I first read Turn of the Screw by Henry James a long time ago. I must have been in my early 20s and I had heard it was scary so I picked it up thinking I would be terrified while gaining pretentious snob points for if being Henry James. I don’t recall much about the story, I only remember that I thought it was okay but was overall disappointed because it didn’t even come close to making me afraid to go to sleep at night. In fact, I wasn’t even really sure what the book was about.
Thank goodness times change! This go round I read it on my Kindle and a little way in figured out how to connect my Kindle to my Twitter account so I got to have fun sending links to highlighted passages along with messages like, “the governess sees dead people!” (I have never claimed to be a witty tweeter). Whether people were interested in my progress through the story or not was no concern of mine because I was having so much fun.
Tweeting aside, I loved the story this time maybe because I wasn’t trying to score book snob points or be scared out of my wits. The story was rather creepy at times with ghosts peering in windows and lurking on dark staircases. Plus there is the fact that we never know for sure whether the governess really is seeing ghosts or if she is going insane. I love stories like that.
Then of course there are the children Flora and Miles; beautiful children with the faces of angels and the manners to match. Such children couldn’t be evil. Or could they? Miles was after all sent home from school with a letter forbidding his return but no explanation as to why. Miles doesn’t say and the governess doesn’t ask because she believes it must be some sort of mistake and she is more than happy to take care of Miles and Flora both. But the children aren’t angels. Do they see the ghosts or not? Can the governess save them from evil and somehow redeem their innocence?
Mrs. Grose the housekeeper believes everything the governess says all too easily. At times it even seems like she is egging her on but at other times like she is only humoring her. Even when it sinks in that the governess might be about to go off the deep end ghosts or no ghosts, Mrs. Grose still keeps agreeing with her. I haven’t decided if that is just how Mrs. Grose is, if it has to do with their class difference, or perhaps that they were the only ones in charge of a big huge house and she didn’t want the governess to go all Shining on her and chase her about with an axe one snowy evening. Whatever the mystery behind Mrs. Grose’s character, she certainly does nothing to calm the governess and set her mind at ease. On the contrary, it seems she nearly always drives the poor governess closer to the abyss.
The story is written as only Henry James can write. If you have a fear of James though and his long, winding, full of clauses sentences, this one, while distinctly Jamesian, is on a tight leash and I can recall no sentences or paragraphs that go on for pages.
Unless I feel compelled to read some short stories over the upcoming Halloween weekend, this is probably my last R.I.P. Challenge V read for the season. As always it has been lots of fun. Kudos to Carl. Now I’ve got to start making a list of possible reads for next year.
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I loved the ambiguity in this one too. I haven’t read it for ten years, though, I should find it and give it a reread.
I love Turn of the Screw! I reread it a couple years ago and I’d forgotten how marvelous it is. I also like the Deborah Kerr flick.
I see you’ve read Haunting of Hill House, too, which is similar in some ways.
Another “must read” on my list. It is so often refered to in short story theory that I feel I should really read it.
Rebecca, James does such a fantastic job of tossing in twists and turns and building up the story. It’s too bad he doesn’t h ave any other stories like this.
andalucy, I saw there were lots of movies but I didn’t know if any of them were good. Will try to find the one with Deborah Kerr now! And funny you should mention Hill House because I was thinking how there were some similiarities between the two!
Em, it is a masterful story in so many ways.
I remember my mother always had a copy of this book. I was curious about it, but something about reading James intimidated me. I’m glad to know it’s one of the less meandering ones, perhaps I’ll give it a try.
I’ve always been very intimidated by James, but I did love Turn of the Screw. I’ve wanted to reread it for a long time but never seem to get around to it. Why is it that ghost stories that involve small children are always even more creepy than those with adults? It’s as if kids ‘see’ more than we do or are more in tune with oddities. There are lots of unanswered questions in this one (just like the Wharton story!), but I sort of like the open-endedness.
Danielle’s question is interesting. In my writing there are two little boys (not scary ones), and I think part of the reason children seem so “apart” is that they are, indeed, apart. Even in our homes, they live very separate but parallel lives with the grownups.
I read this a couple years ago, but I made the mistake of trying to read it while going through that awful move, and I was not in the right frame of mind for James. Still, I remember bits of it really well and it certainly stayed with me. I might have to try it again now that we’re settled and I can concentrate a bit more!
Despite my dysfunctional, semi-abusive relationship with James, I do quite like this novella. You’re right that his style is a lot tighter and (in my opinion) less infuriating than in some of this other work. I feel like the supernatural/pathological stuff that’s going on with the governess give the story a sense of urgency that discourages him from dwelling so endlessly on every glance and utterance *coughwingsofthedovecough*.
Jeane, “less meandering” made me smile. James does have a tendency to go on. But in this on but such a style would not work well I think for a creepy ghost story so he manages to be a bit m ore direct.
Danielle, good question about children and ghost stories. I think they are usually assumed to be innocent and if they are not how terrifying! Plus I think there tends to be an aura of children somehow living in an ideal fantasy world apart from adults and adults have a desire to want to protect them. That’s my take anyway. I think the ambiguity works much better in this one than in Wharton’s story.
sshaver, I think you are right about children living apart. I think they are seen too as being more natural and of course innocent which I suppose can also play on Biblical themes of before and after the Fall.
Daphne, I hope you read it again sometime I think you would like it much better when not distracted by other things
Emily, LOL! I forgot about your issues with James. His m ore direct style here and the focus on the governess’s p.o.v. does give it urgency especially since in the beginning she appears to be so reliable.
This is such an incredible story – every single sentence is unclear. When you actually get down to it and look at it, there is a hint of opacity like a veil over all the language he uses. I’ve been meaning all year to read another James book – I should really get on that.
Litlove, I do love how James keeps us always uncertain through the whole story. Real ghosts or insanity, either one ends up having a sinister feeling to it.
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