A Psychological Perspective of The Turn of the Screw Essay

A Psychological Perspective of The Turn of the Screw Henry James was one of the famous writers during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was known as an innovative and independent novelist. One of James novels, The Turn of the Screw (1898), has caused a lot of controversy among many critics, and each of them has had a particular interpretation. James creative writing built a close connection between his novel and his readers. The reactions of the readers toward The Turn of the Screw can be researched psychologically by analyzing how James developed his story using questionable incidents, an unreliable narrator, unexpected changes, an interesting prologue, and effective images and words. The influences of†¦show more content†¦Readers might wonder with whom she was in love. Then the Master told the Governess about the previous governess and her death (James 296). The readers probably want to know the reason of the previous governess death. When the Master talked about the duties of the Governess, he required her not to contact him in any way (James 297). We do not know why he made that requirement. As the story continues, the readers have many more unsolved questions such as why Miles was dismissed from school, why the Governess could describe Peter Quint exactly though she never meet him, and why the Governess thought that ghosts wanted to catch the two children. Ned Lukacher thinks that [the way James] has said something also becomes a way of not having said something else (132). For instance, James revealed some hints regarding the reason Miles was dismissed. We know that [Miles]s an injury to the others (304) and Mrs. Grose thought Miles was no boy for [h er] (305). However, these hints do not help the readers to completely understand why Miles was sent away from his school. Instead, more questions are posed, such as how such a ten-year-old boy could injure other students and why Mrs. Grose thought about Miles that way. The readers can not easily find the specific and reasonable answers in the story, so they have to guess the answers based on their ownShow MoreRelatedEssay about Henry James The Turn of the Screw1588 Words   |  7 PagesHenry James The Turn of the Screw Peter G. Beidler informs us that there have been â€Å"hundreds† of analyses of Henry James’ spine-tingling novella, The Turn of the Screw (189). Norman Macleod suggests that James himself seems to be â€Å"an author intent on establishing a text that cannot be interpreted in a definite way† (Qtd in Beidler 198). 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