INTRODUCTION The following research paper will try to analyze and explain the duality presented by the children,

Flora and Miles, in the literary work The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Throughout the story, the children are portrayed as having a mixture of good and bad behaviors, which have a great influence on the other characters in the story, especially the Governess. This portrayal, however, is rather ambiguous. Though the childrens goodness is emphasized by their physical appearance, often described as angelical and innocent, little evident is presented that explicitly depicts the childrens evil nature. The idea of Flora and Miles being evil lies in the perception of the Governess, who suspects both children may be secretly communicating with ghosts. Since the children never admit to having actually seen the ghosts, the governess is convinced that their deceitful manners are a true expression of their bad nature. However, the fact that the children are portrayed as evil only through the eyes of the Governess raises an important question: Are the children really evil or is that just a creation of the Governess tormented mind? The question is certainly open to interpretation. This paper will attempt to answer such question.

THE CHILDREN AND THEIR DUALITY IN THE TURN OF THE SCREW

In the Turn of the Screw, the children, Flora and Miles, are often described as being charming, lovely, and beautiful. These characteristics help shape the first impressions of the characters on the reader. In addition, these descriptions serve to depict the childrens innocence and goodness. For instance, when she first sees Flora, the Governess describes her as the most beautiful child she had ever seen, one of angelical beauty (143). On other occasions, she refers to her as having lovely eyes and a divine smile. Likewise, Miles is portrayed as a little gentleman, well-behaved and equally charming as his sister. The Governess herself describes him as being incredibly beautiful, and she admits to see in him something divine that she have never found to the same degree in any child (149). Furthermore, she calls Miles an imperturbable little prodigy of delightful, lovable goodness (171). Therefore, since the beginning the story projects on the reader a vivid image of the childrens purity and innocence. It is precisely the childrens lovable features which make it hard for the Mrs. Grose and the Governess, and the readers as well, to believe that they could engage in any wrongdoings. When she receives the letter about Miles suspension from school, the Governess first suggests that Miles may be an injury to others. However, once she gazes upon the boys beauty, she refuses to accept that idea and refers to the letter as grotesque. Miles physical appearance, therefore, is contrasted with the fact that he has been expelled from his school, hinting at the reader that perhaps the boys innocent appearance may be misleading. The Governess implies he was corrupting the other students, but this is not clearly

explained in the story. At first the reader natural response may be to assume Miles may have misbehaved in class, but the Governess suggestion that he was expelled for corrupting the other children leads the reader to believe that perhaps theres something dark about the boy, building a sense of anticipation that the secret will be revealed later in the story. When Miles admits that he was expelled because he said things, the Governess does not accept his explanation. She, in fact, expected a different explanation, one that could finally prove to her the corrupt nature of the boy. At the same time, the readers expectation of a major revelation is reversed. The ambiguity of this explanation thus leaves much to the readers interpretation. What then did Miles say that was so bad that he had to be expelled? The reader does not know for sure. Nevertheless, saying things does not necessarily mean Miles is evil. Hence, the Governess obsession and determination to expose the childrens corrupt nature suggests that such corruption may only exist in her mind. The idea that the children may not be completely or at all innocent is shown in the story only through the eyes of Governess and her suspicions about the relationship between the children and the ghosts of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. Though she seems to be the only one who sees the ghosts, she claims that the children have seen them, too. She even believes the children may be secretly communicating with the ghosts. Hence, the Governess convinces herself that the children are deceitful and corrupt. For the Governess, their encounters with the ghosts are proof that they are concealing a greater evil inside of them. However, little evidence is found in the text to fully support the Governess claim, and the reader is left with uncertainty as to whether the children are actually able to see the

apparitions. In fact, the story strikes in the reader a feeling of expectation that the Governess will eventually discover the children secret interaction with the ghosts, but such an event never takes place or at least is not fully shown. Some critics support the idea that the children are not corrupt by the ghosts, and that it is all in the mind of the Governess. For instance, Bontly (1969) argues: The ghosts are there: perhaps the children seem them, perhaps they dont. there is no way for us to be sure, but in either case their apparent innocence may still be innocence. Untroubled by sexual guilt, they are unaware of evil. (728) Therefore, even if Flora and Miles can see the ghosts as the Governess assumes, there is no sufficient evidence to fully claim that they are evil as well. Even when the Governess finds Miles outside the house one night and he later admits to have left the house to prove the Governess he could be bad, the incident could be interpreted as a normal ten year old boy who is just being mischievous (Barrons, 2000). Once the Governess thinks she brought on a proof of the childrens secret communication with the ghosts (206), this event is also presented ambiguously to the reader. For instance, the Government accuses Flora of seeing Miss Jessel and calls her a little unhappy thing (206) for denying her awareness of the apparition. However, Mrs. Grose who was there did not see the ghosts either. Yet, the Governess claims that she saw Miss Jessel so the apparition must be true. She states She was there, and I was justified; she was there, and I was neither cruel nor mad (206). In turn, this also suggests that perhaps the evil relationship between the ghosts and the children only exists in the Governesss imagination.

CONCLUSION The children in The Turn of the Screw can be analyzed from two different perspectives due to the ambiguous narrative of the story. On the one hand, the children can be seen as good and innocent, victims of the tormented mind of the Governess. On the other hand, they could be seen as deceitful and corrupt beings that engage in secret communication with ghosts. It is not quite clear which interpretation is correct. This will vary according to the readers own response to the text. As Goddards (1957:33, quoted in Parkinson 1991) puts it: Believe the children saw, and the tale is one thing. Believe that they did not see, and it is another - as different as light from darkness. Similarly, Parkinson argues that the reader is called upon to respond to what has happened to their children and their governess. (n. p). Ultimately, the portrayal of the children as either good or bad depends on the readers response to the text and what he or she believes the story is about.

REFERENCES

Barrons, 2000. Character analysis The turn of the screw. http://howlandpowpak.neomin.org/powpak/cgibin/article_display_page.pl?id=thomas.williams/american&ar=18 Bontly, Thomas J. Henry Jamess General Vision of Evil in the Turn of the Screw. Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol 9, No.4. Nineteen Century (Autumn, 1969). pp.721-735. Goddard, Harold C. A Pre-Freudian Reading of The Turn of the Screw. Nineteen century fiction. Vol. 12, N. 1 (Jun, 1957) pp. 1-36 Parkinson, Edward J. The Turn of the Screw. A History of Its Critical Interpretations 1898 1979. Chapter II. 1991. Taken from http://www.turnofthescrew.com/. Quiros, Emila Vargas. The Turn of the Screw en Guia de Estudio y Antologia de Lecturas para el curso Crtica Literaria en Ingls. EUNED.