Term Paper on "Feminist Reading of Henry James' Turn of the Screw"

Term Paper 5 pages (1514 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Screw

At its most superficial level, Henry James's novella Turn of the Screw is just a ghost story: nothing more, nothing less. Yet while Turn of the Screw certainly can be appreciated at face value due to the deft creation of a classic gothic setting and theme, the novella's multifaceted meanings and multiple thematic layers reveal a text that lends itself to deeper scrutiny. In particular, feminist theories of identity formation lend insight into the governess's character and the nature of the apparitions. Feminist theories of identity formation can suggest ways in which Turn of the Screw can be reinterpreted or re-visioned.

Some aspects of Turn of the Screw are decidedly un-feminist, or outright patriarchal. The role of the governess herself is ambiguous: on the one hand she fulfills one of the most stereotypical and predictable roles for a female. Child-raising and child-rearing place the governess in the domain of the domestic slave. She has an absent employer and no real chance for social, economic, or political advancement. The governess has recently graduated from college and yet it seems that she is more concerned about marrying a rich gentleman than she is with advancing her creativity or pursuing personal ambitions. Therefore, the governess submits to the proscribed gender role of woman as domestic. The very fact that she works with another female, Mrs. Grose, in a similar role as she, underscores the fact that patriarchy is being overtly substantiated in Turn of the Screw.

Moreover, the notion that women are prone to mental illness or emotional instability has led to leagues of literary criticism related to James's Turn of the Screw. In particular, Edmund Wilson wrote about the governess's mental stability in his 1934 criticism "The Ambiguity of Henry James." Wilson wrote, "the young governess who tells the story is a neurotic case of sex repression, and the ghosts are not real ghosts at all but merely the governess's hallucinations," (cited by Parkinson). Imposing a patriarchal and Freudian interpretation onto James's work seems ridiculous in light of the paucity of textual evidence that supports claims such as that the ghosts represent "a neurotic case of sex repression," (cited by Parkinson).

James interjected a sufficient amount of patriarchal themes into Turn of the Screw to render any projections such as Freudian discourse irrelevant. First, the governess abandons what could have been a self-defined life path by accepting a job as a governness or domestic servant. The governess's areas of interest other than sex are not alluded to anywhere in the tale, not even through allusion. The governess becomes narcissistic and self-absorbed because of her conformity to proscribed gender roles and her obsession with the children, which are not even her own. Although she attended university and does demonstrate some degree of independence, the governess in Turn of the Screw is far from being a feminist figure. Douglas describes her as "agreeable," one of the first adjectives used to define the unnamed governess. The governess has no name; she is defined and therefore delimited by her role as a domestic help -- as a subservient female.

The fact that she falls in love with the children's father underscores the governess's complete and utter loss of identity. She is subsumed by her role as a governness, has lost any sense of who she was before she took the job, and becomes obsessed with her role as surrogate mother to the point at which she may in fact be hallucinating.

Perhaps it is this twisted reality that allows Turn of the Screw to be twisted, spun, and re-visioned as a feminist discourse on identity formation. When Miles dies in the governess's arms, the symbolism of the tale because apparent. The death of a child -- albeit one who is not portrayed as being wholly innocent -- does symbolize the death of a part of the self. In this case, the death of Miles represents the death of that part of the governess that is rebellious, instinctual, and perhaps a bit mischievous. When we first meet the governess, she seems full of life. As her stint at Ely progresses, she becomes consumed by death -- as represented by the ghosts. She also remains obsessed with a man who barely exists.

The death of Miles symbolizes the culmination of the governess's spiritual death: the death of her independent self, her spunk, her spirit. She is lost like a waif or like a ghost herself, caught between the world of the living and that of the dead. The governess loses herself to a false identity as a mother and worse yet -- as a wife of a stereotypically absent husband and father.

What is remarkable about the governess's psychological development is the unfolding of her sexuality. She arrives merely smitten with the father of Flora and Miles, but we leave her in a state of sexual repression and despair. The beginning of the hallucinations coincide exactly with the governess's incessant fantasies about her employer. James makes sure to conjoin the governess's fantasy about the employer with the apparition of Quint.

Quint becomes a sort of visual projection or outward manifestation of the governess's sexual fantasies. She wants so badly to fulfill the role of wife and mother than not only has she accepted a job for which she can act this part, but she also projects herself into a liminal reality.

The governess expresses her sexual desire and interest in subtle and symbolic ways, too. She stares down the apparition of Quint on several occasions, seemingly unafraid but certainly frightened. Her bravery upon seeing a ghost is admirable, and could indeed be interpreted as the budding of a strong ego identity. Yet James tempers this strength with corresponding weaknesses. The governess does not actually take charge of the apparitions. Far from it; the apparitions take charge of her life and she lets them do so.

Any power the governess has been squandered on what Parkinson calls "deceptive 'authority'" Norton notes that James projects anti-female sentiments onto the governess: Turn of the Screw inculcates "resentment of females, strong admiration for males, narcissism, the equation of sexual knowledge and death." Moreover, identity formation in Turn of the Screw does not take place only in the character of the governess. Miles may be one of the most important characters in the novella, even if the reader does not have as much insight into the child's point-of-view as into the governess's. Miles is most likely developing an awareness of his own sexuality, indicated in part by his having been expelled from boarding school for some unnamable infraction. As Norton points out too, Miles may in fact be coming to terms with a homosexual identity. The child does indeed cry out, "I want my own sort!" (James 100).

Sexuality and sexual identity formation are depicted as being painful events, causing major trauma. The governess is slowly losing her grip, not necessarily on reality in general, but certainly on her identity. The ghosts may not be hallucinations, given the fact that the children seem to be also conscious of their presence. As literary tools, the ghosts permit the governess to project simultaneously her desire for and fear of sexual flowering.

Because the children can also see the ghosts, and because it is hinted that Miles at least is coming of age, the ghosts may represent the transition from a state of virginity to a state of sexual knowledge. That knowledge -- which can be translated as sexual power -- is presented in a stark and negative light. Miles may have been kicked out of school for sexual misconduct. The ghosts have also been involved in some sort of sexual impropriety; Peter Quint and Miss Jessel had some sort of illicit affair that Mrs. Grose makes sure to condemn. Mrs. Grose herself… READ MORE

How to Reference "Feminist Reading of Henry James' Turn of the Screw" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Henry James Turn of the Screw Term Paper

Turn of the Screw

In speaking of ghost stories, one may say that while there's something rotten in the state of Denmark, there's something really rotten in the House of… read more

Term Paper 7 pages (2064 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Aestheticism Artistic Appreciation and Taste in James Spoils of Poynton Term Paper

James Spoils

People, Things, and Ethics: Perspectives on Collection and Control in Henry James' the Spoils of Poynton

Though not long in words or plot complexity, Henry James' novel the… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (2590 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Art / Painting / Sculpture

---

Psychoanalytic Reading of Turn of the Screw Essay

Screw by Henry James, due to its ambiguity and obscurity, is considerably one of literature's earliest focal points of New Criticism. This revered "Ghost Story" raised much a stink throughout… read more

Essay 3 pages (881 words) Sources: 5 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Feminist Reading Two Models of Feminism: Wollstonecraft Term Paper

Feminist Reading

Two Models of Feminism: Wollstonecraft and Chopin on the Social Dynamics of Female Emancipation

One of the most fundamental and profound developments in literature and literary criticism in… read more

Term Paper 9 pages (2840 words) Sources: 9 Topic: Women / Feminism

---

Psychoanalytical Reading of the Turn of the Screw Essay

Psychoanalytical Reading of the Turn of the Screw

Sigmund Freud's theories of psychoanalysis - in particular, the concept of repression -- have been liberally applied to interpretations of Henry James'… read more

Essay 5 pages (1503 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>