Ambiguity In The Turn Of The Screw

The Turn of the Screw, a chilling Gothic novel written by Henry James and published in 1898, takes place in the isolated English rural home, Bly. That centers on the governess hired to look after Miles, and Flora, two small children. But weird events and ghostly apparitions start to haunt the house. James employs Gothic literature to highlight how the governess's experiences mirror the established gender roles and power structures of Victorian society. The novel is renowned for its use of Gothic tropes to evoke a feeling of terror and mystery, as well as its psychological complexity and ambiguity. James’ portrayal of male dominance and female subordination in particular matches the patriarchal ideals of the time while also emphasizing how literature

Starting with the Victorian era, a notorious time for its tight adherence to traditional gender roles and power relations, the novel presents these beliefs in its depiction of male dominance and feminine obedience. The tale is set in an era when men held practically all positions of power and women were confined to the home. This patriarchal system is evident and is demonstrated by the governess, who is recruited to look after Miles and Flora under the supervision of their wealthy uncle. She is expected to carry out her responsibilities without inquiry or complaint, and her job is defined purely by her interaction with the story’s male protagonist. Her experiences in the story demonstrate how women were subject to male power. She is hired with little understanding of her responsibilities or the former governess’s circumstances. As said in Marie Hendry’s dissertation titled The Lonely Nineteenth century: Loneliness and the Female Protagonist in the Victorian Novel, where she uses other novels like the one presented in this essay, “...these authors feel that women will continue to be

The governess comes to Bly, and as mentioned before, and instantly notices something peculiar about the place. As she investigates the estate and its grounds, she discovers a number of buried secrets that hint at a tangled and illegal relationship between the previous residents and the former governess and valet. She is troubled by the ghostly apparitions, whom she suspects of possessing the two children in her care. The haunted mansion can be interpreted as a representation of patriarchal oppression over the ladies in the story. The previous governess, who was dating the valet, claimed to have died under unexplained circumstances, probably as a result of her involvement with him. The governess gets infatuated with the children and their alleged possessions, which leads to her own end. The fact that the ghosts of the past governess and valet are exploiting the children and prolonging their connection exemplifies how patriarchy can be passed down through generations. The male authority figures in the novel, such as the uncle, also denigrate the governess as a woman, dismissing her worries and fears over the kid’s stuff as mere fiction. Another gothic motif used in the novel is the use of shadow and gloom to represent feminine frailty. She is scared of the dark and the shadows that seem to be lurking around every corner during the entire book. This