Henry James The Turn Of A Screw Essay On Atmosphere Of Tension Unease Fear
Q: ‘From the very beginning, how does James create an atmosphere of tension, unease and fear in the novel ‘The Turn of The Screw’? Henry James is able to create and perpetuate an atmosphere of tension, unease and fear throughout the novel ‘The Turn of the Screw’ from the initial few sentences. The first thing we read of the prologue: “The story had held us”, instantaneously sparks curiosity in the reader as to what the story entails – since the plot of the story typically serves as the basis to how much of an impact the story has. Evidently, the one being told appears to have exceptional impact, since ‘held us’ implies the story has captivated those who are listening to it. The curiosity as to what it exactly is that intrigues the characters, is also synonymously what intrigues the reader – creating tension as an outcome. Then, the continuation of the setting being described as “on Christmas Eve in an old house” further extends the atmosphere of tension, due to ‘Christmas Eve’ being a day of significance and ‘old house’ having connotations to an establishment as such is typically found to be haunted or cursed in Gothic works. As a result, it meets the primary purpose and aim of the prologue, as James intended it to: to set the foundations for tension, unease and fear to be established upon. Further evidence that the prologue does this includes descriptions of the sighted ghost as: “of a dreadful kind”, and: “waking her up in the terror of it”; these quotations particularly evoke a sense of fear in the narrator’s monologue and to the reader, who attempts to decipher the true monstrous image of such a nastily-described being. This quite sudden and swiftly-advanced transition towards an atmosphere of fear, before the story even begins to switch to the governess’ perspective, is done so by James with the intention of catching the reader off-guard and causing them to garner exceptional concern for the sheer sinisterness of the circumstances in which