The+Turn+of+the+Screw

__The Turn of the Screw__ - “Are There Really Any Ghosts?” By Briana Bixler __The Turn of the Screw__ is by all counts a valid member of the ‘ghost story’ genre. It has suspense, mystery, a tragic and confusing ending, and the narrator’s witness to events of a supernatural nature. Henry James wrote a chilling and ambiguous addition to his collection of ghost stories when he created this novel in England in 1898. It remains to been seen, however, if there are in fact any ghosts actually present in this ghost story. The other opinion being that the narrator has lost her grip on sanity, the specters are merely her own hallucinations, and that she herself, in a quest to save the children from corruption, inadvertently causes the doom than ensues. This is main issue readers encounter in the book and it has been discussed and debated by critics and fans since the novella was written. Both sides in this discussion have valid points and present sections of the novel as proof and it is up to the individual reader to decide what really happened at Bly. Many feel that the narrator is confused and not a reliable source for an account of the events that occurred. Throughout the novel her own thoughts and actions show us that she is fickle and inconsistent. She mentions this herself, but often it is excused by the idea that she is in love with the master of the house. It cannot totally account for however her constantly shifting view of her charges or her own strange and often flawed reasoning. As the novel progresses we see more and more of her rising suspicion of everyone and assuming the children of evil and conspiring with the ghosts. Yet she doesn’t confront them about it until late in the book and seems to think that if she just works hard enough she can salvage their innocence. Another point in the governess is that most of what she assures herself is true is in fact something she reasoned out and may have no standing in reality, such as her suspicions about what Miles did to get expelled from school. She doesn’t know much of anything for a fact and this leads her further into her world of suspicion and doubt. The main fact supporting the view that the governess is imagining everything is that when she finally confronts Flora about her last governess and points out the ghost, Mrs. Gorse, the housekeeper, doesn’t see anything at all. At this point in the story the governess is so wrought with tension and it stands to reason that her mind very well could have produced the image especially since no one else could see it. The other theory is that the ghosts are completely real and that the governess is a poor woman thrown into circumstances she doesn’t understand. She does her best to deal with the supernatural forces that seem to be converging on her and her pupils. This theory is supported by the governess’ describing the ghost as Peter Quint, whom she had never before met; to Mrs. Gorse so that the woman identified who it must have been that she had seen. If in fact the ghosts are there some of the governess’ erratic behavior can be explained by her many sleepless nights and the result seeing the ghosts as on her common sense. It also would explain the strange things the children do as well as explaining Miles untimely end as a result of the ghost appearing at the window and perhaps ending his life (the only explanation for this that the other argument can give is that the governess may suffocated him). Another point for this side of the disagreement is that none of James letters ever suggested that __The Turn of the Screw__ was anything other than a ghost story. Though the ambiguous elements are clear if the author truly intended it to be an account of a woman’s decent into madness would not he have made some reference to it? Both points are valid and worth careful consideration. For my part however I don’t believe there were any ghosts in the story. I base this on the confused nature of the narrator as well as the fact that the manuscript is in her hand so she could have blown things greatly out of proportion with the way her frazzled mind perceived the events. I say this also from experience for when I or anyone gives a firsthand account of an event they often change little elements to make the listener see why they did what they did or make their actions look a little more righteous. Also much of what she assumes as the conspiracy against her and the children possibly being possessed are just guesses or speculation. It seems that any sinister elements she sees in the children could have easily come from her over active imagination wanting her to be the heroin of her own story. If we follow this logic than is it too much of a stretch to think she could have imagined ghosts wanting to snare her charges when she so desperately wanted something to protect them from? I don’t think so. Especially when Mrs. Gorse fails to see the ghost the governess claims is right before her eyes. This is the final argument for me because even though the housekeeper had been pretty much going along with whatever the governess said she did not see the ghost. With all the sinister suspicions running through both their minds if the governess wasn’t crazy Mrs. Gorse should have seen exactly what she saw. Though the first incident with Peter Quint is hard to dismiss I can dispute it with the fact that her description was very vague and perhaps Mrs. Gorse had already been jumping at shadows when she suggested it to the governess. Still both arguments hold merit and there are many many ideas and symbols to consider on both sides. Papers and books have been written just focusing on this debate and the clear winner is still a mystery. Regardless of which is correct, __The Turn of the Screw__ has created years worth of controversy and, without knowing what the author truly intended, will doubtless continue to do so.