The novel ,The Turn of the Screw ,writen by Henry James , is a very ambiguous

ghost story. It involves a governess who is hired by the Uncle to watch and take care of

two little children. The children's names are Flora and Miles. When the governess

arrived she was greeted by Mrs. Grose , a servant , and Flora. She described Flora "the

most beatiful child she has ever seen" ( James 6 ).

The first day the governess received a letter from Miles' school stating that he had

been expelled. The governess was puzzled and couldn't understand why Miles had

been expelled because when she first saw him he looked so innocent. She states " He

was incredibly beatiful", she felt he had a " indescribable little air of knowing nothing in

the world but love " ( James 17).

One day while taking a walk the governess sees a man by two towers. A few days

later she sees the same man in the same place. She desribes the ghost as " he has red

hair, very red, close-curling, and a pale face...with straight, good features, and little,

rather queer whiskers...his eyebrows...look particularly arched...his eyes are sharp,

strange...his mouth's wide, and his lips are thin...and he's quite clean-shaven. He gives

me a sort of sense of looking like an actor" ( James 24 ).

Mrs. Grose, the maid, claims that the description is that of Peter Quint, a former

worker of an Uncle of the children she added " Mr. Quint is dead"( James 24 ). Several

days later she sees another ghost across the lake near where Flora was playing. She a-

gain told Mrs. Grose about

the second spirit the governess desribed her as " horror and evil: a woman in black, pale

and dreadful" ( James 31) and Mrs. Grose claimed it sounded like that of Miss Jessel ,

the predessceor of the governess. She added that she, too, was dead.

A few nights later, the governess saw Peter Quint again but he disappeared

quickly. She went to look in the children's beds but soon realized that they were outside

playing in the yard. She says " I felt sick as I made it out" ( James 42 )- the figure on the

lawn was Miles The next Sunday after church the governess decided to leave Bly

because of all the ghostly activities. While the governess was packing, Miss Jessel

appeared for the second time. The governess decided it was time to take control of the

situation. She wrote a letter to the Uncle and left it on the table to be delivered.

One rainy day, Flora was unable to be found in the house. The governess

searched outside for her only to find Flora on the other side of the lake. The governess

questioned the child as to the whereabouts of Miss Jessel and the young girl became

horrified and screamed " I don't know what you mean. I see nobody. I see nothing. I

never have. I think you're cruel. I don't like you!"( James 73 ). The governess returned

to the house to learn that Flora was extremelysick and delusional which made Mrs Grose

conclude that the ghost really existed.Flora was taken away in order that Miles would

have a chance survive.

At dinner of that night, Miles admitted that he had stolen the letter that the

governess had left for his Uncle. Peter Quint appeared in the window and the

governess covered Miles' eyes. The boy asked if Miss Jessel was there but recieved

no reply. The governess attempted to force the boy to say "Peter Quint" and he said

"Peter Quint you devil" and died in the governess's hands. The governess says " we

were alone with the quiet day, and his little heart, dispossessed had stopped ( James 88 ).

As one can see, this story can have numerous interpretations. James states in his

preface that the story is a fiction that involves a ghost who really takes over the minds

of the two little children. Critics in fact disagree with Jones himself and state that Jones

didn't know exactly what kind of work he wrote, or thought he wrote.

The critics' opinion that I will discuss are those of Edmund Wilson who says the

governess is sexually frustrated and everything that she sees is because of this fact.

Charles G. Hoffman, who says that the ghost really appeared, is the opinion that I

first saw upon reading the novel. The critic Leon Edel says this was all because

the governess had a fear of working since this was her first job.

Upon reading this novel, I thought of the book as fiction that involved real ghosts. In

the story the children are found to be playing games outside in the middle of the night. I

In my opinion, the children were possessed by the ghosts thereby being forced to play

outside in the middle of the night. The fact that Miles got in so much trouble in school

related to the ghosts . I think the governess was able to describe the ghost with such

detail because she in fact saw the ghost with her own eyes. In the end when Miles dies,

it is because the ghost possessed him and killed him.

Charles G. Hoffman saw the same basic ideas as I did but imbued more details

in his essay. Hoffman's first proof that this would be a real ghost story is that Jones

usually deals with the problems of social conflict and therefore in this novel Jones

is concerned with the existence of the devil. Hoffman sees nothing wrong with the

governess being turned on by the Uncle whereas, Edmund Wilson does. Hoffman

says Mrs. Grose plays a major role in the novel. He says she is a realistic member

of the acutal world. Mrs. Grose believes in ghosts but she nevers actually sees the

ghosts. She is the one who recognizes the first ghost as Peter Quint. He says

the ghost really appear uses Jones as proof of it. In Jones' preface the ghosts of Quint

and Jessel aren't ghost in white sheets and chains but demons. They embody evil

can cause an atmosphere of evil. Jones concentrated on the effect of the ghosts on the

characters in the novel. This is Jones' success in the work. Hoffman then shows that the

involvement of the children delineates the nonsense of the evil "theme". The

children are not really involved in the story at first. Through images, beauty and

light for innocence, ugliness and darkness for evil, Jones presents contrasts. Miles

is beautiful and brillant, totally opposite to the dusk that surrrounds him. But there

is some darkness in Miles, for example in the questions that he raises. The same

contrast exists within Flora. The governess receives a physchological shock when she

sees the transformation from light and innocence to darkness and evil in Flora after the

last appearance of Miss Jessel. At that point Miss Jessel has won and Flora

has turned to evil ( Hoffman 20-22).

The governess then attempts to save Miles. Miles confesses in order to be

saved. One can see that even though he is beautiful and innocent there is a little

evil in him shown by the dismissal from school for bad behavior. Flora is finally lost

because the governess forces her evil to be revealed . In the case of Miles it is

his confesssion that he stole the letter from his Uncle which causes Quint to appear.

Miles accepts that the ghost exists.. At that point, Miles confessed and Quint has lost;

The governess has succeeded in saving Miles.. But the recogniton of the evil causes

Miles to die ( Hoffman 23 ).

The final problem of whether good and evil exist outside the person is never

answered in the story. It is left ambiguos. Evil can exist along side good

according to the story ( Hoffman 23 ).

As one can see, I agree with Charles Hoffman in many different aspects of the novel.

On the other hand, Edward Wilson totally disagrees with us.

Wilson, a famous critic, says that the governess who is telling the story is suffering

from a neurotic case of sexual repression and that the ghosts do not really exist but are

simply hallucinations she suffers. He follows the story very carefully from the beginning

and points out that the governess looks for work and becomes completely infatutuated

with the Uncle. After she receives a letter from the Uncle, she is constantly thinking

about him. At this point, when she see Peter Quint, she convinces herself he has come

to haunt the children ( Wilson 211).

Wilson says that there in no evidence that anyone else saw the ghosts except

for the governess. The children become hysterical when the governess tries to

force them to see the ghosts. Wilson is positive that there is a Freudian significance to

the governess seeing a ghost while the little girl Flora is fitting a stick of wood into

another piece of wood with a hole in it. Wilson says that the governess was able to

describe the ghosts so well without really seeing them in because she spoke to the

townspeople. He says that there is no evidence that he spoke to them. This is also how

she found out how Quint died. Wilson also states that Miles died because the

governess scared the boy to death by trying to force the child to see the ghost ( Wilson 212-213).

Leon Edel also says the same basic ideas as Edmond Wilson. He says that the

governess wa hallucinating and the ghosts really didn't exist. Though Edel says that this

was caused because the governess had a fear of taking on a responsibiliy fo caring

for young children. The tremendous fear caused the ghost to appear to her. Wilson

reviews the confrontations with the ghosts. He examines in particular the ending of

the story. Wilson concurs with Edel. They agree that the governess frightened them

into believing that the ghosts were there because the she saw them. She thought if

she saw them then everyone should have been able to ( Edel 425 ).

Wilson says that this is the only way to read the story. If we look at the governess,

who was the daughter of a poor parson, we can begin to understand her sexual impulses

and the need she had to repress because of her background.

As one can see their are many di\fferent ways of interpreting this novel. The book

was written with such ambiguity any one person can interpret the story the way they feel

is right. After reading all the various interpretations it is understandible how all the critics

came to their own conclusions.