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Psychoanalytical Criticism Of Turn Of The Screw By Henry James

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Psychoanalytical Criticism of Turn of the Screw- The Governess’ Descent Into Madness

When one looks at Freud, they can see that he was primarily concerned with the unconscious, as well as the conscious mind. He sought out the answers to the unconscious motives that drove people then, and still manage to drive us today. In Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw”, we see an unnamed governess and those around her act strangely. These predominant questions arise - Did the governess actually see the apparitions of the governess and servant before her? What would motivate her to see them, or to even create them in her mind?

In Turn of the Screw, Henry James focusses on the Freudian notion that unconscious desires control the thoughts and actions …show more content…

Murfin compares Freud’s levels of the mind, based around structure or purpose, to an iceberg. It consists of three parts - the id, the ego and the superego. “The id, the part of the iceberg completely submerged in the unconscious, is driven by one’s libido and consists of the inherited components of one’s personality, including one’s sexual instinct. The second part of the iceberg, the ego, found in both the unconscious and conscious mind, can gain purpose from fulfilling the desires of the id. However, the ego–because it wavers between the unconscious and conscious only fulfills the desires of the id in ways that are socially acceptable. The last part of Freud’s iceberg, the superego, also found in both the unconscious and conscious mind, ensures that the one’s conscious actions are in tune with social standards and norms.” (Murfin). In Turn of the Screw, it seems as though the governess’ conscious and unconscious mind are a little off-kilter. The governess had a desire to fix the family; to swoop in and be the mothering figure that she thought the children didn’t have, yet needed. This isn’t even taking the evident Electra Complex (comparable to Oedipus Complex) from the governess towards the homeowner into consideration. The governess’ need to be the woman of the house and compete with the others for the affections of the uncle, combined with the loneliness could have driven her to madness. The uncle left …show more content…

When one looks to Ever Scarier: On The Turn of the Screw by Brad Leithouser one thing is made clear: “If the ghosts are mere illusions, then she is suffering a bout of insanity, in which her “revelations” about the children’s unearthly communications, and her perception of them as allied to unspeakable evil, must reflect her deeply suppressed aggressions and hostility.” This could speak on behalf of her aggression for things not going the rosy way she had intended them to. Miles wasn’t the good boy she had hoped he would be, with his being expelled from school and odd personality. Flora tried to suck up to the governess, then, in the governess’ delusioned mind, turned her nose up toward her by “communicating” with the deceased Ms. Jessel. As for Mrs. Grose, she wanted to see what the governess saw, but couldn’t, thus making the governess feel like she wasn’t validated in her new home. The governess felt oddly alone in all aspects that truly mattered besides one - her

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