The Turn of the Screw has received an amount of attention in recent years for its uncanny story and the fierce debate over the interpretation of the tale. James's skill of ambiguity makes the reading process not only more confusing but also more dynam...
The Turn of the Screw has received an amount of attention in recent years for its uncanny story and the fierce debate over the interpretation of the tale. James's skill of ambiguity makes the reading process not only more confusing but also more dynamic and richly suggestive.
So far, in spite of the rich previous literary work on the ambiguity related with the actual and imaginary, much less attention has been given to the subject of the ambiguity between good and evil in this novel. The Freudian critics have argued that this story can be read as a psychoanalytic novel of sexual repression of the governess. From this point of view, two children, Miles and Flora are victims of the governess's insanity, and are totally innocent. On the other hand, anti-Freudian critics have thought that the governess tries to save the children from the evil of the ghost, and is innocent.
However, the controversial issue is not that simple and clear and becomes more confusing, once a careful look is taken. Good and evil are eventually blured out by the end of the book; the growing ambiguity of all of the characters’ nature makes it impossible to continue to define either good or evil. Much thought has been involved from the following questions : Does innocence just mean freedom from guilt, or does it imply something a little broader, such as free from knowledge, perhaps? All these questions arise from the ambiguity James provides for the readers to ponder.
Depending on how one reads the story, different characters can get assigned to the sides of good and evil ; one might decide the black and white standards of good and evil do not even apply.
Finally, we are led to the conclusion that good and evil are represented by all of the characters in this tale, and it might be James's purposed setting with his skill of ambiguity.