The Turn Of The Screw Sparknotes

Description

This is a peer-reviewed journal article written by American literary scholar and critic, and writer Louis D. Rubin. Rubin’s literary focus was in the field of American literature, writing many essays and articles critiquing American novels. Within this article, Rubin briefly touches upon a Freudian theoretical approach to The Turn of the Screw in the footnotes. However, the main text of the article posits a reader-oriented theoretical approach.

Summary

The overarching thesis of Rubin’s article is that The Turn of the Screw has an ambiguous narrative, due to the governess’ unreliable narration, and which represents an “allegory of love” (p. 320). This hidden meaning is established in the prologue of the novel by Douglas, who Rubin claims is none other than Miles from the main plot. Rubin’s thesis hinges on this connection between Douglas and Miles, as it reveals that Miles didn’t die and in fact the governess made up the final scene. This then raises an important question in Rubin’s mind: If the governess fabricated the ending of the narrative, what else could she have made up?

320); this is noted in three scenes fabricated by the governess which we, the reader, viewed alongside her. What these inconsistencies allow is reinforcement for Rubin’s thesis that the events in the story may not have occurred the way the governess states they did. Thus, Rubin concludes that the main narrative is invented for the purpose of concealing a secondary narrative “that [the governess] was, or had been, in love” (p. 317) with