159026893

Stanley Renner, Sexual Hysteria, Physiognomical Bogeymen, and the

"Ghosts" in The Turn of the Screw, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Sep., 1988)
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3045173 > [accessed 27 October 2015] pp. 175-194

Stanley Renner’s Sexual Hysteria, Physiognomic Bogeymen, and the

"Ghosts" in The Turn of the Screw uses a mainly psychoanalytical approach, basing
his argument on Freud's theories of the unconscious, which appeared in the early
years of the twentieth century, so have perhaps a particular relevance to James's
work, since they are more or less contemporary with it. It is part of the debate about
whether the ghosts are real or not, which preoccupied James criticism at that time.
Renner claims there is a logical explanation in relation to the ’apparition’ of
Peter Quint, asserting the idea that the governess is exhibiting symptoms of, and
suffering from ‘female sexual hysteria’(176). As well this, he focusses on the cultural
influences that were present during the Victorian era, mainly the idea of negative
sexual references associated with ‘physiognomy’. The birth of the governess’s
sexual psychosis begins with the initial and simultaneously final meeting with the
Master of Bly, which is where the seed of her romantic idealizations is planted. The
importance of this first encounter is greatly emphasised, because according to
Renner, it allows James to ‘build up to the first apparition’(177). The governess
indulges in romantic thoughts while taking an evening stroll, presumably of her
master, and it is within this moment we see the sudden frenzied transition from a
pleasurable figure to a frightening projection. Renner describes this as the internal
struggles she experiences in the attempt to subjugate her sexual desires, and as she
cannot openly express her emotions, the fear of her own sexuality and also the male
sexuality sets off an attack, the manifestation of Peter Quint being a product of her
hysteria.
Renner is also interested in the idea of ‘human physiognomy’(176), and it is
here he uses a historicist approach in his references to other, non-literary texts of the
time, namely the bible. Physiognomic traits such as red hair is the feature Renner
primarily explores, and he highlights how the stereotype of a sexually deviant male
during the Victorian era fuses into the governess’s spiralling manifestations of Peter
Quint. Renner, in his account of the cultural significance of red-hair, sees the
governess make a subconscious association of red with evil, and perhaps even the
devil himself. When she describes Quint to Mrs. Grose, her confidant identifies the
popularized stereotype with the sexual trepidation she felt from Quint when he was
alive to confirm the identification. Renner supported his argument by referencing a
clergyman by the name of Lavater, who predictably established a connection
between ‘physiognomical stereotypes and biblical personifications of evil’(183).
Renner points out the fact that the governess is the daughter of a parson, so
because she’s become accustomed to the prevailing Victorian culture, which was
obsessed with a particular kind of religious morality, even entertaining romantic
thoughts terrifies her, for her religious upbringing forbids impure thinking. The
governess is therefore a typical example of a sexually repressed Victorian woman,
one who subconsciously tries to suppress her awakening sexuality because it's

1
'sinful' in Victorian values.

Guy Davidson, "Almost a Sense of Property": Henry James's "The Turn of the
Screw", Modernism, and Commodity Culture, Vol. 53, No. 4 (WINTER 2011) <
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41349144> [accessed 27 October 2015] pp. 455-478

Guy Davidson explores the post-structuralist point of view, which is interested

in the way in which literary works don't have fixed meanings, but their meanings
change according to lots of different criteria. Due to the shifting of identities, he
doesn't believe that personal identity is a stable or fixed thing at all, rather that it's
caused by cultural and social factors. Davidson says James reveals the anxieties of
the time, about the way that the identities of men are increasingly not secure and
determined just by owning property, for example, having a good name, but are at this
time, in the early decades of the 20th century, increasingly vulnerable to changes in
the society, especially consumerism and the market.
Davidson dismisses the earlier critical debate about whether the ghosts are
real or not, and is in interested in how the novel shifts, changes, moves all the time,
in lots of different ways, thus creating the instability of meaning. He explores the
theme of 'homelessness' and how it could be considered as a metaphor for the
instability of meaning, and of personal identity. He plays with this metaphor, showing
instability, lack of rootedness or security everywhere not just in relation to the
protagonist of the novel, but also with its author when discussing James’s
‘deracination to cosmopolitism’(455). The governess in The Turn of the Screw is
representative of women who are 'homeless', 'propertyless', and Davidson is
suggesting that James is identifying with her in that respect somehow. He also points
out that many of James's protagonists are women, so this is perhaps a general
tendency in James's writing, which may have something to do with his sense of
rootlessness. In this case, James’s rootlessness is described by Davidson in his
inability to settle in the country America where he originated from, or Europe, his
adopted country, perhaps the reason being he was influenced by his family in his
youth, who he travelled with extensively.
In The Turn of the Screw, the author dispossesses himself of his own story. In
other words, Davidson favours the novel because James refuses to be the authority
that is expected of authors, because he says he doesn't know any more about it than
the story itself reveals. The anecdote of the spiritualist F.W.H Myers asks James in
effect what he means by the story, and writing a letter in response, James reply says
he doesn't know. Davidson says this is like the master of Bly, who is absent, leaving
the control of the property to the governess, who has uncertain power, status, and
knowledge. He also sees James as expressing anxieties about gender, and here
Davidson begins to move into the feminist analysis, saying the roles of men and

2
women are changing, causing anxiety, revealed in the novel, where the idea of flux,
change, and lack of definition are seen as characteristic of the way women writers
and critics construct themselves, and how women are seen by culture.

Reflective statement:

Both Davidson and Renner interpret the novel from different perspectives, the former
presenting a post-structuralist interpretation, and the latter from a new historicist
point of view. Davidson is more interested in the social and cultural factors, and
therefore decides not to partake in the popular discussion of whether there is an
absolutist answer to categorize the text as ‘apparitionist’ or ‘anti-appartionist’. In
contrast, this debate forms the centre of Renner’s argument.
Renner describes the idea of how the governess’s manifestations reflect her
neurotic case of sexual repression, and provides the lore of human physiognomy to
evidence his findings. One can describe Renner’s argument as being too outdated
for modern times, because the idea that certain physical features would constitute an
individual to be considered evil, such as having red hair, is prejudiced. Renner also
doesn’t evidence if there are scientific grounds to his claim, therefore making it
invalid. Furthermore, the idea of referencing the bible to support his claims would
perhaps have only been acceptable in the Victorian era, where religion was of great
importance. In addition, even if the governess had envisioned this spectral figure, we
may also comment on how it matched the detailed description of Peter Quint. The
probability of Quint matching the exact description is relatively low, therefore the
notion she did in fact see his ghost is plausible.
The theme of anxiety is prevalent in both secondary sources, centring on
how the governess’s state of mind is effected. Both critics portray the female
protagonist in a negative light, with Davidson emphasising her naiveté in almost
assuming a sense of property, and Renner probing the notion of the governess’s
mental instability because of her sexual desires. Davidson successfully argues how
the governess feels anxiety of having to take on the sole responsibility of the house
as well as caring for Miles and Flora. Despite possessing a sense of ‘supreme
authority’(456), she fails in her quest of making the house a home, thus failing to
gain the approval of her master. Davidson’s argument reflects the idea of how
women shouldn’t bear the responsibilities of men, yet we can criticise this by saying
Davidson seems to place the blame entirely on the governess, not taking into
account how the master of Bly should’ve known the realities of giving an
inexperienced woman such a big responsibility. Also, perhaps the governess did not
realise the burdens she would have.
On the other hand, Renner displays the governess’s anxiety as her first person
narrative allows insight into her hysteria. However, Renner’s proposed argument can
be strengthened if he supports the idea of hysteria by saying the narrative itself is
hysterical, as the indeterminable ambiguity implies an inability to tell itself clearly,
thus reflecting the governess’s inner self. Perhaps Davidson is the stronger
argument, because he explores different readings, to make lots of new pictures and
imaginations in relation to the novel, ones which do not claim to fix or define or
interpret the work finally, but respond to it in diverse ways.

3



Bibliography

Secondary:

4
5