The Turn of the Screw, a novella by Henry James, was published in 1898. Literary critics have argued that the ghost story is a complex investigation into the psychology of the narrator, despite James' own dismissal of it as a "potboiler." The text is referred to in this study guide as The Turn of the Screw and Other Short Fiction, which was published in 1981 by Bantam Classics.

1. Summary and Analysis "The Turn of the
Screw"
The Turn of the Screw, a novella by Henry James, was published in 1898. Literary
critics have argued that the ghost story is a complex investigation into the psychology
of the narrator, despite James' own dismissal of it as a "potboiler." The text is referred
to in this study guide as The Turn of the Screw and Other Short Fiction, which was
published in 1981 by Bantam Classics.
Douglas, a man, introduces a manuscript he plans to read to a small group in the
novella's prologue. It was written by a governess, who gave it to Douglas shortly before
she passed away.
The governess's first-person narrative begins with her arrival at Bly, an English country
estate, following the Prologue. She landed her first job at the age of 20 as a governess
for Miles and Flora, two orphaned children who live at Bly. The uncle of the children
is their guardian and lives in London. She was enticed by the handsome uncle's charms
when she interviewed for the position, but he told her to take full responsibility for the
children and never talk to him again. The governess is worried because of how much
she has to do, but when she meets Mrs. Grose, the friendly housekeeper at Bly, and her
young students, her worries go away. Indeed, Miles, 10 years old, and Flora, 8 years
old, exude such extraordinary innocence and beauty that the governess concludes that
they will never trouble her.
A series of troubling occurrences occur, beginning with a letter from Miles's school,
despite the governess's optimism. Without providing any additional information, the
letter states that Miles has been kicked out. The governess asks Mrs. Grose for advice
out of concern; however, the two of them are unable to comprehend how such a perfect
boy could make a mistake that merits such severe punishment. For the time being, the
governess decides to ignore the letter. The governess sees a strange man perched on one
of Bly's towers one evening as she walks alone through the gardens. The days pass
happily. She is shocked, but she doesn't tell anyone until she looks again at the man
through the dining room window. She describes the man's appearance and describes her
shocking encounter with Mrs. Grose after he vanishes. He is identified by Mrs. Grose
as Peter Quint, the uncle's valet who passed away before the governess arrived. Mrs.
Grose asserts that Quint was depraved and corrupted the deceased former governess

2. Miss Jessel. The wicked couple was far too "free" with Miles and Flora when they were
at Bly.
While Flora and the governess are sitting by the pond one afternoon, the governess spots
an apparition of a black woman and recognizes Miss Jessel right away. Furthermore,
the governess becomes convinced that the children are secretly communicating with the
ghosts due to Flora's persistent disregard for the apparition. The governess decides to
protect her children and prevent the demons from possessing their innocent souls after
concluding that Quint and Miss Jessel have returned from the dead to continue their
corruption of the children. She tells Mrs. Grose everything, and the surprised
housekeeper says she will help the governess fight evil.
The governess only sees the ghosts twice throughout the summer, but she does notice
that the children's behavior, especially Miles', is influenced by their vile presence. Even
though he pretends to want to show that he could be bad when she finds the boy outside
in the middle of the night, she thinks he was working with Quint. Miles later asks when
he will return to school, bringing the question of what happened there to a new level of
urgency; however, the governess is afraid to face the issue and remains evasive. Miles
resumes his charming ways shortly thereafter and invites the governess to listen to him
play the piano. She is temporarily lulled to sleep by the music, but she suddenly realizes
Flora is not there. Mrs. Grose follows her as she dashes to the pond, convinced that the
girl is there to communicate with Miss Jessel's spirit. The governess asks Flora and Mrs.
Grose to acknowledge the sight of her predecessor across the pond just as they are about
to locate Flora. Flora silently grimaces and asks Mrs. Grose to take her away while Mrs.
Grose looks at the apparition but is unable to see it. Flora is "lost," the governess admits.
Miles and the governess are left alone at Bly the following morning when Mrs. Grose
leaves with Flora.
The governess is determined to succeed with Miles after failing with Flora because she
believes she can save his soul by getting him to admit his mistakes at school. She asks
him directly about the situation, but Quint appears again at the window before he can
respond. The governess turns Miles quickly toward her and demands an answer from
him until he admits that he said "things" to his classmates. She is overjoyed by this act
of loyalty to her and interprets it as a rejection of Quint. She hugs the boy only to find
that his heart has stopped.
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