The Gothic conceits are all present in a way that would be
familiar to contemporary readers, and suggest that James is playing with them.
The possible presence of ghosts in an isolated mansion (Mrs Grose, the kindly
but dim-witted servant, is the only other living occupant) with dark corridors
and darker secrets is a ruse recognisable to readers of popular fiction from The Castle of Otranto and The Mysteries of Udolpho (mentioned
specifically in this novel) to Jane Eyre
and Dracula (published the previous
year). It also employs the device of a framed narrative, such as in Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein, and The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow, in which we are told of a story told to someone else in
the words of a manuscript a governess had left behind. This third-hand tale is
introduced with chilling and thrilling glee as a typical ghost story; “The
story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the
obvious remark that it was gruesome, as, on Christmas Eve in an old house, a
strange tale should essentially be, I remember no comment uttered.”
Angelic children have become a mainstay of modern horror, and
eight-year-old Flora and ten-year-old Miles are clearly prototypes as, “Both
the children had a gentleness that kept them – how I shall I express it –
almost impersonal and certainly quite unpunishable.” They are almost impossibly
delightful with “their more than earthly beauty, their absolutely unnatural
goodness”, although this may simply be an inexperienced governess’
interpretation of childhood.
The tension is increased throughout the tale, like the titular
turning of the screw, as there are hints of paranoia and madness. For all the
elaborate language, nothing is definite and everything remains in shadows. The metaphor
is made explicit as the governess suffers from insomnia, stalking the halls
with a candle in the middle of the night.
A Freudian interpretation would suggest hysteria and sexual repression:
Quint and Miss Jessel were discharged for conducting an illicit affair, from the
knowledge of which the children must naturally be protected. There is certainly
a suspicion of surveillance, and the governess feels she is being observed, and
judged, by the spirits on her performance. The central issue of the story is
whether the ghosts are real, and the governess’ efforts in protecting the
children are justified, or whether she is going mad, in which case they are at
risk from her, and her consideration that they are linked to unspeakable evil
is a reflection of her tormented psyche.
