The Turn of the Screw
Henry James
· The second half of the nineteenth century was interested in the supernatural and the occult: séances, crystal ball reading, etc. Why, in a century that marked a rapid development and public awareness of science and technology, the century of the industrial revolution, was there a reaction against scientific reasoning? I have suggested a possible reason in discussing the Horla, whose narrator speaks very rationally, acts scientifically, observes phenomena, tries to interpret them systematically, as does science, and even does experiments? The nineteenth century was also a century in which historians and sociologists began to see history in terms of large historical forces that influence or determine how society acts. And this new notion of history dovetailed with the romantic awareness of how our actions can be controlled by our desires and emotions, rather than by rational thought. Many people found the ideas creepy. We don’t like thinking that we are not totally in control of our choices and actions. Moreover, the notion of forces governing our lives seemed to go against scientific theory.
· I would suggest that the conjunction of these different tendencies -- towards interpreting the world rationally and scientifically and recognizing historical forces that influence us despite our rational mind -- played a role in the popularity of the occult. People wanted someone to read their future, which they could not rationally predict, in a crystal ball.
· I am not saying that this is the only cause, but only that it may have contributed to it, and particularly to writing stories that are “uncanny,” that describe the takeover of one’s desires, thoughts, and actions by an evil being, Coppelius, or by a new being, the Horla,
· What is uncanny or creepy in The Sandman, Freud suggests, particularly if we identify with the main character, is that Coppelius takes away Nathanial’s eyes and desire, then gives him a new, self-destructive eyes/desire that are not his own. Similarly, the Horla replaces the narrator’s desire and actions with one’s that are not his, makes him not only see and hear strange things, but especially makes him want to do things. These stories of the uncanny at the end of the nineteenth century suggest, I believe, the increasing awareness in the nineteenth century of social, psychological, and historical forces that affect our desires, thoughts, and actions, and that we cannot consciously control. They communicate our fear that we are being taken over, becoming an automaton or marionette of some social, psychological, or historical force, but also our fascination with this when it happens to someone else. We see this today in the last 60 years with science fiction films about beings from outer space that suck out the minds and take over the bodies of human beings, or turn them into robots as in the Borg of Star Trek or films about bodies used to give energy by dreaming.
· Now we will look a somewhat different type of story of the occult.
1. pp. 3-9 What situation do these introductory pages set up for the listeners who will hear the story and for the readers? Whose story will the listeners be hearing? What questions does that raise? What situation do these pages set up for the governess? What questions does that raise for her?
2. Chp. I What are the new governess’s conflicting feelings about her job before she travels to the country house? What has made her feel so conflicted? 11 What does the governess watch out for as she enters the house? 13 How did the governess see the country home when she first entered it? How was it really? What does this disparity tell us about the way in which the young governess sees her new situation, such as Flora? What questions does it raise about the governess’s story ?
3. Chapter II What conclusions does the governess come to about the reasons for Miles’s dismissal from the school? What might explain these conclusions? 15 What does she see Flora do? Does she take this into account when judging her character? What suspicions does the governess have about Mrs. Grose’s comments on Miles, the master, and the previous governess? What suspicions do you have? Are we in the domain of realism? the supernatural? or the fantastic? Explain.
4. Chapter III Given the atmosphere of the story, how do you react to the governess’s idealization of the children’s beauty? When she takes her walks after the children go to bed, who does she imagine she will see and what is he doing? Why is it so important for her to carry out her job well? 20-21 What different person does she see one day? What is he doing? What is her reaction to him? What questions are raised by her reaction to him? Why do you think she sees the second man immediately after imagining that the first?
5. Chp. IV What possible explanations might explain why the governess hides her experience with the man in the tower from Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper? Which child is she idealizing now? When the man appears again, why might she be so upset when he looks away from her? Why might she place herself where the man was?
6. Chp. V-VI The man was Quint, the master’s dead valet. pp. 30-32 The governess makes some strange revelations about Quint and Miles as does Mrs. Grose. How does Mrs. Grose confirm what the governess has seen? What seems to be Quint’s relation with Miles? What relation does this set up between the governess and Quint? How does the governess feel about her relation to Quint? Do you find the governess believable? Why?
7. Chp. VI-VII a. 34 When the governess is with the children, how does she say they treat her? What is your reaction to this treatment? When the governess sees Miss Jessel, what does the child do according to her description? According to the governess, what is Miss Jessel like? What relation is there between Flora and Miss Jessel? What does Miss Jessel want according to the governess? Do you find the governess’s account believable? Does Mrs. Grose confirm it? How does the governess seem to feel about Mrs. Jessel.
b. If we consider the relation between the governess, the two children, Quint, and Miss Jessel, how does the governess see her role within this fivesome? How would you answer the last two questions if you knew that the two ghosts were real? How would you answer it if you knew that the governess was imagining them?