An Archetypal Study Of The Turn Of The Screw

Henry James is a quite important writer and critic in British andAmerican literature. He is also considered as the master ofpsychological realism. His works vary in themes and genres. He tries touse elegant language to describe the complicated inner world of thecharacters in his fiction, and he pays much more attention to thepsychological movement of his characters. Thus his works are alsonoted for the vehement psychological conflicts which represent theintricate mental activities of human beings. The Turn of the Screw is oneof James’ most outstanding novellas and is often mentioned for itsgothic features and mysterious plots. This thesis tries to study The Turn ofthe Screw adopting the archetype approach. The first chapter gives abrief introduction to Henry James, The Turn of the Screw, the literaturereview of this novella, and the writing motivations as well as theresearch approach. The second chapter is a brief survey of thedevelopment and ideas of the archetypal approach, and mainlyfocuses on Jung and Frye, to pave the way to further discussion of thenovella. Chapter Three and four are the core of this thesis. ChapterThree analyzes the frame narrative of The Turn of the Screw based onFrye’s analysis and further explores Genette’s narrative discourse theoryto show that narrative levels and narrators play a significant role in TheTurn of the Screw. Chapter Four interprets the governess’s persona,animus, and shadow based on Jung’s archetype theory ofindividuation. The last part is the conclusion which reveals James’ deepmoral concern and his sympathy for the female gender in the novella.The archetypal approach provides an effective way of understandingand interpreting the Victorian culture and social norms embodied in TheTurn of the Screw.