The governess’s reaction to the sighting is to stand transfixed on the spot, as she cannot believe that her imagination may have become reality. She is scared, as it says she ‘stood stricken to the spot.’ However, she cannot take her eyes away from him, possibly because she doesn’t know whether he is real or a figment of her imagination. Also the fact that they are unchaperoned, and that Peter Quint is not wearing a hat, seems to shock her most of all, as she says ‘An unknown man in a lonely place is a permitted object of fear to a young woman privately bred.’, meaning that because they are alone together, and he is wearing no hat; a sign of familiarity, she has a good right to be scared.
Henry James includes two ghosts, to increase suspense and tension, because of their relationship, suggesting that because they were colleagues, they may be plotting to do something sinister together. Also because there are two of them it makes them seem more real and therefore more frightening. When the governess first sees Miss Jessel, she is frightened, and describes her as being ‘a figure of horror and evil, a woman in black, pale and dreadful.’ She sees her as more of a threat to the children, because the governess suspects that Flora can see her, although this is never proved as Flora denies it when asked. However, this view changes when she discovers that Miss Jessel was having an affair with Peter Quint and had fallen pregnant before her death. Unmarried mothers were severely frowned upon in Victorian times; however, the governess begins to empathise with her, as they are both in love with people who are unobtainable. She later uses words like ‘tragic, woe and miserable’ to describe her, suggesting more sympathy, maybe because they also share the same position as governess. This fact adds further tension, because now the governess can relate to Miss. Jessel she is convinced that the ghosts are real, which contributes to her paranoia and hysteria.
Henry James increases the drama with the second and third sightings of Peter Quint, primarily because with each occasion he appears closer to the governess; on the other side of the window, and at the foot of the stairs. This makes the reader wonder what will come next. Tension is also increased, when it is revealed by Mrs. Grose that Miles spent a lot of time with Peter Quint, making the governess believe that he has come for the children. With each sighting, the governess becomes more and more paranoid and hysterical. Her fear is shown in the third sighting, by lots of broken sentences and her reluctance to tell the story for example ‘. She says ‘I find that I really hang back; but I must take my horrid plunge, in going on with the hideous record of what happened at Bly.’ which makes the reader instantly want to know what these ‘hideous’ things are. James builds the atmosphere before the third sighting, as the governess is guided by a sixth sense. She has no idea why she has gone to the stairs, but abruptly her candle goes out, further increasing the tension. Also the fact that the scene is in darkness, and that she feels no terror when she sees Peter Quint increases the drama. Peter Quint is described as ‘…hideous, some enemy, some adventurer, some criminal.’ and these strong adjectives further build suspense. Finally the silence between them and the fact that time seems to stand still make this one of the most dramatic scenes in the book.
After the third sighting of Peter Quint, we begin to question the reliability of the governess as a narrator. This is because she seems to be increasingly exaggerative, her extreme reactions contrasting with Mrs. Grose’s sensible ones. Also the fact that she is not sleeping well, coupled with her increasing paranoia makes us question her consistency. Being the daughter of a country parson, she sees it as her religious duty to protect the children. She sees Miles as being innocent, but corrupted by Peter Quint, which would have shocked Victorian readers. However, the governess begins to distrust the children, as it is revealed that they too can see the ghosts, and that they like to play tricks on the governess. However, as Mrs. Grose disagrees, we wonder if this is real or imagined. Furthermore her reading of Fielding’s Amelia shows she likes imaginative, romantic fiction, which makes us further question her reliability.
When Miss. Jessel appears to the governess, by the lake, she feels triumphant and justified, because believes she can prove she is not mad. Also Mrs. Grose is there to see it so she is quite excited as it proves that the ghosts are really there. However, both Mrs. Grose and Flora cannot see the ghost, so we question the governess’s reliability again. What is more, the fact that Mrs. Grose reacts so badly increases the ambiguity. As Mrs. Grose sides with Flora and criticises the governess’s hysteria we view her as being mad, unreliable and question whether the ghosts are real or imagined, and if any other incident before this was real or imagined.
Mrs. Grose’s role in the story is to act as a confidante to the governess, who voices her ideas to her. Also she informs the governess about Peter Quint and Miss. Jessel. When the governess first tells her of the ghosts, she seems willing to back her up, however it is clear that she may be hiding something from us. Also her shock at hearing about the ghosts suggests to the reader that they may have previously been there. She first puts ideas in the governess’s mind, when she suggests that Peter Quint wants Miles, and reveals to the governess Miles’ previous friendship with Quint. In using Mrs. Grose to plant ideas, and question the governess’s sanity, James makes the story progress, and the governess’s ambiguity increase. Her simple down to earth character and scepticism are stark contrast to the governess’s extremism, and this comparison makes the reader question the governess’s reliability. Her mounting fear and confusion, are almost as ambiguous as the governess’s actions; this could be because she secretly believes the ghosts are real, or because of the effect of witnessing the governess’s own hysteria.
At the end of the book Miles dies, in very tragic and ambiguous circumstances. It is very intense at the end, because it is just the governess and Miles, and the governess is trying to force a confession out of him. When he does confess, Peter Quint appears and the governess immediately tries to protect the boy, seeing herself locked in a battle of good versus evil, where she is good and Peter Quint is bad. There are also several alternative reasons for Miles’ death open for interpretation to the reader; either the governess smothered him, shock (from seeing Quint), or Quint is involved somehow. The line ‘Peter Quint- you devil’ is in addition ambiguous. Miles is either confessing that Peter Quint is a devil, or that he sees the governess as tormenting him. James ends the story in this way because it leaves the reader questioning how the boy died, and the narrator’s sanity is also questioned.
