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Essay / Mrs. Grose Haunting in The Turn of The Screw
Henry James's popular novel The Turn of the Screw is often subject to re-examination because the writing is saturated with ambiguity preventing the reader from drawing a resolution definitive. This ghost story instills both trust and distrust in the ghosts who appear to be responsible for the major events of the story. In 1840s England, an inexperienced young woman becomes governess to two young orphaned children, Flora and Miles, in a country house she calls Bly. The reader is absorbed in his account of what happens in this house. Because of the social hierarchy within the house, she finds herself alone, and because of her ghost sightings, she finds herself a host to the uncanny. She recruits Mrs. Grose as an ally to overcome both her loneliness and the ghosts that haunt her and the children. Mrs. Grose, an earnest servant who took care of Flora and Mile's grandmother before she died and who has stayed with the family since collecting trust and secrets, agrees to the request nonverbally. It is believed that the stress the governess experiences and the way she acts comes directly from her supernatural encounters. However, it seems that the natural has even more consequences on one's psyche than the supernatural. Mrs. Grose's relationship with the governess is full of passive schemes, including gathering information and suggesting ideas that the governess can become obsessed with, and it is full of sabotage, including encouraging the governess's unfavorable ways and by eradicating his mental health. Say no to plagiarism. . Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get an original essay In a central development of the narrative, Mrs. Grose perpetuates the governess's belief that they are friends in order to observe and collect information. , eventually using it against her. Mrs. Grose shows no signs of eagerness to meet the housekeeper, so Mrs. Grose often acts as if their meetings are meaningless unless the housekeeper says something strange or acts alarming. Thanks to the governess's almost desperate agreement to a job the household was struggling to fill, as he was repeatedly rejected by others, and to the fixation of the uncle, his niece and his nephew, Mrs. Grose thinks that there must be a strong sense of persuasion in the governess because of her superficial motivations. Like the reader, it seems that Mrs. Grose decides that the governess is a woman who is quick to jump to outrageous conclusions using little information and much of her imagination by ending Mrs. Grose's sentences with strange fillers, such as accept a non-existent kiss request. : “Would you mind, miss, if I used the liberty…” (James 13) Mrs. Grose begins only to soon be greeted with an uncomfortable hug; she pushes her luck and breaks the social hierarchy to meet and check on the housekeeper on several occasions, but Mrs. Grose is not reprimanded by the housekeeper whose job is to manage and maintain the house as well as set a good example for her two students. . To Mrs. Grose, who obeys the hierarchy, these actions mean that the governess is inexperienced and lacks common sense (Killoran 17). From the information Mrs. Grose obtains from the governess's actions and conversations, Mrs. Grose seems to believe that the governess would be easily taken advantage of. Additionally, Mrs. Grose uses the character traits that the governess reveals about herself to suggest ideas to the governess. and possibly change. When the opportunity arises, Ms.Grose is quick to provide the missing information to the governess when she is in a state of confusion. Succumbed by new surroundings, responsibilities, and people, the governess allows Mrs. Grose to think for her; providing minimal, superficial details about a man she thought she saw, she allows Mrs. Grose to tell her what it was and who it was. Visibly absorbed in her own fear, the governess does not see that Mrs. Grose seems to be improvising the existence of Peter Quint, perceptible not through her words but through her response as she pauses and hesitates in her explanations. “Still gaping, but upon meeting me, she pieced everything together. “He never wore his hat, but he wore it… well, he was missing waistcoats!” They were both here last year”” (James 23). When the governess asks how Miss Jessel died, Mrs. Grose does not give details, only conveys emotions and must know that the governess would fabricate the most absurd story for Mrs. Grose's benefit. As she considers these suggestions, the governess seems to transform as her instability increases and an obsession with these stories begins. Mrs. Grose is often seen proposing easily misinterpreted ideas that the governess can expand and distort. Grose encourages the governess to continue and develop strange behaviors that make her appear crazy to the children, the rest of the house, and eventually her boss. When the governess asks her for support and advice after seeing Miss Jessel for the first time, Mrs. Grose has nothing to contribute to the conversation but nevertheless allows him and Finance to continue her many leading questions. The governess is eager to answer the questions and lets her memory settle as her expectations take over. The governess fears for the children's safety, so Mrs. Grose echoes that fear, intensifying the governess's fear and urgency, and it seems that the purpose, for Mrs. Grose, of most of their conversations is to taunt and to play with the housekeeper (Killoran 19). . Mrs. Grose, aware of the governess's need to prevail, suggests that the governess contacts the uncle for the children's sake, causing the governess to become agitated at the recognition of her impending failure. With her wounded pride and sense of betrayal, the governess threatens to leave: “I will leave at once, he and you” (James 48). This response not only assures Mrs. Grose that her threats were successful, but also offers that the full extent of the governess's reckless behavior will soon be realized. Through the reinforcement of the governess's irrational thoughts, Mrs. Grose gives herself the ability to eradicate the governess's rational thoughts. With the Governess completely overwhelmed by ghosts, betrayal, and her own head, Mrs. Grose detaches herself from her falsified companion role and actively tries to erase the Governess's sanity. Mrs. Grose decides after some debate to accompany the governess to retrieve Flora from the other side of the lake, when there, Mrs. Grose runs towards Flora and offers her support but above all an alternative to the governess. Flora chose to side with Mrs. Grose, probably because she was afraid of the governess and Mrs. Grose presented herself as a security figure. This destroys the governess's ego and sends her into a frenzy that lasts several hours, so Mrs. Grose takes care of the children for the night. In addition to the loss of her heroic view of herself, the governess is blamed for the illness that strikes Flora, leaving her with resolute guilt. Having to take Flora to Uncle Mrs. Grose leaves the governess unstable.