nanvdand's review against another edition
3.0
I wish I was smarter. I had to go back and read some of the more popular reviews so that I could figure out what to think about this book. It was creepy; it was vague; it was wordy. But it's short and it's fun to ponder what Mr. James' intent was. I bet he's chuckling in his grave every time someone is puzzled about this book.
leic01's review
5.0
I was looking for a spooky fall read but I've found this entangling novella that has a lot of material that is simply calling me to analyze it. Besides, reading this work as just a ghost story would be quite unsatisfying. Henry's writing is at the same time brilliant, confusing, convoluted, perplexed and ambiguous. His meandering prose creates the perfect atmosphere of both a haunted mansion and a mind gone mad. It is never direct, precise, solid but subtle, with double entendres and concealed meanings. There is more importance in what is not being said than in things being written about. It is the kind of book that unravels more and more when you keep thinking about it. The novella has a framed narrative and starts with a group of people listening to letters of the governess that have a tone of intimate confidentiality. The governess is the most classical example of an unreliable narrator as her subjective point of view leaves multiple ways of interpretation of events that did or did not occur.
It is especially compelling to look at this novella from a psychoanalytic point of view which will be further discussed in this review. It is interesting that ''The Turn of the Screw'' one of the first works of literature to be subjected to psychoanalyzing a character and speculating about the author's neurosis. It was published three years after [b:Studies on Hysteria|54338948|Studies on Hysteria (Illustrated)|Sigmund Freud|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593533338l/54338948._SY75_.jpg|84794141], and two years before [b:The Interpretation of Dreams|93981|The Interpretation of Dreams|Sigmund Freud|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1171268617l/93981._SY75_.jpg|1758256] - and it resonates perfectly with the teachings of Freud. The psychoanalytic interpretation has the lens of a story that is not about ghosts, but rather about the Governess's censored unconscious greatly influencing her conscious mind and actions - especially repressed sexuality. The sexual allusions are written all across this novella. It is more evident that Governess feels some kind of attraction towards the master, but even her relationship with children has some kind of latent desire seen in sensual undertones of language used to describe her behavior toward children. The words infatuation, fascination with beauty, intercourse are being used and the governess is almost obsessed with children and she often embraces them and even kisses them with passion.
“...at this, with a moan of joy, I enfolded, I drew him close; and while I held him to my breast, where I could feel in the sudden fever of his little body the tremendous pulse of his little heart, I kept my eyes on the thing at the window and saw it move and shift its posture”
The hidden Governess's desires ultimately determine her vision of reality and repressed instincts emerge in her irrational behavior that ultimately results in great tragedy. The forbidden grounds she tries to avoid become unavoidable. This struggle between her unconscious and conscious leads to the deterioration of her mind - in that senses she is the embodiment of Freud's notion that the human mind rarely has a rational reason for its thoughts and actions. Her state could be called many things in a psychiatric sense - hysteria, neurosis and even psychotic decompensation with visual hallucinations.
This is a reflection of the strict Victorian area full of taboos, rules and ideas of being good and proper. That results in an extreme division between the good and bad parts of characters seen in literature - a ghost of the madwoman in [b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557343311l/10210._SY75_.jpg|2977639],[b:The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|51496|The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Robert Louis Stevenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1318116526l/51496._SY75_.jpg|3164921], Dostoyevsky's [b:The Double|210190|The Double|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388265212l/210190._SY75_.jpg|236056]. That physical manifestation of the dark repressed part of human nature in the last half of the nineteenth century can be seen as a great prologue to Freud's work. When talking to the children the governess takes great care not to discuss topics which society might view as inappropriate or unsuitable for them. She spends much of her energy to avoid any kind of topic which might be construed as improper, which, in turn, causes her to become nervous and anxious. For woman, it wasn't permitted to address her sexual desirers and impulses directly and even more, the children's sexuality was off the limits - an angel figure of a character couldn't have sexual drives.
The mere James’s vagueness in writing suggests the importance of keeping these desires and instincts repressed in the personal and collective unconscious. The ghosts in this story represent the shadow side of the characters and society - it is hinted that they are peculiar, aggressive, terrifying, promiscuous, and sexually predatory - they invoke both repulsion and strange attraction. With what ghosts represent we simultaneously identify with, desire, and loathe. These parts are excluded from consciousness, therefore these things follow us everywhere.
The central point of governess also has its symbolism. Being a governess in that era was one of the few ways an educated single woman could respectably make a living through her intellectual gifts. The intellectual semi-independence of a woman rises a much more profound question - can the newfound freedom be carried over into the sexual realm? The death of Miles is the death of the ideal of innocence that has been held over the centuries. James shows how profound and skillful as a writer he is exactly hitting all the right spots of culture's denials and incipient discoveries of his era. His art reflects the collective unconscious at the time and that is the greatest accomplishment there is.
It is especially compelling to look at this novella from a psychoanalytic point of view which will be further discussed in this review. It is interesting that ''The Turn of the Screw'' one of the first works of literature to be subjected to psychoanalyzing a character and speculating about the author's neurosis. It was published three years after [b:Studies on Hysteria|54338948|Studies on Hysteria (Illustrated)|Sigmund Freud|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593533338l/54338948._SY75_.jpg|84794141], and two years before [b:The Interpretation of Dreams|93981|The Interpretation of Dreams|Sigmund Freud|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1171268617l/93981._SY75_.jpg|1758256] - and it resonates perfectly with the teachings of Freud. The psychoanalytic interpretation has the lens of a story that is not about ghosts, but rather about the Governess's censored unconscious greatly influencing her conscious mind and actions - especially repressed sexuality. The sexual allusions are written all across this novella. It is more evident that Governess feels some kind of attraction towards the master, but even her relationship with children has some kind of latent desire seen in sensual undertones of language used to describe her behavior toward children. The words infatuation, fascination with beauty, intercourse are being used and the governess is almost obsessed with children and she often embraces them and even kisses them with passion.
“...at this, with a moan of joy, I enfolded, I drew him close; and while I held him to my breast, where I could feel in the sudden fever of his little body the tremendous pulse of his little heart, I kept my eyes on the thing at the window and saw it move and shift its posture”
The hidden Governess's desires ultimately determine her vision of reality and repressed instincts emerge in her irrational behavior that ultimately results in great tragedy. The forbidden grounds she tries to avoid become unavoidable. This struggle between her unconscious and conscious leads to the deterioration of her mind - in that senses she is the embodiment of Freud's notion that the human mind rarely has a rational reason for its thoughts and actions. Her state could be called many things in a psychiatric sense - hysteria, neurosis and even psychotic decompensation with visual hallucinations.
This is a reflection of the strict Victorian area full of taboos, rules and ideas of being good and proper. That results in an extreme division between the good and bad parts of characters seen in literature - a ghost of the madwoman in [b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557343311l/10210._SY75_.jpg|2977639],[b:The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|51496|The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Robert Louis Stevenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1318116526l/51496._SY75_.jpg|3164921], Dostoyevsky's [b:The Double|210190|The Double|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388265212l/210190._SY75_.jpg|236056]. That physical manifestation of the dark repressed part of human nature in the last half of the nineteenth century can be seen as a great prologue to Freud's work. When talking to the children the governess takes great care not to discuss topics which society might view as inappropriate or unsuitable for them. She spends much of her energy to avoid any kind of topic which might be construed as improper, which, in turn, causes her to become nervous and anxious. For woman, it wasn't permitted to address her sexual desirers and impulses directly and even more, the children's sexuality was off the limits - an angel figure of a character couldn't have sexual drives.
The mere James’s vagueness in writing suggests the importance of keeping these desires and instincts repressed in the personal and collective unconscious. The ghosts in this story represent the shadow side of the characters and society - it is hinted that they are peculiar, aggressive, terrifying, promiscuous, and sexually predatory - they invoke both repulsion and strange attraction. With what ghosts represent we simultaneously identify with, desire, and loathe. These parts are excluded from consciousness, therefore these things follow us everywhere.
The central point of governess also has its symbolism. Being a governess in that era was one of the few ways an educated single woman could respectably make a living through her intellectual gifts. The intellectual semi-independence of a woman rises a much more profound question - can the newfound freedom be carried over into the sexual realm? The death of Miles is the death of the ideal of innocence that has been held over the centuries. James shows how profound and skillful as a writer he is exactly hitting all the right spots of culture's denials and incipient discoveries of his era. His art reflects the collective unconscious at the time and that is the greatest accomplishment there is.
aduqu's review
This book is such a slog. This is my second attempt to read it, and I just can't get past the long winded way Henry James explains things. What would take another author 2 sentences takes James 2 pages. I only made it 36 pages on this attempt, but I often had to read paragraphs over 2-3 times, because my eyes would start glazing over halfway through and I'd stop actually taking in the words.
Some books that are dull are worth reading for the cultural perspective, and I've finally determined this book isn't worth it.
I definitely do not recommend this book, which is a shame because I love the genre and loved the Haunting of Bly Manor.
Some books that are dull are worth reading for the cultural perspective, and I've finally determined this book isn't worth it.
I definitely do not recommend this book, which is a shame because I love the genre and loved the Haunting of Bly Manor.
marie_99's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
anjaanjarep's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
rachelle_sheep's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75