The Turn of The Screw Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Turn of The Screw - Essay Example Psychoanalysts and literary reviewers cross-examined James’ â€Å"The Turn of the Screw† from all sorts of different perspectives (Boehm 246). James himself has never informed his readers clearly and publicly what he wanted them to believe. As a result, this ambiguity makes the â€Å"The Turn of the Screw† one of James’ most prolific and popular short stories. At its center, â€Å"The Turn of the Screw† is primarily a tale about the struggle between good and evil. The author Henry James depicts this struggle through the corruption of the innocence, which leads him gradually to discard this struggle at the end of the novel. Corruption of the innocence in â€Å"The Turn of the Screw† The governess simply and seldom shows that she fears that the ghosts will harm her physically or murder the children. The demise of Miles shocks readers since many are not ready to believe the ghosts pose as a physical danger (James 47). It is until the governess e xile Flora that she appears to think about taking the children away from the ghosts or at least attempt to banish the ghosts from the mansion. Rather, the governess’s fears concentrate nearly completely on the likely corruption of the children. This corruption would most probably be from Quint and Jessel or the ghosts (James 49). Before the governess even meets Quint, she presumes that Miles is accountable for the corruption of her children. The term corruption is a neutral term that allows the governess to remain unclear regarding what she implies. At the same time, the direct implication of the word corruption is the disclosure of knowledge about sex (Beidler 54). For the governess, the children’s disclosure to awareness about sex is a far more dreadful possibility than confronting the ghosts or her own death. Accordingly, the governess’ effort to rescue the children takes the form of a persistent pursuit to figure out what they already know instead of predict ing what may occur to them in the future. The governess’ dread that others may corrupt her children’s innocence appears to be a great part of the cause for tackling the issue so implicitly (Beidler 60). It is not only because of the fact that the ghosts are a taboo, but what the ghosts said to the children or brought into their lives too are taboos. Since the corruption of the children is an issue of fearful speculation instead of a recognized fact, â€Å"The Turn of the Screw† does not have any direct and conclusive statement regarding corruption. Undoubtedly, the fears of the governess are harmful and do not lead to the rescue of the children (James 66). Clearly, the governess is the most dreadful and cautious character for corruption. At the same time, the governess is the least knowledgeable and most curious character when it comes to sex. Mrs. Grose has a husband and governess’ uncle appears to be very knowledgeable about sex and women even though he is not married. The governess alone is afraid of Miss Jessel’s sexual transgression and clearly captivated by it too (James 68). It is only right to argue that governess’ fear for the children’s corruption signifies the portrayal of her individual concerns and desires about sex onto her controls. Modern dictionaries define the â€Å"corruption of innocence† using the term cataclysm to depict an abrupt and aggressive physical measures that generates changes in the surface of the earth (Boehm