Essay On The Governess In The Turn Of The Screw

In the book, The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James, the mental state of the main character, the governess is questionable and often argued by the audience. The governess reports several sighting of two ghosts, Peter Quint and Miss Jessel, however, the strange events degrade the credibility of the governess and readers must decide if they were real or fake. The governess is insane because she imagines the ghosts, displays excessive fear and anxiety and is extremely paranoid over the safety of her charges. All of this reasons are symptoms of insanity which lead us to logically believe she has a mental illness. The governess is insane because she is the only person at Bly to witness the ghosts of

Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. During her employment, the Governess claims to experience several ghostly interactions, however no one else could relate to her sightings. For example, after claiming to see two ghosts, the Governess confides in Mrs. Grose and later says “she herself had seen nothing, not the shadow of a shadow, and nobody in the house but the governess was in the governess’s plight,” (James 24). Mrs. Grose is eliminated as a witness and cannot argue if the paranormal activity at Bly was real. Since no one can support the governess’s claims, then presumably, they were hallucinated by

Although the question still remains, abundant evidence suggests that the governess is in some form of deranged state. The governess is insane because she is the only person to witness the ghosts, she has extreme fear and anxiety and she is overly devoted to protecting her charges which causes her paranoia. On the other hand, many people argue that the Governess is sane, however these claims can be disproven because of strong quotes and in-depth analytical support. In the end, it is quite clear that the governess is suffering from a mental