British Fiction

The Turn of the Screw

b),Henry lnmcs

EEEU [E
Legends and stories about ghosts and spirits are to be found in cultures all over the world. In Britain, stories about
houses that are haunted by dead former occupants have been a part of popular folklore for centuries.
In pairs, think of a ghost story you have heard, read or seen. Fill in the following chart:

When and where it appears or makes its presence felt to humans: .............

InfnOOUCnOX $ Henry James's writing career spanned the last decades of the Victorian era and the
first years of the twentieth century. His life and work also spanned two continents in his treatment of
the relationship between America, where he was born and brought up, and Europe, especially England,
where he lived for much of his life.
Tlrc Ttrn of the Screw is a delightfully enigmatic English ghost story in which the reader can appreciate
James's highly regarded intricate style and surgically precise analysis of character.

Tnn sronv
i fne yotmg nnncrtor tLlkes 0n a joh as glveftiess in a country house. She has to look afrer two

children, Lfiles and Flora. L'lrs Grose is tlrc housekeepen

The new gl\,emess beghts to suspect tlrtt there w'as something strange al:out the relntionship

between the children and the pretiot6 senttlrtts, Peter Quutt and Nliss lessel. She sees appnri-

tions of both () Texts G1 and GZ) and tlrc chihlren become increasuryh' estrlnse(l front hu'
In tlrc firnl scene fu the book, Miles dies in her amts ns slrc figltts off Quitrt's ghost.

A Living, Detestable, Dangerous Presence

The gotentess lrus just stopped readury because she feels tlrdt tlrcre is n strnnge presence
in the lnuse .

CHARACTERS Chapter 9
, A goventess t...1
. lvliles and Flora,
the 6vo chiklren the
I can say now neither rvhat determined nor what guided me, but I went
got'emess is straight along the lobbyr, holding my candle high, till I came r.n'ithin sight
ernploy'ed to look
after
of the tall lvindow that presided over the great turn of the staircase. At
. Mrs Grose, f/te this point I precipitatel)'found m)/self aware of three things. They were
housekecpu
plactically simultaneous, ,vet they had fiashes of successions. M)'candle,
. Miss Jessel, er-
Sovetness, notv dend
. Peter Quint, er-
sen'ont, nov,dead
GLOSSARY 2. had flashes of succession: quickJv one after the
l. lobby: corridor seemed to happen very other
 ..,...I

' i':1
fhe Turn of the Screw - Henry fomes 3

under a bold flourish3, went out, and I perceived, by

the uncovered windowi that the yielding dusk of
earliest mominS4 rendered it unnecessary. Without
it, the next instant, I saw that there was someone on
the stair. I speak of sequences, but I required no 10

lapse of secondss to stiffen6 myself for a third

encounter with Quint. The apparition had reached
the landingT halfway up and was therefore on the
spot nearest the window, where at sight of me, it
stopped short and fixed me exactly as it had fixed 15

me from the tower and from the garden. He knew

me as well as I knew him; and so, in the cold, faint /
twilight, with a glimmers in the high glass and
another on the polishe of the oak stair below, we
faced each other in our common intensity. He was
absolutely, on this occasion, a living, detestable,
dangerous presence, But that was not the wonder of
d the
wonders; I reserve this distinction for quite another
nt of
circumstance: the circumstance that dreadl0 had
land,
unmistakably quittedll me and that there was noth-
ing in me there that didn't meet and measure him12.
ciate Deboroh Kerr in o scene
I had plenty of anguish after that extraordinary token from the film
moment, but I had, thank God, no terror. And he knew I had not I found The Innocents (7961)
- bosed on Henry lames's
myself at the end of an instant magnificently aware of this. I felt, The Turn of the Screw.
in a
fierce rigor of confidencel3, that if I stood my ground a minute
tr tw,
I should
cease - for the time, at least - to have him to reckon
withla; and during
6. stiffen: become rigid
the minute, accordingly, the thing was as human and hideousrs
as a real and strong
nship
interview: hideous just because it was human, as human as to 7. landing: floor area at
)pan-
have met
alone, in the small hours, in a sleeping house, some enemyr the tum of stairs
nlrcr.
some 8. glimmer: shining
adventurer, some criminal. It was the dead silence of our long reflection
gaze at such
close quartersl6 that gave the whole horror, huge17
as it was, its only note
9, polish: shiny surface
of the unnatural. If I had met a murderer in such a place 10. dread: terror
and at such an ll.quitted: left
hour, we still at least would have spoken. Something would
have passed, 12. meet and measure
in life, between us; if nothing had passed, one of us would him: face him
;ence have moved.
The moment was so prolonged that it would have taken l3.I felt ... confidence:
but little more to I was absolutely sure
make me doubt if even l were in life. I can't express what If I stood ... to
followed it savel8 14.
by saying that the silence itself - which was indeed in a reckon with: if I did
manner an not move he would
attestationle of my strength - became the element into
which I saw the 8o away
figure disappear; in which I definitely saw it turn as I l5,hideous: tenible
might have seen the
low wretchz, to which it had once belonged turn on l6.gaze at such close
receipt of an order, quarters: looking
and pass, with my eyes on the villainous back that closelv at one another
no hunchzl could have
more disfigured, straight down the staircase and into lT.huge: enormous
the darkness in 18. save: except
which the next bend was lost.
19,in a manner an
attestation: in a way
a proof

3. under a bold flourish: 20.low wretch:

as I 4. the yielding ... morning: 5. I required... seconds: I did miserable creature
brandished it courageously the first light of dawn not need any time 21.hunch: lump
 1
n

F EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY AND MODERNISM - British Fiction :.i

:l

U
COMPREHENSION

F i
1 Where and at what time does the incident take
place?
4 Was the governess
ghost?
terrified by the apparition of the

2 In line 4 the governess says she became 'aware of 5 How did the governess believe she could overcome
FI
three things'. What are they?

3 How many times had the governess previously

the ghost?
6 Wt'1at made the encounter'unnatural'? (Line 3Z)
seen the apparition and where? 7 How did the incident end?
F
t
.j
1
ANATY'I5
Focus on the setting*. 16-17). Find another example which suggests that
F a. What words are used to describe the light in line Z? the narrator feels she can read the ghost's mind.

t
What quality of light is suggested? c. As a governess, the narrator has a higher social
b. ldentify the details used to describe the staircase. status than Quint, who in life was a valet. At which
What material is the staircase built of? ls it straight point in the text does the narrator express her
or winding? ls the whole staircase illuminated by
social superiority?
the light from the window?
T c. What kind of atmosphere is created by the choice
of physical and temporal setting?
d. The ghost leaves as if 'on receipt of an order' (line
45). Who has effectively given this order?

I 2 Find expressions in the text that refer to the ghost

of Peter Quint. Which of the following statements are
e. ldentify the expression which suggests that the
narrator derives great satisfaction from winning her
confrontation with the ghost.

r true? You may tick more than one.

The ghost is described:
6 in considerable physical detail.
F in terms of the reactions he provokes in the narrator.
4 Focus on the character of the narrator. Which of
the following seem to concern her most?
E The sequence and timing of the events.
H How she might escape from a potentially
T H through association with other figures.
R through a series of metaphors* and similes*. dangerous situation.
tr The threat posed by the ghost to her and the
I
3 Focus on the relationship between the norrotor*

II and the ghost.

a. Underline expressions that suggest that the
narrator feels the two are in competition.
b. On more than one occasion the narrator believes
that she knows what the ghost is thinking, for
?
children.
',8 Her triumphant victory over the ghost.
Her ability to cope with an extraordinarily unnatural
situation.
Do any of her concerns strike you as unusual? Would
I example: 'He knew me as well as I knew him' (lines you consider her response to the situation normal?
tl
t
I

T
his imagination can start to run

!
The slightest

things that could not possibly be

I
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 The Turn of the Screw - Henry fomes

Take Me Away from Her!

The governess is otttside in the groufis of tlrc l:lrr,tse witlt Flora anrl Mrs Grose. She is GLOSSARY O-.-
sure she can see Miss lessel's gltlst standing right in
)me front of thent but Mrs Grose says l. hideous: terrible
slrc cannot see anytling. 2, plain: clear
3. undimmed and
Chapter 20 undaunted: still
(...) 'Where on earth do you visible and determineil
see anything?,
4. thrusting: pushing
I could only grasp her more quickly yet, for even while she spoke the
5. groan: low sound
hideousl plain2 presence stood undimmed and undaunted3. It had already 6. her relief...
Iasted a minute, and it lasted lvhile I continued, seizing my colleague, quite exemption: she was
relieved because she
thrusting4 her at it and presenting her to it, to insist with my pointing did not see the ghosi
hat I hand, 'You don't see her exactly as we see? - you mean to say you don,t 7, have backed me up:
I have supported me
I
now - now? She's as big as a blazing firel
only look, dearest woman, look - !, 8. sealed: ciosed, unablt
She looked, even as I did, and gave me, with her deep groans of negation, to see
rcn
I

l
repulsion, compassion - the mixture with her pity of her relief at her 9. crumble: disintegrate
10. livid predecessor: the
exemption6 - a sense, touching to me even then, that she would have angry ghost of the
backed me upi if she could. I might well have needed that, for with this prevlous governess
..1 lp
ll.press ... on my
hard blow of the proof that her eyes were hopelessly sealeds I felt my own
defeat: take advantage
n
situation horribly crumblee, I felt - I saw - my livid predecessorr0 press, of my defeat
l-
ta
fiom her position, on my defeatl1, and I was conscious, more than all, of 12. astounding: amazing
her
what I should have from this instant to deal with in the astoundinglz little

)f

4
n ral

-l
-.1
"'I
rel
_l ,
i
I
,
 I{ EARLY TWENTIETH cENTttRt'ANo MODERNISM - srlrish Fiction

I i
attitude of Flora. Into this attitude Mls Grose inlnediatelt' ancl violentl.v

I
-.1
entered, breaking, even \{''hile there piercecl through m\r sense of nrin a
prodigious private triumph, into breathless reassurancels.
'She isn't there, little lady, and nobody's there

I - ancl you never see nothing,

13. Mrs Grose ...
reassurance: I \4'as
lnv svveetl How can poor Nliss Jessel - when poor lvliss.lessel's dead and 30
vcr_r u'orried about
\4,ltat was happening buried? IVc know; don't v'e, love? -.{nd shc appealedl4, blundering inrs, to

t
I

(sense of ruin) and

the cl-rild. 'lt's all a mere mistake and a worrv and a joke - and we,ll go
happy 21 the same
time (private home as fast as rve canl'
I
triumph) when ]vlrs

t I
i
Grose interrupted to
reassure Flora and I
that there was no
gh0st
Our companion, on this, had responded with a strange, quick primness of
proprieqTl6, and they were again, with Mrs Grose on her feet, united, as it
were, in pained opposition to mer;. Flora continued to fix me with her small

t 1rl. appealed: pleaded

l5,blundering in:
speaking a little
mask of reprobationrs, and even at that minute I praye<l God to forgive me
for seeming to see that, as she stood there holding tight to our fiiend's dress,
her incomparable childish beauty had suddenly failed, had quite vanished.

I .l
foolishly
l6.primness of
propriety: in
proPer way
a very
I've said it alreadv - she was literally, she was hideously', hard; she had
turned common and almost uglv. ,l don,t know what you mean. I see

t I
l7.as it were ... me: one

1
might say, clearll'

8.
against me
reprobation:
nobody, I see nothing. I never lmve.lthink you're cruel. I don't like you!'
Then, after this deliverancele, which might have been that of a vulgally
pertZO little girl in the street, she hugged Mrs Grose more closely and buried

I
disapprovai in her skirts the dreadful little face. In this position she produced an almost 35
1 9. deliverance: speech
furious wail2l. 'Take me away, take me away - oh, take me away frotn lrcr!,
20.pert: impudent
'From nte?' I pantedzz.

I I
21.wail: cry

"o:1:1j:1:i:*_
'From you - from vou!' she cried.

I
I

COMPREHENSION
t What does the governess do to make Mrs Crose 3 Why does the governess feel her 'situation horribly
see the ghost? ls she successfulT

t 2 According to the governess, Mrs Crose feels ,pity,

and 'relief' (line 9). Why? Does the governess feel at
crumble'? (Line 13)
4
5
How does Mrs Grose try to reassure Flora?
What is Flora's attitude towards the governess?
this point that Mrs Crose is supportive or hostile?
6 Flora asks to be taken away from 'her' (line 36).
; ls she referring to the ghost of Miss Jessel or to the
I
qoverness?

I ANAtYSI'
1 Circle the verbs in lines 2-5 which give a sense oI 5 Focus on the relationship between the narrator and

t
I
urgency and tension,

2 ln line 6 the narrator asks Mrs Crose 'you don,t see

Flora.
Underline the expressions that describe Flora as the
her exactly as we see?' Who does 'we' refer to? Do narrator now sees her.

t
I
subsequent developments in the text justify the
narrator's use of the pronoun ,we'?
Which expression:
- suggests that the narrator believes Flora is not beinq '

sincere?
3
I

ln lines 8-1 4 the norrotor* tries to interpret Mrs

I Crose's thoughts. She seems to think that Mrs Crose
will back her up even though she cannot see the
-
6
underlines the narrator's strong sense of social class?

How would you define the narrator's state of mind? ,

ghost. At what point in the text does it become crear Calm Confused

I that Mrs Crose does not believe the narrator?

4 The narrator feels that she is in competition with the
Hysterical
Rational
Unbalanced
Detached
Other:
ghost. Find references to defeat and victory in the text.
 --
fhe Turn of the Screw - Henry |omes 7

Limited The Turn of the Screw is fascinatingly ambiguous, Since the

story was first published
point of view there has been a continuing debate over whether the children and
the governess
actually see the ghosts or whether they are simply the creation of the
20 governess,s
neurotic mind. In the first hypothesis, the governess is seen as a saviour
who tries to
protect the children from evil spirits; in the second hypothesis,
she is a deeply
disturbed individual who exercises a harmful and ultimately fatal (in
the case of Miles)
influence on the children.
The ambiguity in the story is created through the use of a limited point of view. The
25
governess's account of events is inevitably subjective
- the reader never sees the
character and events of the story as they really are, but only as
they appearto her. It is
up to each individual reader to decide whether or not he can trust
what the governess
is saying.

30
On the basis of the texts you have read, how would you evaluate
the qoverness,s
personality? Do you tend to think of her as a reliable or unreliable
naritor? Justify your
choice by referring to the text.

Decide which interpretation of the role of the governess you prefer

(saviour or harmful
neurotic). Re-write a simplified and shortened version (not more
35 than 100 words) of Text C2
from a third-person omniscient point of view* based on your interpretation.
For example:

Version 1
Version 2
TIrc govemess tned to show lvfrs Grose the ghost of Although the ghost was as big as a blazing
Miss lessel, which she obyiotsly could not see
fire, Mrs
Grose could not see it. It was clearly concealing itself
because it was simply a creation of the ftantic
from her eyes. The govenress, hlwet er, knew that
youngwoman's mind ... Flora wns aware of its presence ...

EUE
ften employed governesses to take care of the education
ression says that children should be ,seen and not heard,,
ts. Many people read Henry James,s The Turn of the Screw
re raised by unrelated and potentially harmful strangers.
,i
rol ln this age of working parents, many children are put into the cire
of childminiers or. go to public or private
I nurseries.
I
Does spending a lot of time with an adult who is not a relative
I
I
make any difference to the psychological and
i emotional upbringing of a child?
j ls it better if a mother and father bring up their child without
any outside help?
ei I
lf you found yourself in a situation where you had to find
some-one to look after your child, would you prefer to
j employ one person who came to your home, or to send him
to a nurserv?
tl'i
t?'t
8 EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY AND MODERNTSM - British Fiction

Fanily sncl educatiotr Born

in New York in 1843 into a
rich and cultured family (his brother was the influential
philosophei lVilliam James), Henry James had an unplanned and
disorganised schooling under the most diverse teachers and in
many different American and European cities.
America After a period spent with his family in Europe, James
moved back to New England in 1860, where he attended Law
School at Harvard, In 1865 he began writing essays and reviews for
the Nafion and the Nortlr Americm and short stories for the Atlantic
and the Gtrlaxt,.

Europe Eally in 1869 he travelled to Europe and visited

England, Switzerland, Italy and France. Lacking strong American
roots, he decided in 1875 that his future belonged in Europe. For
a year he lived in Paris, where he met Turgenev and the Flaubert group - Edmond de Goncourt,
Daudet, Maupassant, Zola - before settling in England in 1876, where he remained for the rest of his
life. He openly criticised the United States' refusal to enter immediately into the First World War and
as a sign of protest became a British citizen in 1915. He died the following year.

Early works In his early novels, The Anrerican (I877), The

Europeans (1878), Daisy
Miller (1879) andWashittgton Square
(1881), James contrasts the puritan, idealistic and often naive views of Americans and the
sophisticated, tolerant but frequently corrupt attitudes of Europeans. AJthough these novels
recognise the traditions, courtesies and cultural richness of Europe, they also exalt America for its
innocence and idealism. These works were critically acclaimed, but their subtle analysis of emotions
and highly refined literary style had little appeal for the wider reading public.

Narrative techni que ln The Portrnit of tt Lnd1, ( 1BB 1 ), James produced his fin est work. The
omniscient nsrrstive teclmique* of his earlier work is substituted by narration from the linited
point of view*. The world of this novel is seen through the eyes of Isabel Archer, a sensitive and
intelligent observer.'Ihe story follows her search for self-identity and her growth to self-
understanding and maturitl' ()
Visual Link G1,t. The limited point of view technique also heightens
the suspense in The Tum of the Screr.l, (1[t98) (] Texts G1 and G2), a tantalisingly ambiguous story of
the occult which leaves the reader guessing.
Later works ln his later works, The lVitrgs of tlrc Dtn'e (19021, The .Ambossatlors (1903) and The
Golden Bowl (19()4),.lames returns to the'international thenre'of the contrast betleen the American
and European character.

Reputntiott James's interest in the 'consciousness' of his characters ancl his innovative use of
limited point of vierv made him one of the forerunners of the sfi'eun of consciousness* technique,
later developed by james -f oyce and Virginia Woolf. The intricacies and elegance of his style have
earned him the reputation of 'the writers' writer'.

TA'K
Prepare a brief report on the life and works of Henry James.