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Theme Of Ambiguity In The Turn Of The Screw

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Turn of the screw was published in 1898 and written by Henry James. It is a Gothic novella detailing the disturbing and ambiguous events that a young governess experiences during her time at Bly, the country house is which the children and their caretakers live. From the beginning of her stay at Bly and up until the end of the novella, the young Governess is plagued by visions of spectral figures (a man named Quint and a woman called Miss Jessel) that seem to take particular interest in the Governesses young charges( a boy named Miles and his younger sister named Flora). It is hinted, by the head of the house, that the spectral figures, which were previous caretakers of the children before their ambiguous deaths, engaged in illicit activities …show more content…
The latter of which would hint at insanity. Another thing that contributes to the theme of ambiguity and uncertainty is the children’s seemingly perfect behavior and exceptional innocence. Accounts from the older child’s school contradict the general consensus of his behavior at Bly, which is that he is a perfect angel. The head of the house compounds the Governesses suspicions by fervently jumping to the older child’s defense at the slightest sign of attack. The younger child’s perfect behavior and innocence are called into question simply because of human nature. Some things are just too good to be true. In the end, all of the aforementioned pieces come together to for an exceedingly more dramatic and ambiguous final scene in which after a confrontation between herself and the apparition of Quint and attempting to protect Miles from the entire ordeal, the Governess comes to the realization the he has died in her arms. Be warned: “The Turn of The Screw”, with its moments of exceptionally complex, and frankly confusing, sentence structure and advanced vocabulary, is not the easiest of

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