The Multiple Realities In Henry James's Ghost Stories

The modern American novelist Henry James (1843-1916) , is best known for his novels of "International Themes". Henry James's ghost stories, compared with the international novels, are not the main stream, whereas, the ghost stories play an important part in his whole literary career. The difference of Henry James's ghost stories from the traditional Gothic works is that Henry James's ghost stories, as the media of representation, display the multiple uncertainties in human consciousness. That is to say, Henry James's ghost stories are not intended to produce horror. Henry James emphasized the multiple realities: the internalized reality and the uncertainty of reality which are different from the traditional realists' stable and objective reality.In this thesis, I will discuss the multiple realities represented in Henry James's ghost stories from the aspects of themes and techniques by taking The Turn of the Screw (1898) and The Jolly Corner (1908) as the main texts. In terms of the themes, it is believed that Henry James's multiple realities are represented by the "internalized colonialism" and the author's own contemplation on his life choice. As to the writing techniques, this thesis emphasizes that the multiple realities advocated in Henry James's fictional theory are emphasized by the application of the modern writing techniques.The first chapter "Introduction" provides the background to the discussion. Firstly, the contrast between Henry James's multiple realities and the traditional realists' reality lays a theoretical foundation for the discussion about Henry James's ghost stories. Then, the success of Henry James novels of "International Themes" and experiences of the dramatic frustration are introduced in order to provide the author's personal background for the writing of Henry James's ghost stories. At last, it comes to the theoretical focus of this thesis: the discussion of Henry James's multiple realities represented in his ghost stories.The second part "The Themes of Henry James's Ghost Stories" discusses the realities: the humanistic concern and the gaze at the "other self in the two ghost stories The Turn of the Screw and The Jolly Corner. Henry James reflected two different realities by exploiting effectively the ghost stories as the media. In The Turn of the Screw Henry James disclosed the "internalized colonialism", the hegemony consciousness of Imperialism at the turn of two centuries by analyzing the characters' consciousness. Besides, Henry James's own psychological reality is reflected in The Jolly Comer. This is also Henry James's contemplation on his life choice at the aged years. Although Henry James's emigration to Europe had already been forty years and he believed that he had become a cosmopolitan, the American national features are strongly embedded in him. Therefore, in The Jolly Corner, the aged Henry James supposed his identity as an emigrant. Through discussion, it is confirmed that the "other self and "I" in the real life are the undivided parts of a character, just like James's thoughts, the integration of American and British elements.The third part "The Techniques in Henry James's Ghost Stories" discusses the modern writing techniques applied to his ghost stories: gaze, narration, interpretation and the multiple points of view in The Turn of the Screw and The Jolly Corner. It is demonstrated that the reality of the distortion and control of the power culture and discourse to the weak is represented in The Turn of the Screw. The distortion and the control are reflected through the gaze of the governess at the children and Mrs. Grose and the explanation of the children and Mrs. Grose's behaviors by the governess. Besides, Henry James also displayed the uncertainty of reality by the three different levels of narration in The Turn of the Screw. Finally, the multiple realities reflected by the technique of the multiple points of view are under discussion in the above two ghost stories. Therefore, the application of these techniques strengthens the representation of the characters' inner world, discloses the uncertainty of reality and reflects the multiple realities of Henry James's time which are the multiple possibilities emphasized by Henry James in his fictional theory.In a word, it is believed that Henry James rewrote the themes of the traditional Gothic works by the application of the modern writing techniques creatively. A new literary function is bestowed to the ghost stories by Henry James which enables the ghost stories to shift its role from the media of producing horror to the way of reflecting the social and psychological reality. In the ghost stories, the new functions and the colorful reality brought by Henry James broaden the themes and enhance the writing techniques of the western modern literature.