Critique "The Turn of the Screw"

8/2/2019 Critique "The Turn of the Screw"

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It's now evident that the Great writer "Henry James" is one of the most

famous and impressive authors. He is not famous only for his

creativity in imagination, but also so remarkable for writing in form of

ambiguity. By saying "Ambiguity", we go exactly toward convey of

meaning.

With a superficial view on Henry's works, we get the startling

impression. Many critics and other writers have discussed this point

on his performances.

As a brilliant example, they have focused on the pronouns which he

uses. The use of them is so unique. Their subjects are somehow

unclear, astonishing, strange or sometimes ambiguous.

With having the background from the writer and his works, we go

straight to one of his acclaiming writings- The Turn of The screw.

The story, The Turn of The Screw, is James' 10th novel and is based

and created upon his imagination and fancy. We can surely claim that

this writing is judged to be one of the outstanding works of all-time.

The flow of happenings and events in the story are seen very

superficial and sometimes artificial by a reader who has started to read

one of his works for the first time.

Being neglected of getting the true theme by many reader or even

critics, there have been wrought shameful misunderstandings in world

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of criticism. By taking a look at some of those critics, whether correct

or inaccurate, we can go to the depth of his style and manipulate some

of them in order to get to the most right and intellectual meaning.

The Critique by Edmund Wilson:

Wilson was one of the first proponents of the mad Governess theory.

He exposed a critique of the work but then he was made recant his

view by other critics. He pointed out that description and the addresses

which the protagonist of the story (Governess) had given to the

housekeeper, were presented in a very matter- of- fact way. The

Ghosts which she had observed was introduced in a very artificial

way, as if there is no existence of ghosts at all. By referring to some

sentences of story- "he has no hat . he has red hair, very red, close-

curling, and a pale face, long in shape, with straight, good features

and little, rather queer whiskers that one as red as his hair. his

eyebrows are, somehow, darker; they look particularly arched His

eyes are sharp- awfully his mouth's wide, and his lips are thin, and

except for his whiskers he's quite clean shaven"- he tries to prove his

idea that the descriptions, some how, are illustrated in a way which the

Governess hasn't seen or heard of that man. Wilson declares that the

characters and theme of the story are not set in a sensational way.

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In addition to these, he also argues in his essay- "The Ambiguity of

Henry James"- on 1934 that;" the Governess who is responsible to tell

the story is a neurotic case of sex repression, and that the ghosts are

not real ghosts but hallucinations of the Governess.

If we look at his other utterances in that essay, it's said that James had

the belief of Freud about the sex psychology. But there is a big

contradiction on this sentence. To strike the gold, we should look a

little bit deeper. The problem is that Freud's significant work

explaining his sexual theory appeared in 1905, but this story was

written in 1989.

The brilliant reason, on which the Wilson affords to prove the sexual

psychology, is the sentence which comes across to the reader; the

ghost, Peter Quaint, first appears standing on a tower when the

Governess has been deeply longing for her employer to appear and

approve her care of the children. The female ghost, Miss Jessel, first

appears by a lake and watches as little flora, also watched absorbedly

by the Governess, plays a childish game;

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"She had picked up a small flat piece of wood, which happened to

have in it a little hole that had evidently suggested to her the idea of

sticking in another fragment that might figure as a mast and make the

thing a beat. This second morsel she was very markedly and

intently attempting to tighten in its place.''

Ten year old Mile's repeated use of the word "DEAR" in speaking

to the Governess might suggest a precocious boy's sexual interest in

his pretty Governess.

But as a Justification for the first point of view which exposes that the

aspirations have been described in an artificial way, Henry in the

Preface says; "the story, "The Turn of The screen", is a piece of

ingenuity pure and simple of cold artistic calculation, an amusette to

catch those not easily caught the jaded, the disillusioned, the

fastidious." He also said that he consciously limited his revelation of

the Governess' character: "we have surely as much of her nature as we

can swallow in watching it reflects her anxieties and inductions". He

says the ghosts are presented as "Read" ones and he has described

them as "my hovering prowling brightening presences. My pair of

abnormal agents. Would be agents in fact; there would be laid on

them the dire duty of causing the situation to reek with the air of Evil.

Their desire and their ability to do so, visibly measuring meanwhile

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their effect, together with their observed and described success- this

was exactly my Central Idea."

Critique of Robert B. Heilman:

Heilman was one of the pioneers in mid- twentieth century who

presented a highly developed perspective on James' remarkable work.

Though it was a new idea in the world of Literature, but it left many

questionable interpretations.

In 1948, he comes to the scene with a talented and different idea that

the theme of the story The Turn of The Screw- is a great conflict

between Evil and Good.

Heilman supports his idea with the description of Quiet who is said to

be; "his eyes are sharp. Strange awfully; rather small and very

fixed. His month's wide, and his lips are thin." He says that these are

the characteristics of the serpent which plagues the Even.

In other stage, he mentions that two children are symbols of innocence

and Goodness. He insists on the described sentences of them in text

that portray "Angelic beauty" and a "positive fragrance of purity."

Heilman continues by pointing out that Governess has called them

(two children) perfect and beautiful in every possible way. It also has

been said by Heilman that the repetition of some words such as; vision

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of beauty, radiance, and innocence, parallel the perspective of Eden.

He also declares that Bly and Flora have the characteristics and

features of the Eden, Adam and Eve. Furthermore, it has been said

that the existence of Mr. Quint is toxicity for children's nature. He

extracts that the fall of innocence occurs when the season change from

spring to autumn. As a clear example we can refer to the text;

On evening, the Governess notes that she "listened to lash of the

rain and the batter of the ghosts." After the storm, sky continues to be

gloomy. When Governess finds the flora at the lake, she sees her

playing with a piece of with end fern. At the same time he realizes that

Flora has run away with Miss Jessel and Miss Jessel had ruined her

moral and purity.

Heilman concludes this not only the change of seasons before the end

of the year, but also as "the end of a cycle: the spring of gay, bright

human innocence has given way to the dark autumn."

At the end, Heilman states that the Governess "emphasizes Mile's

freedom and sorrow gives up his fiction that I had anything more to

teach him". He also says that the Governess appears in a form of a

confessor who does his best to make Mile confess for his sins in every

possible way with every possible manner.

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There have been left crucial and fundamental questions upon

Heilman's critique.

Some can be exposed:

Governess speaks of Mile's charm and angelic nature as a cover for

the awful deed he has committed at school. Even before she meets

him, she believes that he is a big trouble to others. So, how a person

with such manners can be a symbol of Adam if he is guilty of a sin?!

Also, Heilman says that the Governess duty is to protect Mile's from

Evil. How can she protect him from something that she believes has

overtaken him?!

These are the dilemmas that have been left unresolved.

We must touch on James' recommendation in Preface that says he

purposely didn't specify the evils in which the ghosts either attempt or

actually involve Mile and Flora: "only make the reader's general

vision of evil intense enough, I said to myself and his (reader's)

own experience, his own imagination his own sympathy (with

children) and horror (from their Evil (friends) will supply him

(reader) quite sufficiently with cell the particulars."

As I did mention at the beginning of essay, there have been so many

critiques and views for this novel or novella. But the vital point which

must be basis of our rule in analyzing a text, is we must know that

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each reader has his or her own interpretation, just as Leon Edel has

said; "the reader's mind is farced to have to two levels of awareness:

the story as told, and the story to be deduced."

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Critique "The Turn of the Screw"

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