The Turn of the Screw

Taking into account the governess’s gender and social class, explain why her name is never revealed.

In the Prologue Douglas says the governess was in love, but her narrative “won’t tell” with whom, “not in any literal vulgar way” (5). Whom did she love? The uncle? Miles? Someone else? In what ways is her love a central part of her story, as Douglas suggests it is?

There is a long-standing debate among readers over whether the ghosts in the novella are real. How does the letter from Miles’s school factor into this debate? Does the existence of the letter give more credibility to one side of the debate? Why?

The first time the governess sees Quint’s apparition, she notes “the intense hush in which the sounds of evening dropped” (20). In the final paragraph of her narrative, she refers to “the quiet day” twice. What other moments of silence occur? What does silence signify in the novella?

Look carefully at the passages in which the governess focuses on Flora. How does her impression of Flora change throughout the narrative? Does the governess see herself reflected in the girl? If so, how does this explain her changing perceptions of Flora?

The governess sees Mrs. Grose as a “simple plain clean wholesome woman” (10), but her narrative allows readers to speculate that the housekeeper is a complex character who is actually manipulating the governess for her own reasons. Taking both positions into account, decide which one is more convincing and explain why.

At the end of Chapter 17, the governess cries, “Why the candle’s out!” and Miles replies, “It was I who blew it out, dear!” (76). Why does Miles blow out the candle? What might the candle represent to the governess and, separately, to Miles? How does Miles’s act of blowing out the candle symbolically relate to the themes of the novel?

Although there are no explicit textual references to sexuality, when Mrs. Grose claims “Quint was much too free” (32), there is good reason to suspect she means too sexually free. What is the novella’s overall viewpoint regarding sexuality? Does it condemn sexuality as evil? Or does it critique the social prohibitions that control sexuality? Explain your answer.