A gothic novel has many elements, some of which can be easily identified; the gloomy tone, the strange, mysterious events. Some of the more difficult elements to recognise may be the different layers of reality, or the way the story is told . The Turn of The Screw is a perfect example of a gothic novella; it has all the above elements, which are cleverly implemented throughout the text. One of these elements is James’ use of the frame narrative. I will be discussing the frame narrative and narrators, with particular focus on Douglas, and how it affects the governess’ story.
The Turn of The Screw; a novella in which one thinks less about the literary techniques, or the writing style, but more about the story itself. One finds oneself asking; are the ghosts real? Is the governess insane? Is it a conspiracy?
We, as the reader need to take a closer look at the text to identity and analyse the techniques, the words, the imagery that gives the story its mystery and intrigue. One such technique is the use of a frame narrative, we hear the story from the unnamed narrator, Douglas and then from the Governess. We know very little about any of the narrators, however, perhaps the narrator that stands out most is Douglas; he is our link to the Governess and her story.
Although we are not given much information on Douglas, he is very cleverly used by James. He is the only person present who knew the governess, and the similarities between him and Miles are thought provoking. They are both roughly the same age, they both came back from school to meet the governess , who was hired to look after their sisters , and lastly it is mentioned in the text that they both stand with their hands in their pockets , . Although some readers believe Douglas and Miles to be the same person, I think Douglas is used for literary effect; somewhat of a mirroring of
