Question on the novel The Turn of The Screw
Question on the novel The Turn of The Screw Why is Mrs Grose scared when she sees the governess looking in at the window? Mrs Grose is scared when she sees the governess looking in at the window, because she was not expecting to see anyone there and was therefore caught off guard. She was also scared because of the look the governess had on her face. “Did I look very queer”, “Through this window? Dreadful!” Here Mrs Grose tells the governess that she looked ‘dreadful’ through the window. This indicates that this was the reason for Mrs Grose’s fear . Henry James also drops hints that Mrs Grose may have been scared because she thought she had seen a ghost through the window. Mrs Grose, in seeing the governess at the window, reacts in the same way as the governess did when she saw “an extraordinary man” looking in. “She saw me as I had seen my own visitant; she pulled up short as I had done; I gave her something of the shock I had received”. The fact that Mrs. Grose reacted in the same way as the governess did when she saw her ‘visitant’ gives an indication that Mrs Grose may have been scared because she thought the governess was a ghost or an unexpected ‘visitant’ when she saw her through the window. Also, it says Mrs Grose ‘turned white’ which indicates this further.What makes the governess so sure that the man she has seen is ‘a horror’? The governess is so sure that the man she has seen is a horror, because she had seen him earlier on the old tower and he was ‘a stranger’. When asked by Mrs Grose “Do you mean he’s a stranger?” the governess replies “oh very much!” Also she says he was “not a gentleman”, and concludes that “if he isn’t a gentleman” then “he’s a horror”. She then says to Mrs Grose “I’m afraid of him”.How does the governess know that Quint is ‘looking for little Miles’? The governess knows that Quint is looking for Miles, because Mrs Grose makes her aware that Miles and Quint were “great friends”. When
Mrs Grose asks the governess how she knows Quint is looking for Miles, she replies “I know, I know, I know!” The governess goes on to say “and you know my dear” claming that Mrs Grose herself also knows. The fact that “she didn’t deny this” is how the governess knows that Quint ‘is looking for little Miles’.Why does the governess describe the woman she sees as ‘a figure or horror and evil’ The governess describes the woman she sees as ‘a figure or horror and evil’, because of her appearance. The woman was, “a woman in black” and was ...
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Mrs Grose asks the governess how she knows Quint is looking for Miles, she replies “I know, I know, I know!” The governess goes on to say “and you know my dear” claming that Mrs Grose herself also knows. The fact that “she didn’t deny this” is how the governess knows that Quint ‘is looking for little Miles’.Why does the governess describe the woman she sees as ‘a figure or horror and evil’ The governess describes the woman she sees as ‘a figure or horror and evil’, because of her appearance. The woman was, “a woman in black” and was also “pale and dreadful” and with “such a face!” The governess also described the woman in this way, because the woman “just appeared and stood there”, and because she believed the woman was “my predecessor – the one who died”. The gaze of intention which the woman fixed on flora also led the governess to describe her as “a horror”. Up until this point, the governess had seen both Miles and Flora as “angels” who were capable of no wrong. However she is adamant that Flora can see the woman at the lake, but is just pretending not to. The governess believes that this woman is causing Flora, the “angel”, to do wrong and lie and therefore perceives her as “evil”. At whom or what do you think Miles was looking when he was outside the house? I think Miles was looking at Quint when he was outside the house, or at least looking at the tower expecting to see Quint, because the governess says, “there was clearly another person above me – there was a person on the tower”, and this was where the governess had previously encountered Quint.Do you think it is only the governess who can see the ghosts? I believe it is only the governess that can see these ghosts; I believe these ghosts are just a figment of her imagination. The governess’s job is just to look after the children- she is not permitted any time for a relationship and things like that. I think sheer loneliness has fuelled her imagination and led her to create these “ghost” in her mind. The governess seems to be so sure that Miles and Flora can see these apparitions, but she has no real evidence of this. She believes that the children’s lack of reaction when the ghosts are around mean that they can actually see them. This to me seems insane. Also the governess says that, “it’s of not seeing” the ghosts that scares her. This means she will want to see the ghosts. This leads me to believe she is the only one who can see the ghosts because she wants to see them.Why is the governess so upset to see Miss Jessel? The governess is so upset to see Miss Jessel, because Miss Jessel was her “predecessor”. Also the governess says that Miss Jessel had “looked at me long enough to appear to say that her right to sit at my table was as good as mine to sit at hers”. The governess then expresses how she “had the extraordinary chill of a feeling that it was I who was the intruder”. The governess shows that Miss Jessel’s appearance made her feel insecure and also made her feel that she would be unable to fill the shoes of her predecessor. This was ultimately the reason why she was so upset to see Miss Jessel. However, on a deeper level, the governess may be upset because she sees similarities between herself and her predecessor. After her encounter with Miss Jessel in the schoolroom, her mind casts back to seeing the ghost on the stairs. The governess’s realization on the stairs stresses the parallels that can be drawn between Miss Jessel and the governess herself. These parallels suggest that Miss Jessel is simply just a projection of the fears the governess has about herself. The governess then sits in the same position of emotional defeat on the stairs that Miss Jessel had done. She realises this similarity and shows a conscious fear of becoming like her predecessor. This realisation may also be why she is so upset to see Miss Jessel. Why did Mrs Grose say she didn’t see Miss Jessel? What are the possible explanations? There are two possible explanations why Mrs Grose said she didn’t see Miss Jessel. She may have said this in an attempt to convince the governess that she was hallucinating, or she may have said this to make Flora think that the governess is mad thus turning Flora against her. Mrs Grose appeals to Flora by saying, “she isn’t there” and “nobody’s there and you never see nothing, my sweet”. Mrs Grose goes on to say, “Miss Jessel is dead and buried, we know don’t we love?” Here it seems as though Mrs Grose is desperately trying to reassure Flora that these “ghosts” that the governess sees are merely “a mistake” and “a joke”. The way she appeals to Flora prompts Flora to “fix” the governess with “her mask of disaffection”.What do you think Miles mean by ‘the others’? When Miles says, “the others”, I think he is referring to the servants. When the waiter left the room, Miles says “well - so we’re alone”. The governess then says “we shouldn’t talk like that”, in reply Miles says “of course, we’ve the others”. This suggests he is talking about the servants. However when he goes on to say, “they don’t much count do they?”, this suggest that he is talking about the ghosts – Miss Jessel and Peter Quint – because they wouldn’t “much count” because they are dead.Why do you think Quint appeared at this moment? I think Quint appears at this moment, because the governess has prepared herself to see Quint and battle him for Miles soul. When Miles questions her she feels she has won and says it doesn’t matter because she now has Miles and Quint has “lost” him. Is Miles right when he calls the Governess a ‘devil’? Consider the view that it is the governess herself that is the route of all the evil. Miles has a strong case when he calls the governess a ‘devil’. The governess falls in love with the children, almost instantly, because she thinks they are so “beautiful” and therefore must be capable of “no wrong”. Her love for Miles and Flora, which borders on possessiveness, leads her to feel she must fight with Peter Quint and Miss Jessel to gain control of the “souls” of Miles and Flora. The governess seems to want to think that “evil” is rife at Bly and she even says herself that it is “not seeing” the ghosts which scares her – which indicates she wants to see the ghosts. The governess then decides that the children are in association with the apparitions, and remains convinced of this throughout the novel. However, when she “encounters” the ghost of Miss Jessel at the lake, Flora had her back to the ghost and is oblivious to her presence. Yet the governess feels that “Flora saw!” Paranoia, at this point, has caused the governess to truly believe that Flora saw the ghost of Miss Jessel, when Flora is clearly occupied by the water and toys to even notice the apparition. The governess’s fear of “not seeing” these ghosts seems to be what leads to the “evil” she believes surrounds Bly and this justifies Miles calling her a ‘devil’ as her imagination seems to spark this evil. The lunacy and clear anxiety of the governess is what leads to Flora’s deathly illness and the untimely death of Miles. Her need to know and control “everything” is what triggers the death of Miles. When she gets Miles to confess of what he did at school and gets answers from him, she feels victorious. She then says, “And his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped”. Here she acknowledges Miles is dead, but she seems to claim sum sort of victory from this. She feels that finally she can posses Miles and Quint has “lost” him. Miles is fully correct when he calls the governess a ‘devil’, because she crosses the fine line between love and possessiveness and feels victorious when Miles is dead, purely because she feels this means Quint can no longer posses him, and she now has control of him – if in body only. She fails to realise that her paranoia and her imagination- perhaps fuelled by loneliness- is what leads her to formulate these ghosts. Her imagination has devastating effects, as it literally frightens Miles to death. She sees these ghosts because of her fear of “not seeing” them and for this reason she is the route of all evil at Bly, and is rightly labelled a ‘devil’ by Miles.
