Friday, August 14, 2015

The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James

  • Title:  The Turn of the Screw
  • Author:  Henry James
  • Borrowed from DC Public (AudioBook)
  • Started: 8/11/2015
  • Finished: 8/14/2015
I have of course read this book before, either High School or Jr. High.  I recall enjoying it immensely, but also remembered it as a straight-up ghost story.  I must either have a terrible memory, or have had terrible teachers in my public school education.

This reading, where I am in my 40s, opens up an entirely different view.  Maybe several different views.  I find as I read ghost stories where there is the possibility of no supernatural happenings, that that ends up being the interpretation I'm drawn to (think "The Exorcist," and the recent book I read "The Voices").  And so it is with The Turn of the Screw.

In this reading I was struck immediately by the sensation that the Governess was off, and that her visions and forebodings were all in her head.  And the extreme sexual undertones to the book (to my modern ears, anyway)  puts me squarely in the "no ghosts" camp.

Loved this book.  Has me thinking about re-reading "The Haunting of Hill House," one of my all time favorites.

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