The Neurosis Of The Governess In The Turn Of The Screw

This thesis studies on the governess in Henry James’s novel The Turn of the Screw in the context of Victorian patriarchal society as a special class. The theories of cultural studies and psychoanalysis are applied to analyze the governess’s neurosis in the novel, to be specific, the neurotic symptoms, their causes, and the consequences.Firstly, the reputation of Henry James and his novel The Turn of the Screw is introduced, and the three versions of the novel are sorted. Then, a brief literature review of this novel is given and the framework of this thesis’s main part is illustrated, which includes three chapters. Chapter One analyzes the symptoms of the governess’s neurosis. At first, the definitions of neurosis are given, through which the governess’s neurosis is confirmed. Then the symptoms of the governess’s neurosis which include her abnormal emotion for the children as substitute satisfaction and her phantasy or delusion of the ghosts as defence mechanisms are illustrated. Chapter Two studies the causes of the governess’s neurosis in the background of Victorian patriarchal society applying the theory of culture studies. On the one hand, she is a Victorian lady, thus she wants to be "the angel in the house." On the other hand, her love for the master leads her consciously or unconsciously to do things to draw the master’s attention. The two children become her tools to attract their uncle. In other words, according to the psychoanalysis theory of Sigmund Freud, the governess’s symptoms serve the purpose both of sexual satisfaction and of its opposite, fending it off. Thus, the root cause of the governess’s neurosis lies in the inhumane Victorian patriarchal society and the superficial causes are her own experiences which include her family background and her unrequited love for the master. Chapter Three examines the consequences of the governess’s neurosis, the authenticity of which are doubtful. As a victim of the Victorian patriarchal society, the governess turns herself a victimizer of the two children. At first, both children are under the tight control of the governess, but as time goes and her control becomes unendurable, then the children begin to rebel, which angers the governess and makes her feel that her authority is challenged. In order to make the two children admit the existence of the ghost, and thus to prove her sanity, the governess frightens the little girl into madness and drives the little boy into death.The thesis concludes that in the novel the inhuman tradition in Victorian society not only makes the governess a victim, but also turns her into a victimizer. Though there are many interpretations of this novel, but, anyhow, the novel gives a profound criticism to the inhuman forces in Victorian society.