Theme Of Beauty In The Turn Of The Screw

The novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James is a spooky masterpiece that uses repetition throughout the story. Beauty is an example of a word that is continually used, so it is memorable to the story. Whether James is referring to the children, the governess, the master, or their property, beauty is an adjective that is frequently used, so this suggests that looks are important throughout this story.
The governess is a young women who radiates with beauty and is infatuated with the master because of his handsomeness (most likely the reason she took the job). Of the children, the governess first meets the little girl, Flora. The governess is in awe the first time she meets her: “The radiant image of my little girl, the vision of whose angelic beauty had probably more than anything else to do with the restlessness that, before morning, made me several times rise and wander about my room to take in the whole picture and prospect” (Chapter I). The governess doesn’t even know Flora, but insists that she

She sees them as her perfect little angels who can do no wrong. Because she is blinded by the beauty, she comes up with excuses for the children’s misbehavior by envisioning ghosts. The governess wants to meet with Mrs. Grose to discuss what she saw the previous night: “But she was a magnificent monument to the blessing of a want of imagination, and if she could see in our little charges nothing but their beauty and amiability, their happiness and cleverness, she had no direct communication with the sources of my trouble” (Chapter XI). At this point, the governess is convinced that she is seeing ghosts and takes it upon herself to protect the children. Mrs. Grose however “lacks imagination” and is not convinced that she is seeing ghosts. In this case it’s a good thing because it saves her from worrying about the children as much as she