‘The governess is the primary narrator and central character in The Turn of the Screw. She is twenty years old and was raised in Hampshire, the youngest daughter of a poor clergyman. From the stories she tells her young charges, we know that she had many sisters and brothers, as well as a dog. She has just left home when she interviews in London for the position of governess to two children in a country house in Essex.
From the prologue, we know that she is smitten with her employer, and throughout the novel, she hopes to gain his respect or affection by succeeding at her job. The governess may be a loving, strong woman, whose struggle against the evil ghosts she encounters for the souls of the children in her care shows her to be a good person. Or she may be mad - sexually repressed and delusional, imagining ghosts and evil that is not there - responsible for the destruction of young Flora and Miles.’
James, H., GradeSaver, n, jaci, B, D. and G, K. (2015) ‘The turn of the screw’, .
Spencer, C. (2013) The turn of the screw, Almeida theatre, London, review. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/9830115/The-Turn-of-the-Screw-Almeida-Theatre-London-review.html (Accessed: 5 February 2016).
How could you doubt her?
'The classic reading of this story is that we assume that our heroine to be in full possession of her mental faculties (that is, she's not crazy), and that all of these supernatural things actually take place in the real world. This view of the Governess places her in the role of the traditional heroine, and assumes that she is really acting for the good of the children; it also assumes that the children are in fact in cahoots with the ghostly visitors, and that both Flora and Miles are little deceivers.
If we are to look at things this way, then we see the Governess as a strong-willed, intelligent, and noble young woman, who ultimately ends up as a victim of Quint and Jessel, as do the children.
Don't trust her! The Governess is a madwoman.
The most popular alternate reading of the character is that the Governess is 100% certifiably insane, and that the supernatural activity is all a manifestation of her tormented, repressed mental state. This psychoanalytic perspective was first proposed by the influential literary critic Edmund Wilson, in a 1938 essay entitled "The Ambiguity of Henry James." In the essay, Wilson carefully lays out several instances in which he sees signs of Freudian symbolism in the story; the Governess stands out as a neurotic, sexually repressed woman, whose hidden desires drive her mad. Wilson's essay generated a whole lot of conversation around the story, which has always been one of James's most oft-discussed works.’
The governess in the turn of the screw (no date) Available at:
http://www.shmoop.com/turn-of-the-screw/governess.html (Accessed: 5 February 2016).
I personally feel like she is a naïve, responsible character with very little life experience. She also seems quite intelligent as she manages to handle everything by herself as well as sensitive/emotional as she falls in love with her employer (the bachelor) only after two meetings.
She is really protective of the kids, showing how caring she is however sometimes I get the impression she’s causing harm to them with her hallucinations. As I reader I can’t tell whether or not the ghosts are real as no one else in the story ever admits to seeing what she does. If I personally was to live with her, I’d think she’s quite insane.
http://www.shmoop.com/turn-of-the-screw/governess.html (Accessed: 5 February 2016).
She is really protective of the kids, showing how caring she is however sometimes I get the impression she’s causing harm to them with her hallucinations. As I reader I can’t tell whether or not the ghosts are real as no one else in the story ever admits to seeing what she does. If I personally was to live with her, I’d think she’s quite insane.
She kind of has an unstable relationship with the kids as she feels they’re trying to deceive her when they go against the fact that there are ghosts inside the house. At this point, to me she seems an unreliable character but she may only be acting this way in order to protect them from reality, the ghosts. Or she may have just lost her mind. As the story is only told from her side, I cannot judge whether she’s right or not.
Overall, she seems like an interesting character to me as there’s so many sides to her, and I felt like with each chapter she sort of changes character.
Appearance wise, whilst reading the book I didn't find any information on the way she looked or dressed. I was only told that she is 20 years of age, meaning she is young, however I found some images from theatrical shows/ films that portray her as a very classy, traditional Victorian lady.
JOHANNES, 2015. The turn of the screw photoshoot [viewed 5 February 2016]. Available from: https://photo.johanneshjorth.se/the-turn-of-the-screw-photoshoot/
In the above image, the Governess seems to be wearing very light makeup. She has applied foundation, blusher, slightly filled in her eyebrows, eyeliner and mascara. I don't see any heavy contouring/highlight application as during the Victorian era it had only just become the norm for women to wear makeup. This image stood out to me from others as it was the only one with obvious makeup application. Her hairstyle isn't as clear in this image, however I can tell she is wearing a loose up-do/bun. For my timed assessment, I will definitely be taking inspiration from this look in order to recreate the Governess.
Dowling, T. (2016) The turn of the screw and the Turin shroud: The new evidence. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2009/dec/31/the-turn-of-the-screw (Accessed: 5 February 2016).
This is another image of the Governess. Again she is wearing very light makeup, similar to the above image. The only difference we see is that she is wearing red lipstick rather than nude and her brows seem to be darker and more arched. She sort of looks mysterious in this version, and not so innocent. Her hair is in styled into a low bun. I chose this image as I felt like it portrayed more of her 'crazy' side. She does seem to appear quite fierce whereas in most other images of her, she looks extremely innocent and more of a victim than anything.
The turn of the screw at the Almeida (2016) Available at:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/stage/theatre/article3668111.ece (Accessed: 5 February 2016).
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/stage/theatre/article3668111.ece (Accessed: 5 February 2016).
The above image is another interpretation of the Governess, on stage which looks quite similar to the first image. She looks blameless and worried. She is dressed very traditionally as to how women normally would during the Victorian era. Her hair seem to be parted on the side, with a high up bun. I also see a plait, similar to the crown plait hairstyle I discovered whilst researching Elizabethan hair.
ANON., n.d. [viewed 5 February 2016]. Available from:
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