The Turn of the Screw (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Henry James
- First Published: 1898
- Type of Work: Novella
- Type of Plot: Ghost
- Time of Work: Mid-nineteenth century
- Setting: England
- Genres: Long fiction, Ghost story, Suspense
- Subjects: Children, Perception, Class conflict, Sex or sexuality, Gender roles, Supernatural, Nineteenth century, Ghosts or apparitions, England or English people, Fear, Death or dying, Good and evil, Imagination, Mysteries, Loneliness, Orphans or orphanages, Child care
- Locales: England
Characters Discussed
The governess, from whose point of view the story is told. Employed to look after his orphaned niece and nephew by a man who makes it clear that he does not wish to be bothered about them, she finds herself engaged in a struggle against evil apparitions for the souls of the children. There has been a good deal of the “Is-Hamlet-mad?” sort of inconclusive speculation as to whether The Turn of the Screw is a real ghost story or a study of a neurotic and frustrated woman. Probably both interpretations are true: the apparitions are real, the children...
[The entire page is 614 words long]
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