On The Uncertainty In The Turn Of The Screw

This thesis makes a study of the uncertainty in The Turn of the Screw by taking a narrative perspective. It holds that this uncertainty fundamentally results from Henry James's dramatization of the narrative. It begins with a discussion about his proposition of dramatization and his complex attitudes towards autobiographic form of narrative. James thinks that the reader's strong sense of the author's presence detracts from the story its dramatic vividness, while the author's detachment adds to the work the effect of objectivity.The study reveals that James makes great efforts to detach himself from the narrative process, and he even tries to make an outside observer of the main character. James's dramatization and his viewpoint about the first-person narrative directly influence his narrative stratagem and narrative effect of this work. As a major part of the narrative, the opening frame causes the opening end of this story. While James dramatizes this narrative presentation, he confronts a dilemma as to the impersonal techniques: on the one hand, he feels the need of his retiring from the text for objective end; on the other hand, he has the impulse to keep his narrative privilege for his artistic effect. This puts the governess in a dilemma. The thesis analyzes the first-person narrator's "double authority". In this work, the governess plays two roles. The detachment of the author endows the governess with "supreme authority" in the narrative process, and the withdrawal of the Master of Bly seems to ensure her superior position over the other characters. However, the result is: as a first-person narrator, she cannot break off the author's control behind the stage; as a main character, she can never flee from the control of the Master as the incarnation of social ideology of the upper class. Her dilemma gives rise to her abnormal conduct and perception in the story as well as her equivocal style of narrative presentation, thus adding to the uncertainty of this novella.Finally, the thesis discusses the uncertainty of the genre of The Turn of the Screw. James's predicament, the unforeseen events of his family members, his style of writing and the social ideology embedded in the cultural prototypes provide us with important clues to the author's intention. But the genre of this story is still one of the focuses of literary criticism.The thesis is composed of three parts: the introduction, the body and the conclusion. The introduction makes a survey of the criticism of this novella. The body consists of three chapters. Chapter One discusses James's impersonal techniques. Chapter Two analyzes the two roles that the governess plays in the story. Chapter Three discusses the uncertainty about the genre of the text. Finally, the conclusion makes a summary of the thesis and reiterates its main points.