Proposal

Written in the darkest time of the Henry James’s life, The Turn of the Screw becomes
one of his most important works in modern literature. Influenced by his father’s
interest in super natural phenomena and maybe his brother’s profound researches in
psychology, he finished this novella with both features in this novel(Biedler). The
ambiguous language in the work makes readers caught in the inevitable dilemma
between the governess’s paranoia, psychotic problems and the clearly depiction of
the super natural phenomena. Like other modern literature, the turn of the screw is
permeated with gaps and indeterminacies for readers to fill in, examine and interpret
in their own way. The main argument surrounding the novella is whether if it’s
suitable to view the governess’s narratives as ghost or gothic, or more appropriate to
see it as originated form her own psychotic problems. The explanations are
developed by different perception on the gaps and indeterminacies.

In the form of frame story, this novella creates an exciting feeling of presence, and
the hue of legends. The story is a narration of the governess’ script by Douglas, a
friend of the governess, around the hearth in a winter night. Although the story is
told by Douglas, the whole story in the book is documented by an unnamed listener
in the group. This multiple reproduction of the story draws a distance between what
really happened and what and how the story is told.
The story starts with a lady came from a poor family accepted a job as a governess to
take care of two children, Flora and Miles, who are under the charge of their
constantly absent uncle. When she first got to the country house, she learnt that
Miles was in the boarding school. Without the presence of Miles, she only met Mrs
Grose and Flora, the young heiress of Bly. At the first sight of Flora, she is
immediately infatuated with her beauty and innocence. After few days in the country
house, she received an letter from Mile’s school stating that he had been expelled,
Despite the strong words in the letter, the governess found it incredibly incoherent
with the little child she met in presence. Being unable to figure out the reason of him
being expelled, she thought it might be the