Turn of the Screw is a novella penned by nineteenth century British
author Henry James. Considered to be part of the literary ghost story genre,
the novella was originally published serially between January and April of 1898
in Collier’s
Weekly Magazine, being later compiled
into a single volume the following October.
The novella provides a
ghost story that is unlike many of the ghost stories being produced during the
nineteenth century, which is what makes it so fascinating to me. Rather than
having a purely supernatural gothic story, James’ tale creates a sense of
anxiety through eerie realities. Its unnamed narrator is a young woman who is
hired as governess to two children at Bly, a remote English country house belonging
to the children’s family. What begins as a pleasant summer in the country soon
turns distressing and traumatic as the governess becomes convinced that
the children are consorting with a pair of malevolent ghosts. The ghosts you
see are of two former employees of Bly: a valet, one Peter Quint, and a
previous governess, Miss Jessel. In life the two of them had been scandalously
discharged for their forbidden sexual transgressions with one another, and
their spectral visitations with the children hint at Satanism and possible
sexual abuse. Clearly, as the governess sees it, ten-year-old Miles and
eight-year-old Flora must be protected. But her attempts to protect the
children from hazards that are possibly immaterial, she instead winds up
traumatizing the little girl and killing the little boy.
