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Sunday, December 8, 2019

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

The Turn of the Screw is Henry James’s famous gothic tale. Though a well - known book this is the first time that I have read it.  I found this novella to be an odd but superbly crafted story. The only other book that I have read by James is The Portrait of a Lady. Though there were some similarities, especially with regards to James’s prose style, this book was very different in terms of plot and character development.  Though unusual in some ways, I found that this was a creative tale that was well worth the read. 

The story is framed as a manuscript. An unknown narrator is reading a first - person account of the experiences of a young governess who is now deceased.  The narrator’s friend had purported to know the governess. The governess is a young woman who is hired by a man who has become responsible for his young niece and nephew after the death of their parents. The man wants nothing to do with the children and sends the governess out to a country estate to take charge of them.

The girl is named Flora and the boy is named Miles.  Mrs. Grose is the housekeeper who befriends the governess. Shortly after her arrival the governess begins to see apparitions. With the help of Mrs. Grose, she surmises that the ghosts are Mr. Quint, the uncle’s former valet and Miss Jessel, the children’s former governess. Before their deaths, the pair were carrying on an affair. The children can see them too and the governess is convinced that the spirits are trying to draw the children into a web of evil. As the story goes on the pair of spirits continue to show themselves and it becomes apparent that they are indeed drawing the children into something. Both the governess and Mrs. Grose become more and more desperate to protect the siblings. 

Like The Portrait of a Lady, James’s prose is complex here. His sentences are intricately constructed and contain a lot of dashes.  As this is a first - person narrative the dashes are used to create the effect of a stream of consciousness. With that, James can write some very effective prose. In what I think is one of the best passages in the book, the governess describes an early encounter with the apparition Quint. 

There came to me thus a bewilderment of vision of which, after these years, there is no living view that I can hope to give. An unknown man in a lonely place is a permitted object of fear to a young woman privately bred; and the figure that faced me was— a few more seconds assured me— as little anyone else I knew as it was the image that had been in my mind. I had not seen it in Harley Street— I had not seen it anywhere. The place, moreover, in the strangest way in the world, had, on the instant, and by the very fact of its appearance, become a solitude. To me at least, making my statement here with a deliberation with which I have never made it, the whole feeling of the moment returns. It was as if, while I took in— what I did take in— all the rest of the scene had been stricken with death. I can hear again, as I write, the intense hush in which the sounds of evening dropped. The rooks stopped cawing in the golden sky, and the friendly hour lost, for the minute, all its voice

The above is characteristic of the style of the story. It is both intricate and atmospheric. 

I read a little bit of the online commentary on this book. Throughout the years there has been a lot of debate about it. Some have argued that the governess is delusional and thus the supernatural aspects of the plot are in her head. I disagree with this assessment. Though Mrs. Grose does not see the ghosts, she confirms that too many things that the governess observes about them as being accurate. There is no way that the governess could have known these things. 

There are a lot of different theories floating around about this story. Regardless of the specific literary theories, this tale is obviously about repression. There is the sense that the relationship between the children and the ghosts is something that exists under the surface. When the governess and Mrs. Grose discuss it, they do so in whispers. There is something about all this that is unspeakable.

At one point Mrs. Grose describes Flora’s description of the ghosts

From that child— horrors! There!” she sighed with tragic relief. “On my honor, miss, she says things—!” But at this evocation she broke down; she dropped, with a sudden sob, upon my sofa and, as I had seen her do before, gave way to all the grief of it.

It seems that James talking about sexual repression here. The above quotation as well as other things in the story seem to support this strongly.  Several critics have gone further and suggested that the relationship between the ghosts and the children has all the earmarks of sexual abuse. This seems plausible but I am not one hundred percent certain that this is what James meant to portray.

This is not a cookie cutter type ghost story. James’s distinctive writing style, unusual plot twists and underlying themes make this unique.  This is an odd story, but in many ways a brilliant one.  Though I have read a limited number of books by this author, I think that this might make a good introduction to his work. This is the second James book that I have read and I will likely read more. 

49 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

My theory is sexual abuse. All the many interpretations attempting to explain things as being anything and everything BUT sexual abuse convince me even more, because people never want to acknowledge the reality or indeed, the horrifying extent, of child sexual abuse in society. Not even today, in modern times. We would still prefer any explanation rather than that one.

mudpuddle said...

in line with what Debra says above, i believe it's as much about James himself as it is about the two kids... it really sounds to me like a cri de coeur of some sort: James addressing the universe re his own pain. of course i could be wrong... nahh, that's what it is...haha at least that was what i concluded when i read it years ago...

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Debra - It may be sexual abuse going on here. It is an issue, including the the attempts to suppress the truth, that is still with us. I think that it is part of our society’s psyche. If so, it’s picture was well painted here.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Muddpuddle- Without a doubt it is about representation of some sort. James had to understand it, probably in a personal way, to write about it so effectively.

JacquiWine said...

It's been a while since I last read this book, so it's good to have a reminder of it here. Have you seen Jack Clayton's adaptation, The Innocents? Truly one of the most unsettling films in existence, especially when viewed on the big screen.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Jacqui- I agree that The Innocents was a brilliant film. I should watch it again.

Kathy's Corner said...

Hi Brian, I believe I partially read Turn of the Screw when I was young and I didn't care for it but your review makes me want to give it another try and I will. I like ghost stories and this book sounds very psychological with alot going on under the surface. Its a funny thing about authors. Turn of the Screw was the first book I read by Henry James and I figured he was not for me but then years later I read the Bostonians and I loved that book. Ditto for Edith Wharton where I read Ethan Frome in high school and figured she was not for me. Then I read House of Mirth and what a revelation.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Kathy - My reading tastes have also changed a lot over time. I really would not have liked this when I was younger. The prose in this book would have driven me crazy. It is also a bit slow moving and I have only come to appreciate that as I get older. I really would have hated The Portrait of a Lady when younger.

Whispering Gums said...

This is one of those classics that I have always wanted to read. I never did finish my first James (The ambassadors) but I did go on to read and enjoy at least two more, Princess Cassamassima and Portrait of a lady. However I have always intended to read more (though I realise now that time is quickly slipping away, and I may never do it, so I'm rather glad you have for me!)

Coincidentally, I was listening to a radio program today in which one of the participants (in a debate) quoted henry James' rules - Rule 1, Be kind; Rule 2, Be kind; Rule 3, yes you've guessed it, Be kind. I love it.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi WG - One thing about this book is that it is short. It can be snuck in between other books. I found it much easier to get through then Portrait of a Lady.

I love James’s rules.

James said...

This is among my favorite of James' shorter works. I consider it a unique horror story and wonder what Freud would have thought of it. It has been adapted in different ways - my favorite is Benjamin Britten's opera which you can listen to here: ( https://youtu.be/zmEjGKf2eRw )

Dorothy Borders said...

I read this many years ago and, frankly, had forgotten some of the details but your excellent synopsis brought it back. I've read a couple of other James books and found that he definitely had a distinctive prose style. This one is especially atmospheric, downright creepy at times! Well worth the read.

Sue Bursztynski said...

I read this at university, as part of the English course. It’s blessedly short, a novella. I have always thought it was in the governess’s head, but it has been a very long time since I read it.

I’ve also seen the film, The Innocents. One of the scariest films I have ever seen, precisely because there are no woo-woo-woo ghosts, just something she may o4 may not have seen, so relies on the viewer’s imagination, and we have great imaginations! I remember re-viewing it late at nigh5 at a science fiction convention. A friend who had never seen it gasped and clutched at me in the scariest bits. The only film I can think of that comes close is The Others with Nicole Kidman.

Suko said...

Brian Joseph,
After reading your commentary, I'd like to read this short Gothic novel. Thanks for a great intro to this book, which you say is an intro to James' work.

Judy Krueger said...

I think I made some negative remarks about Henry James to you recently. Lately I have been reading Clarice Lispector who is so very much a stream of consciousness writer and I find myself getting used to it, comprehending it more, and seeing how that kind of prose is so close to what goes on in our heads when we are thinking. I may be getting ready to try James again.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi James - It really is a different kind of story. Thanks for the link. I listened to just a little of the opera. It sounds very good. I will listen to it in its entirety soon. I had never heard of it before.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Dorothy. James’s prose is so interesting. Here he really does get the “creepy” into it.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Sue - There are so many theories as to what is going on here.

I found The Innocents and The Others to be somewhat similar. I also thought that both were brilliant.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Suko - If you read this. I would love to know what you thought of it.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Judy - I have only read two of James’s books. His prose can be challenging. I think that this book might be a good start because it is so short. I have heard that The Golden Bowl was more difficult then his other books.

HKatz said...

The excerpt made me laugh (in a way that it wouldn't have, if I were reading the book), because it's like a path suddenly becoming riddled with holes and covered in rocks, and you have to concentrate more on how you're stepping along.

Anyway, this is an excellent review. I haven't read a single novel by Henry James yet (just some short fiction) and this would probably be the first one I pick up.

Sharon Wilfong said...

Excellent commentary as usual, Brian. This has to be one of my favorite stories from a favorite writer.

I had not thought about repression, but I have noticed in James' writings that he "suggests" more than he states. It's all very perceptual. One reads and wonders what is really going on? Is the narrator reliable or crazy? A number of his stories are written like this.

Now is it because society as a whole had more stringent boundaries? People could not be as open or direct as we are today. Sometimes I think we've become a little too extreme in making so much of our personal lives today public, yet on the other hand, I don't want to return to a culture where everyone is wearing a mask, either. At least today I have the freedom to show how much or little of myself.

Others have commented that it is James himself that was repressed for whatever reasons and his writing was his mode of expression for inner taboo thoughts.

I don't know. I just love the way he writes, even though it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Have a great week.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Sharon. I think that there needs to be a happy medium in regards to people revealing their emotions and selves. As you point out, at the times that James wrote, fold were too repressed. But these days some people seem to go completely overboard.

I do not know much about James’s personal life. I wonder if he was repressed and ended up reflecting that in his books.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Hila. This novella seems like a good place to start with James.

thecuecard said...

You have me reconsidering trying to read James .... if it's Gothic and atmospheric creepy then perhaps it seems worthwhile .... but what is it all about? sounds hazy. I think I tried Portrait of a Lady once and didn't get far .... like waiting for paint to dry on the walls.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Susan -Though I liked The Portrait of a Lady, it was slow. Though not really action filled, this one moves along, partially because of its brevity. It also was very gothic and very atmospheric.

baili said...

unfortunately i could not detect the central idea fairly through your review
i just watched the trailer and could not figure what point is writer tend to make
though i believe that with ghost he can freely discuss the psychological issues
i found his way of writing different yet interesting once you get used to it ,i think it is nice book worth reading ,i really want to know what is his point here ,i find psychological topics always compelling ,they untie many tangled knots of human mind or they try to explain it at least
i enjoyed reading this wonderful review dear Brain !
blessings to your days ahead!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Baili - I guess that on one level this is a ghost story where one a governess and her two charges are being haunted. On another level there seems to be a lot of whispering and unexpressed emotion in the background. I am not sure that there is an endpoint or final conclusion concerning the repression.

This one is certainly a psychological ghost story!

Susan Kane said...

Oh my goodness. I read this years ago, when I was in college. Reading it now would give me a totally new view of the book. Life experiences will do that. Miles' death caught me unawares then, and your review caught me again.

I saw The Others with Nicole Kidman, and somehow it connects to this.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Susan - I find that my perspective and reading tastes have changed so much over time.

I also was surprised my Miles’s death.

The Others seemed derivative of this. I thought that it was also a great film.

Stefanie said...

Such a great ghost story that gives me chills every time!

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Stefanie- It is indeed, the perfect ghost story.

Carol said...

Mmm...don't know if I want to read this! I have Portrait of a Lady & thought I would start off with that as I haven't read James before.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Carol - I thought that The Portrait of a Lady was a great book. It was my first James book. This was shorter and I thought that it was a little more accessible.

Judith said...

I have the fondest memories of reading this one. I read it one cold, rainy afternoon long, long ago and it lit me up. I absolutely MUST read it again soon.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Judith - Reading this on a rainy afternoon would be perfect.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

One of those books that though I haven't read I thought I knew what it was about ... obviously not though.

Whilst novels that use a 'stream of consciousness' approach don't usually appeal to me almost everything else about this book screams read me.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Felicity- Though James does employ a type of stream of consciousness here, it really is not as difficult in terms of reading as opposed to other writers who use the technique. I think that his prose is difficult in other ways

Paula Vince said...

This is interesting. I haven't read Henry James at all yet, but I've heard that he's a 'love him or hate him' sort of guy, and it sounds like The Turn of the Screw is a good one to start off with. The supernatural themes sound very cool. Surely multi-layered, as you suggest.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Paula - Based on the two books that I hand read, James can be a challenging writer who has all kinds of tendencies that not everyone would like. This one is short and entertaining. The ghost stuff was fun to read about.

Susan Kane said...

Just saw a movie preview for "The Turning". Should be interesting.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Susan - I just watched it. Looks great!

Rachel said...

I LOVED this novella when I read it as a teen! I agree that it is not cookie-cutter style at all.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Rachel - I came to this a little late but I loved it too.

JaneGS said...

Interesting post on what I find to be an aggravating work—I had to go back and reread my own posts on Turn of the Screw. I’m in the governess-is-crazy camp myself, but James’s genius eludes me. I know many think he is brilliant and can appreciate him, but he’s just not for me. The premise is absolutely terrific though, and the discussions this short work inspires make it worth reading regardless of whether or not you actually enjoy it! Good job tackling James.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Jane. James seems to be polarizing. Folks tend to love him or hate him. The premise here was terrific indeed. I think that it was also original for it’s time.

the bookworm said...

Hi Brian, I haven't read Henry James yet but this one sounds good. I like that it has a supernatural twist to it. It's interesting reading other readers theories on books. Thanks for the recommendation and Happy New Year!

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Naida - It is interest that there are multiple interpretations of this book. I think that it is a good introduction to James.

have a happy New Year!

Sue Bursztynski said...

I read this while I was at university, and saw the film, The Innocents, with Deborah Kerr. I was always under the impression that it was all in the governess’s head, maybe I need to reread. However, I do have to say that the film was far scarier than any of the other horror movies I have seen, simply because there was nothing there except what the viewer imagined, and our imagination is much stronger than anything the film can show us. Yes, there were views of the dead servants, but that too might have been the governess’s imagination. I remember seeing it late at night at a science fiction convention with a friend who hadn’t seen it before, and he was gasping and clutching at me in terror! :-)

The novella is certainly a powerful read.