable when they are haunted by memories or guilt conscience. Another interpretation can be that the author has mocked so-called social rationality or utilitarian approach, which was mainly popularized by males that even in the age of utter pragmatic approach, elements of spontaneous human fancy or imagination cannot be smothered; if those are restrained with desperate effort, the entire generation, including representatives of such utilitarian approach, of which Mr. Jennings and Captain Barton have acted as embodiments, will suffer to the worst extent. However, in the story “Carmilla”, experience of supernatural through narrator’s perspective receives an altogether different treatment, compared to his other stories. Starting from the very initial chapter “An Early Fright”, the author has made excellent use of the gothic backdrop to provide a clear impression to audience that supernatural as it has appeared in his earlier works, will take a new shape in this context. Protagonist of the story “Carmilla”, despite never had any such imposed fear about supernatural beings, yet she finally encounters them, “….for I was one of those happy children who are studiously kept in ignorance of ghost stories, of fairy tales …” (Le Fanu 225). The protagonist is scared of her but at the same time she cannot turn herself away from Carmilla’s appeal. Le Fanu has attempted to create the character of Carmilla in such a way as if she is the symbolic agent of death and just the way death has its own deceiving charm to drag human beings within its dark bosom, Carmilla also deceives members of the household to charm them with stains of deathly agony. Henry James: The Turn of the Screw and social metaphors in the Victorian gothic Compared to the narrative technique of Sheridan Le Fanu In A Glass Darkly, the treatment of gothic materials by Henry James in The Turn of the Screw is not so diverse; rather the author has attempted to use a setting of continuous ambiguity as the main source of inciting supernatural effect in the novel and justification behind such interpretation can also be cited though remark of Kimberly C. Reed has rightly observed (Reed 100). Like Mr. Jennings or Captain Barton, James’ governess is also seen to be suffering from psychological hallucinations, though critics have actually witnessed such traits of such crisis in her as a result of socio-sexual suppression (Festante 9). However, narrative technique of the novel also makes it clear that the governess alone is not a victim to this suppression but children in The Turn of the Screw have also represent reflection of such suppression (Reed 112). Scholars like Millicent Bell and George E. Haggerty have provided a great deal of importance on haunting power of the fiction and according to them, the “famous undecidability” (Bell 223) or its capacity to challenge the “concept of reality itself” (Haggerty 152) is one of the main sources of its appeal. Throughout The Turn of the Screw, references to eyes and vision emphasize the idea that sight is unreliable. Vision and the language used to describe it are particularly important in each of the governess’s encounters with Quint and Miss Jessel. She deems her first meeting with Quint a “bewilderment of vision,” an ambiguous phrase that suggests she imagined what she saw. Characters lock eyes with each other several times in the novella. The governess shares intense gazes with both Quint and Miss Jessel and believes she can determine the ghosts’ intentions by looking into their eyes. Although she and Miss Jessel do not actually talk, the governess claims Miss Jessel’s gaze appears “to say” she has a right to be there (James 1949). The atmosphere of “famous undecidability” that prevails entire scope of The Turn of the Screw, can be regarded as a metaphorical protest from the author against the conventional utilitarian approach. At the same time, critics also have come up with such interpretation that what most of the followers of utilitarian approach used to refute as mere imagination or fancy, actually has a deep scientific explanation from psychological perspective. David Punter and Glennis Byron’s observation seems to be highly relevant in this context as they have rightly focused on psychological crisis of the governess, on whose account the fiction has progressed, “To ask the crucial question of whether the ghosts in Turn of the Screw are ‘real’ is merely to run into paradox and to miss the principle points of the text. That text is given as the governess’s account, and what it chiefly displays is a set of psychological problems in her position within the microcosmic society of the book” (237). Conclusion: Narrator’s perspectives of both Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and Henry James differ considerably when it comes to treatment of themes of sight and vision in their supernatural stories. While Le Fanu’s narrator, Dr. Hesselius does not have any psychological problems and also an entirely rational thinker, James’ narrator, the governess, seems to be suffering from psychological problems. In Le Fanu’s stories Dr. Hesselius tells readers about the sight and vision that protagonists have suffered whereas in James’ we see the governess is narrating her personal experiences, which apparently seems to be generated from mental crisis. Psychological problems, hallucination or mental illness are common in narrative of both these authors but their narrators are not in the same mental state; while Dr. Hesselius has a rational mind set, it seems James’s governess’ psychological crisis has run deeper with progress of the story . However, after reading their narratives a reader can ask whether there is really any supernatural entity or the entire situation is manifestation of the protagonists’ psychological state. Though there is no such definitive answer to such question as individual belief will very drastically on these issues, finally, it can be said, however, that supernatural stories are not entirely about ghosts or unearthly existence; rather human actions and their troubled past also play crucial role in development of ambiance, leading to experience supernatural presence. Works Cited Bell, Millicent. Meaning in Henry James. Harvard: Harvard University Press. 1991. Festante, Raoul. Analysis: Henry James ́ The Turn of the Screw. Munich: GRIN Verlag. 2007. Haggerty, George E. Gothic Fiction/Gothic Form. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press. 1985 Harris, Jason Marc. Folklore and the fantastic in nineteenth-century British fiction. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 2008. James, Henry. The turn of the screw. Forgotten Books. 1949. James, Dr. Louis. The Victorian novel. London: Wiley-Blackwell. 2006. Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan. Carmilla. New York: Cosimo, Inc. 2008. Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan. Best ghost stories of J. S. LeFanu. New York: Courier Dover Publications. 1964. Le Fanu, Sheridan and Tracy, Robert. In a glass darkly. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1999 Malcolm, David and Malcolm, Cheryl Alexander. A Companion to the British and Irish Short Story. London: Wiley-Blackwell. 2008. Punter, David. A Companion to the Gothic. Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell. 2001. Punter, David and Byron, Glennis. The Gothic. London: Wiley-Blackwell. 2004. Kimberly C. Reed. “ “The Abyss of Silence” in The Turn of the Screw. A companion to Henry James. London: Wiley-Blackwell. 2008. Read More