According to Mrs. Grose, Quint and Miss Jessel had a romantic relationship. Since Miles spent the majority of his time with Quint, he may have been exposed to sexual behavior from an early age and most likely could have drastically and irreversibly interrupted Miles’s innocence. When the Governess questions Miles about his school, as they were both walking to church, Miles says, “I want my own sort!” (50). James, as much of the story, has left this particular phrase open to interpretation. Mrs. Grose said that Quint used to be a negative influence on Miles. They would usually spend grand amount of time together, which signifies that Quint could have allowed Miles to be exposed to any sort of sexual behavior. Consequently, Miles exposed to the other the children that sexual behavior that he explored and discovered with Quint. …show more content…
Nearly at the end, Miles confesses to the Governess that he, “said things” (76). When asked to whom or “What were these things?” (76), he simply does not care to elaborate. However, whatever Miles uttered was considered scandalous enough to kick him out of the school. Considering that Mrs. Grose was shocked when she first heard of Miles being kicked out of school, it is an oddity of Miles’s character. This raises the question that Miles is still greatly influenced by Quint. He does not reveal what “things” he uttered in school because of the gravity of the subject, which could leave the Governess perplexed and desiring to find about the origin of such dreadful influence on