ENGL 5444: Childhood in Literature and Culture
Dr. Sigler

  Reading and Discussion Questions for Henry James' The Turn of the Screw       

1. What motivates the governess to accept such an unusual position?
2. What are the circumstances surrounding each appearance of an apparition.
3. How does Mrs. Grose come to believe in the presence of the ghosts?
4. Why does James emphasize so strongly the sweetness and innocence of the children?
5. Why does the governess fail to investigate Miles' expulsion from school?
6. What is gained by having the governess relate the story? How does the phrase "the turn of the screw" apply to the governess's tale?
7. What does the governess think of her employer?
8. Why is it important that this was the governess' first position?
9. How responsible is the governess for the fate of the children?
10. How and why does James imply that the governess resembles a ghost?
11. The governess's letter to her employer is very important to Mrs. Grose and so important to Miles that he steals it. Yet the governess is hesitant to write this letter. Why is this letter so significant?
12. Before his heart stops, Miles shouts out, "Peter Quint--you devil!" Who is the "you" being called the devil?
13. What are two possible interpretations of the scene in which the governess and Mrs. Grose find Flora by the lake?
14. What is the significance of little Flora's illness at the end of the story?
15. Is the governess the heroine or the villain of The Turn of the Screw?