The Turn of the Screw

[Savonarola]

I recently reread "The Turn of the Screw."  I know that the crazy governess / real ghosts is supposed to be a major literary mystery; but in my reading it seemed obvious that the governess is unhinged.  This does leave the problem of how the governess could describe Peter Quint without ever having met him.  One could make the case that she was disturbed because she saw ghosts rather than vice-versa.  I'm leaning towards that interpretation right now; though that makes the story more HP Lovecraft than Henry James.   

I'm curious what Languish thinks on the subject.

[Grey Fox]

I have never heard of this book.

English lit

[celedhring]

I have always thought the Governess is obviously unstable but the ghosts are real - so she's not well equipped to deal with the situation to begin with and her mental health worsens due to the experience.

One of my favorite ghost stories, though, due to the aforementioned ambiguity.

[Malthus]

I have never heard of this book.

English lit

Yeah, English lit books. Always with the screwing, and the governesses.

Oh wait, maybe that's just the kind I read. 

[garbon]

I've never finished reading anything by Henry James.

[Brazen]

The narrator is reading the late governess' memoirs, no? I always throught the children were trying to drive her mad and maybe roped in staff to act out the roles.

[Savonarola]

The narrator is reading the late governess' memoirs, no?

He's listening to a friend narrate the governess's memoirs at a holiday party.

I always throught the children were trying to drive her mad and maybe roped in staff to act out the roles.

In order for that to be the case they would have had to have gotten housekeeper to go along with their scheme.  That would explain how the governess could identify Peter Quint.  The housekeeper is also the only source of information about the ghosts and the supposed evil that previously happened in the house.

The children seem to be up to something.  I'm not so sure about the housekeeper, though.

[Scipio]

Henry James. Uggh. He's no Henry Adams.

To quote James Thurber, "I have a reputation for having read all of Henry James, which would argue a misspent youth and middle age."

[Josephus]

Umm.....


Henry James...American lit not British.

[Brazen]

Henry James...American lit not British.

No-one said it was British, but it is English literature. Albeit with too few letter Us.

[Josephus]

True.

But if you take a course in English Lit, at least here, it implies "over the pond" Chaucer and Tess of Dubervilles stuff.

you would only read this in an american Lit course.

[Savonarola]

True.

But if you take a course in English Lit, at least here, it implies "over the pond" Chaucer and Tess of Dubervilles stuff.

you would only read this in an american Lit course.

I'm pretty sure Henry James would have preferred to be put in the former category.   

[celedhring]

In Spain, "Spanish lit" courses include readings from both sides of the pond.

[Brazen]

American classics were always part of British English Literature courses, but our idiotic education minister is making them less likely to be included. Though he has not, as was earlier reported, banned them.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/27/michael-gove-denies-ban-of-american-novels-from-gcse

However, the new syllabus leaves less flexibility for studying modern authors from outside the British isles – such as Steinbeck – although exam boards and teachers are free to include additional texts, or authors from outside of Britain and Ireland under the other categories.

[Josephus]

I took a course in English lit in second year uni and a course in American lit in third year. We did Henry James in American lit. All I'm saying.