The Governess In The Turn Of The Screw By Henry James

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, depicts a deranged and highly imaginative young women depending on how one reads it. The repression of her feelings towards the man causes great distress and leads to the psychosis of the governess. The governess agrees to take on the position as caretaker and teacher of the children, yet she has no clue how distant and remote the area is where she will be living. She also has no idea how alone she is going to be. Being only a young woman she is impressed by the handsome gentleman that she meets in London at the interview, and is immediately attracted to him. “He struck her, inevitably, as gallant and splendid, but what took her most of all and gave her the courage she afterwards showed was that he put the whole thing to her as a kind of favour, an obligation he should gratefully incur” (James 4). The way she is employed is strange especially because of the circumstances that she will be alone, and never
Considering that the governess is still young and naive her mental state may not be completely clear or strong. The fact that the man instructed her to not contact him under any circumstance may wear and tear at her fragile state. As the Turn of the Screw continues, the reader can observe as the governess begins to “detach” into reality. One could argue that the governess is repressing her feelings for the handsome man and resulting in the developments of the “ghosts”. Her feelings, loneliness, and mental oppression may be the cause for the sudden “ghosts” to appear and affect her furthermore. That the governess feels that she and she alone can “save” the children from these ghosts is evidence of her increasing mania. When the governess begins to be unable to sleep, her insomnia contributes to her insanity. If one is unable to sleep, it is not long before a toll is taken upon one’s health, mentally and