Jamesian Parody, "Jane Eyre," and "The Turn of the Screw" Author(S): Alice Hall Petry Reviewed Work(S): Source: Modern Language Studies, Vol

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Jamesian Parody, "Jane Eyre," and "The Turn of the Screw" Author(s): Alice Hall Petry Reviewed work(s): Source: Modern Language Studies, Vol. 13, No. 4, Henry James Issue (Autumn, 1983), pp. 61-78 Published by: Modern Language Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3194215 . Accessed: 05/03/2013 10:06

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This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions JamesianParody, Jane Eyre, and 'The Turnof the Screw"

Alice Hall Petry

Ever sinceit was firstpublished in 1898,Henry James's "The Turn of theScrew" has receiveda phenomenalamount of criticalattention and popular acclaim; and no smallportion of thisperennial interest is due to thefact that there are basicallytwo waysin which to read thestory: (1)that theghosts of PeterQuint and MissJessel really do appear to thegoverness (and that,consequently, she is indeed a reliablenarrator); or (2)thatthe ghostsdo not exist,and the governessis deluded-perhaps insane.' I happen to agree withthe second interpretation,with the important quali- ficationthat I do notbelieve thegoverness is insane.Rather, I would argue thatthe governess, a basicallynormal albeit sensitive and impressionistic younglady, has been undulyinfluenced by herreading of one ofthe most popular books of the nineteenthcentury, Jane Eyre; more specifically, that the tragic events which occur at Bly are the direct resultof her perceptionsof herself, her employer, her situation, and of Blyitself having been hopelesslydistorted by her patheticattempt to emulateCharlotte Bronte'sfamous heroine. In supportof thisinterpretation, I would further arguethat James borrowed heavily from Bronte's novel: the similarities in plot,characterization, narrative technique, and even phraseologyare so strikingthat it is impossibleto believe thatthey are purelyfortuitous. In fact,I would argue thatthese similarities are intentionaland conscious; thatJames expected his readers to perceive parallelsbetween Bronte's novel and his tale; and that,in the final analysis,James is utilizing, exploiting,indeed underminingthe literarytradition of the pluckyEng- lish governess:that in "The Turn of the Screw" he is, in fact,writing a parody of JaneEyre.

It is a matterof commonknowledge that James was well aware of the work of CharlotteBronte and her siblings,and in particularof Jane Eyre, forhe refersto the book several timesin his reviews and in his autobiographicalwritings. In A Small Boy and Others,he recalls Anne King,"young and frail,but not less firm,under stress, than the othersof herblood," who remindedhim of "a littleBronte heroine... thoughmore indeed a Lucy Snowe thana JaneEyre, and withno shade ofa Brontehero withinsight."2 In an 1866issue of the Atlantic Monthly, he praisesthe "very good poetry"of the Moor House chaptersin Jane Eyre, and a yearlater, in a reviewof Mrs.R. H. Davis's "Waitingfor the Verdict," he notesthat Mrs. Davis had "evidentlyread" Bronte'snovel, one of the "greatauthorities" forMrs. Davis's typeof fiction.3But his referencesto JaneEyre are not altogetherlaudatory; indeed, in 1905 he speaks, less wistfullythan cut- tingly,of the "luckybox" in whichthe Brontesisters found themselves, viz, "a case of popularity. . ., a beguilded infatuation,a sentimentalized vision,determined largely by theaccidents and circumstancesoriginally surroundingthe manifestationof the genius-- . ." In fine,the reading

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions public'sblurring of thedistinction between the Bronte's own remarkable private lives and the equally remarkablelives of the charactersthey created was generating"the most complete intellectualmuddle, if the termbe not too invidious,ever achieved ... by our wonderfulpublic."4 That the readersof Bronte'sdurable novel were somehow blurringthe distinctionbetween reality and fictionseems to have struckJames's fancy: and whatbetter way to develop thisbizarre notion than to writea parody in whichthe heroineconfuses her own lifewith that of Bronte'sheroine and becomes,as itwere, a flesh-and-bloodparody of Jane-with horrible consequences? That James was familiarwith Jane Eyre is, then,a matterof commonknowledge; and indeed,several commentators have notedsim- ilaritiesbetween Bronte'sbook and "The Turn of the Screw." Oscar Cargill and Robert Kimbroughhave pointed out thatthere is a blatant referenceto JaneEyre in thepassage "Was therea 'secret'at Bly- ... an insane, an unmentionablerelative kept in unsuspectedconfinement?" (179).5 Walterde la Mare pointsout thatJames's governess, "with her queer littleflutters, her impassioned self-dedication, faintly recalls no less delightfula prototypethan Jane Eyre."6Krishna Vaid-notes that James may have been drawingupon "the fictionalconvention of the English governess,"and Leon Edel, in his prefaceto his editionof Storiesof the Supernatural(formerly the Ghostly Tales) remarksthat "'The Turnof the Screw' is in the Brontetradition; much of its atmosphereand even language representsJames's attempt to enshrinethat tradition in his story. It is to the Brontes,rather than to themodern psychological movement in its nascentstate in Vienna,that this story must be referred.. ."7But none of thesecritics-not even Edna Kenton,who remindsus thatthe story was designedto "catch"us8-has perceivedthat James was notsimply drawing upon the literarytradition of the Englishgoverness popularized by Bronte,but ratherwas brilliantlyparodying it; and not merely,I must emphasize,for the sake of comedy. I believe thatthe process of parodyingJane Eyre beginswith the generalstory line of-thetwo works: a young woman goes to a remote countryestate to serve as governess.In each case, her immediateconfi- dante and associate at theestate is a widow who functionsas thehouse- keeper: Mrs. Fairfax and Mrs. Grose. The childreninvolved do have notablesimilarities: both Adele Varensand Flora are eight-year-oldgirls, and althoughthere is no boy correspondingto Milesin Jane Eyre,9 all the childrenshare an unfortunatedouble situation:they have no parents,and theirguardians have littleinterest in them.Celine Varenshad abandoned theillegitimate Adele; as Rochestermakes clear, although "'she was lefton myhands,"' she is nothis daughter("'Pilot [hisdog] is morelike me than she"' [chaps. 17, 15]),10and hisrelationship with her is chilledat best ("'I am notfond of the prattle of children'" [chap. 14]). Likewise,the bachelor at HarleyStreet acquired Flora and Milesupon the death of their parents in India,and although"he immenselypitied the poor chicks,"James makes it clear thatthey weighed "veryheavy on his hands. It had all been a great worryand, on his own partdoubtless, a seriesof blunders.. ." (153-54). Each guardian is a man in early middle age who is understandably

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions resentfulabout being forced into the role of surrogatefather, in part apparentlybecause each is something of a ladies'man: Rochester has left a stringof sexualconquests on theContinent (chap. 27), and theHarley Streetbachelor has, according to Mrs.Grose, "carried away" numerous damsels(162). In fine,the two men are both essentially sociable urbanites, so theykeep their wards at theircountry estates which, presumably, are soundenvironments for growing children: Bly is saidto be "healthyand secure"(154), and Adele lives at Thomfield,which Rochester declares is healthierthan his other home, Ferndean Manor (chap. 27). Finally,both men are positedas eligible:everyone at Thomfield-evenRochester himself-callshim a bachelor(e.g., chap. 14), eventhough he is very muchmarried to BerthaMason Rochester; and theemployer at Harley Streetis repeatedlyreferred to as a bachelor(e.g., 153). Likewise, each manis repeatedlyspoken of as "themaster." Whatwe have,in essence, is this: two broad story lines and a series of characterswhich are so similarthat it is doubtfulthat they could be attributedto anythingother than conscious artifice on James'spart. But whatof the specific story line of the corrupting governess and the immoral love affairbetween servants, and whatof thegovernesses themselves? Variousscholars have attemptedto pin downthe origins of theseele- ments:James himself attributed his story to an anecdotetold to himby EdwardWhite Benson, the Archbishop of Canterbury, although Benson's sonswere dubious of the veracity of the account." Robert Lee Wolffhas suggestedthat James may have seen the painting "The Haunted House," byTom Griffiths, inthe 1891 Christmas issue of the London review Black and White.'2Oscar Cargillhas suggestedthat James may have been drawingupon the case studyof "MissLucy R." in Freud'sStudien uber Hysterie(a matterto be consideredat some length below), and Francis X. Roellinger,Jr., offers several other case studieswhich may have inspired James.13But to the best of my knowledge, no one has recognized another possiblesource for the specific story line of "The Turn of the Screw": the accountgiven by Rochester'ssupposed fiancee, Blanche Ingram, of the love affairbetween her brother Tedo's tutor(Mr. Vining) and herown governess(Miss Wilson): "'we surprisedsundry tender glances and sighs whichwe interpretedas tokens of "la belle passion"... Dear Mama,there, as soonas shegot an inklingof thebusiness, found out that it was of an immoraltendency."' As Blanche points out, with such a liaisonthere is the "'dangerof bad exampleto innocence of childhood.'" So muchis made of thisextended account in Jane Eyre that eventually an unidentified charac- terdeclares "'.. . no moreneed be said:change the subject"' (chap. 17). Granted,both Viningand Wilsonare verymuch alive, but the fact remainsthat they are teachers whose questionable relationship (indeed, a relationshipwhich may have been "immoral"only in theminds of the childrenand Mrs.Ingram) may be corruptingthe innocence of their students-andPeter Quint, as Mrs.Grose emphasizes, behaved as ifhe wereMiles' "'tutor-and a verygrand one"' (213). Even if one caresnot to entertainthe possibility that Blanche's anecdotemight have inspired James (either by itself, or interacting with ArchbishopBenson's story, Griffiths' painting, or whatever),I think one

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions still must acknowledge that the similaritiesbetween his and Bronte's governessare reallyquite remarkable:in background,personality, and behavior they are strikinglyalike-so much so that I believe James expected his readersto perceivehis governessas modelingherself upon Bronte'sheroine, and withlamentable consequences. Whatlittle background information we have of James'sgoverness squaresnicely with what we knowof Jane Eyre. Jane is 18when she leaves Lowood School forThorfield (chap. 10), and James'sgoverness is 20 when she arrivesat Bly (152-53). The fatherof Bronte'sheroine was "a poor clergyman"(chap. 3), and James'sgoverness is the daughterof "a " poor countryparson" (152). Jane Eyre is from shire" (chap. 10); James'sgoverness is fromHampshire (153). Finally,each woman comes froman unhappyfamily situation: Jane's unfortunate childhood at Gates- head withthe Reeds and at Lowood constitutesthe firstten chaptersof Bronte'snovel, and althoughJames reveals little of lifeat theHampshire vicarage,he does note thatthe governess had been receiving"disturbing lettersfrom home, where things were not goingwell" (183). However muchone mightargue thatthese common background elementsare rathersuperficial or inconclusive,one mustat leastacknowl- edge the possibilitythat James was drawingupon JaneEyre in writing "The Turn of the Screw"-or, more to the point,that he wishes us to realize thathis governess perceived her situation as similarto thatof Jane Eyre,and began to ape her:even to thepoint of locating-or creating-a horriblemystery at Bly withwhich she could heroicallydeal. That James'sgoverness perceived herself as a JaneEyre figureis supportedby theblunt fact (mentioned above) thather immediate reaction to Quint's appearance on the tower is to draw upon her reading experience:"Was therea 'secret'at Bly-a mysteryof Udolpho or an insane,an unmentionablerelative kept in unsuspectedconfinement? I can'tsay how longI turnedit over..." (179). Throughher reading of Anne Radcliffe and Charlotte Bronte, James's governess is familiarwith heroinescaught in harrowingcircumstances, and she (not James) auto- maticallyapplies thisvicarious experience to herown situationat Bly.In effect,I believe James'sheroine is a flesh-and-bloodgoverness attempt- ingto act outthe part of a fictionalone, Jane Eyre; and shesucceeds (up to an optimalpoint) so well thatit is impossiblefor the reader to determine how much of her character(including her personalityand behavior) is "real" and how much of it is simplyan uncannyimitation of Bronte's governess.At some point,in otherwords, James's governess crosses the line between consciouslyemulating a positiverole model whose back- groundsuperficially resembles hers, and subconsciouslyimitating her in circumstancesfar more mundane than those found at Thorfield. And at the moment she crosses that line she becomes, as it were, mentally unstable:she hallucinatesghosts. Now, as notedabove, thereare simplefacts of backgroundwhich Jane Eyre and James's heroine have in common. But theirpersonal charactersare also strikinglyalike. Each woman is a voraciousreader. As a child,Jane Eyre reads Bewick's Historyof BritishBirds, "some Arabian tales,"and Gulliver'sTravels, which she perceivesas "a narrativeof facts,"

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions and in heradulthood continues to indulgeher passion forliterature with Sir WalterScott's Marmion (chaps. 1, 4, 3, 33). As I have pointed out earlier,James's governess has read Radcliffeand Bronte,and what she findsparticularly attractive about Bly is the availabilityof books: books whichwere denied herin heryouth, and whichshe reads when fatigued, overwrought,and, presumably, particularlyreceptive to the ideas encounteredin her reading.The followingpassage tellsof the circum- stancesimmediately preceding her third encounter with Peter Quint, on thestaircase at Bly:

I had notgone to bed; I satreading by a coupleof candles. There was a roomfulof old booksat Bly-last-century fiction some of it, which, to the extentof a distinctlydeprecated renown, but never to so muchas thatof a strayspecimen, had reachedthe sequestered home and appealedto the unavowedcuriosity of my youth. I rememberthat the book I had inmy hand was Fielding's"Amelia"; also thatI was whollyawake. I recall furtherboth a generalconviction that it was horribly late and a particular objectionto lookingat mywatch. (221)

As Oscar Cargillhas pointedout, Fielding's novel is especiallyappropri- ate forJames's tale inasmuchas it focusesupon a pursuedwoman who cares fora littlegirl and boy,14 butI would liketo takethis one stepfurther and say thatboth governessestend to preferrather sensationalistic reading matter.Indeed, JaneEyre's initialinterest in Johnson's"Rasselas" (a title"that struck me as strange,and consequentlyattractive") is cooled significantlywhen she findsthat it contains "nothing about fairies,nothing about genii" (chap. 5). Whatthis suggests is thatJane, as well as James's governess,have an unusualinterest in thesupernatural, parapsychology, and the dead-an interestwhich owes much to theirreading and which significantlyaffects their way of perceivingand dealingwith the world. Jane,for example, has an apparentlygenuine interest and beliefin ghosts. Locked in the "red room" at Gateshead when a child,she fanciesshe is visitedby thespirit of her uncle Reed (chap. 2), and one of thefirst things she asks of Mrs. Fairfaxis if thereare any ghosts-or even "traditions," "legends or ... stories"of them-at Thornfield(chap. 11); her disap- pointmentthat there are none is palpable. Indeed, Jane'spersonality is such thatRochester consistently associates her with the netherworld, not onlyof the moon (e.g., chap. 24), but of the dead:

[Jane:]"I have been withmy aunt,sir, who is dead." [Rochester:]"A trueJanian reply! ... She comes fromthe other world-from theabode ofpeople who are dead; and tellsme so whenshe meetsme alone herein thegloaming! If I dared I'd touchyou to see ifyou are substanceor shadow, you elf! .. ." (chap. 22)

Janehas, as it were, a preoccupationwith spirits-a strikingpersonality traitwhich could verywell have been absorbed by a young,15impression- isticgoverness whose backgroundis similarto thatof Bronte'sheroine. Partand parcelwith both governesses' sensitivity to other-worldly phenomena is thatother people tend to perceive these two women as

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions unusual-evenabnormal. The servantBessie Lee (one of Jane'sfew friendsat Gateshead)regards Jane as "queer,"and even her fiance Rochesterterms her "strange," "almost unearthly" (chaps. 4, 23). Indeed, manycharacters in Bronte'snovel perceive Jane as evilor insane.The dyingMrs. Reed asserts that once Jane spoke to her "'like something mad, or likea fiend"'(chap. 21); Rochesterterms her a "witch,""sorceress" (chap. 15); and Jane,attempting to fathomher relationshipwith the masterof Thomfield,notes that ". .. theevil-if evil existentor prospec- tive therewas-seemed to lie withme only;. . ." (chap. 23). That those aroundher perceive Jane as queer,demonic, or mentallyunstable does notseem to botherher; indeed, she seems only mildly annoyed that her confidanteMrs. Fairfax, who was so "glad"to see her arrive at Thornfield (chap.11), occasionally avoids her: "The answer was evasive...; butMrs. Fairfaxeither could not, or would not, give me more explicit information" aboutRochester's "trials" (chap. 13). A strikinglysimilar-albeit horribly magnified-situationexists at Bly.Throughout "The Turn of the Screw," thereare various questionings of the governess's normalcy, both by herselfand others. She instinctively infers that Mrs. Grose (who also, significantly,was "glad"to see herarrive at Bly[160]) perceives her as "mad" and remarks"'That's charming news to be sent[to theHarley Street bachelor]by a personenjoying his confidence and whose prime undertak- ingwas to give him no worry'" (239); and, intensifying Bronte's technique ofreflecting her heroine in the eyes of those around her, James shows not onlythe children's reactions to the governess ("'I thinkyou're cruel. I don't likeyou!'... oh takeme away fromher!"' [281]), but also thoseof the anonymousservants: "... I could see in the aspect of othersa confused reflexionof thecrisis. What had happenednaturally caused them all to stare;..."(293). But there is an important distinction between Jane Eyre's personalityand thatof James'sgoverness. Whereas in JaneEyre the implicationthat Jane is evilor insanecomes from the antagonistic Reed family,and thatshe is a "witch"stems from Rochester's affection and admirationfor her, in "The Turn of the Screw" the negative reactions of othersseem grounded in a genuinebelief on thepart of non-prejudiced individualsthat the governess is unstable.Since Jane perceives her relationshipwith Rochester as wholesomeand equal, she is being rhetorical in herassertion that if there were any "evil" in their relationship, it"seemed tolie with me only." Similarly, she does not really doubt her sanity when, upholding"laws and principles,"she declares that she is "'insane-quite insane"'if she doubtstheir worth (chap. 27). But James'sgoverness genuinelyquestions her propensity for evil ("ifhe wereinnocent what thenon earthwas I?" [307])and does have real doubts about her sanity: MissJessel "was there,so I was justified;she was there,so I was neither cruelnor mad" (278). And Mrs. Grose's avoidance of her, established early in thetale (168),is a recurrentpattern rather than an isolatedincident groundedin the housekeeper's disinclination toreveal information about themaster to a newservant. In fine,Jane's and others' perceptions of her do seem to be reflectedin James'sgoverness; but Janeis adequately stable,and has a sufficientlyaccurate self-image, to know when she is not to takeseriously the questionings of hersanity and her"evilness." As a 66

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions result,she is able to maintain her emotional health and deal with the world in a constructiveway, her superaturalism notwithstanding. In contrast, James'sgoverness seems to embody in reality the most extreme negative aspectsof Jane(viz, the impressionshe sometimesgives that she is abnormal)without Jane's stability and accurateself-image. In other words,that James's governess might truly be evil,insane, or strange seems groundedin fact, rather than in prejudice or rhetoric. If "The Turn of the Screw"is indeeda parodyof Jane Eyre-if, in fact, James's governess is actingthe part of Bronte's heroine-then her failure to react normally to thedecidedly negative feedback which she receives from Mrs. Grose, the children,and theservants, may be due to hererroneous belief that, like JaneEyre, she is supposed to have people perceive her as odd:in fact, the odder(read "the more Janian") the better. WhatI amtrying to suggest is that James's governess is a quitepale copy of JaneEyre. The palenessis mostassuredly not a reflectionof James'sinadequacy as a writer,but ratherhis deliberateattempt to conveyhis governess'shorrible mistake in emulatingBronte's fictional heroine.It is impossible to act as a fictionalcharacter in the real world; but James'sgoverness-whose only experience of theworld has been the vicariousexperience of reading-failsto realizethis until, I wouldsurmise,many years after the events at Bly,when she writes her story for Douglas.Be thisas it may,her emulation of Bronte'sheroine is seenin morethan just such elements as theirbackground, love of reading, preoccupationwith the supernatural, and the ways in which they are perceived. I believethat James's governess's behavior, attitude, and motivations also arestrikingly similar to those of Bronte's heroine-so much so thatat times it is impossiblenot to believethat she is actingthe part of "JaneEyre, governess." Themost noticeable similarity inthe two women's behavior is that theythrive on adversity. Both women, although initially more or less beset by doubts,take up challengingresponsibilities as governesses in remote locales;are facedwith feeling romantic inclinations towards employers who are substantiallytheir superiors; and findthemselves, unsupported by familyor friends,dealing with rather knotty problems, real or imagined-aninsane woman in theattic, and two evil ghosts.Lesser womenwould crumbleunder the stressof even a fractionof these challenges,but Jane is-and, I wouldargue, James's governess fancies herselfto be-made ofthe sort of stuff which allows some people to meet suchadversity and emerge shining. As Rochester points out to Jane, "'not threein threethousand"' governesses could deal withhim as she does (chap. 14), and James'sgoverness, whose toneof self-congratulation (whichI feelreflects retrospective irony) permeates "The Turnof the Screw,"notes that "... I couldsucceed where many another girl might havefailed.... I confessI rather applaud myself as I lookback!..." (199). Indeed,both governesses positively welcome challenges, not only as an opportunityto showtheir strength of character,but also becausethey derivea sortof excitementfrom potential danger. When Rochester threatensJane with "violence" if she does notbecome his mistress, she notes:

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ... I was notafraid: not in theleast. I feltan inwardpower; a senseof influence,which supported me. The crisiswas perilous;but not without itscharm: such as theIndian, perhaps, feels when he slipsover the rapid inhis canoe. (chap.27)

Compare theinitial reaction of James'sgoverness to theevil ghosts:"... I was in thesedays literallyable to finda joy in theextraordinary flight of heroismthe occasion demanded of me" (198-99).These two passages are so similarin content,tone, and stylethat, were theytaken out of context, one could not readilydetermine which passage was writtenby which governess;indeed, thetechnical similarities of JaneEyre and "The Turn of the Screw" are so pronouncedthat I will deal with them at length somewhatlater. For now, let enoughbe said thatthe two women welcome adversityand, to an extent,thrive on it. I say "to an extent"because the two governessesalso share a distinctivehabit: when a givensituation becomes too intense,they have what are charitablyreferred to as "fits."As was indicatedabove, one of theearliest traumas of Jane Eyre's life was beinglocked inthe "red room" of Gatesheadwhere she was (apparently)visited by theghost of her uncle Reed, who had died there.Having screamed for help, she is rescued (temporarily)by servants,but her aunt "abruptlythrust me back and locked me in ... soon aftershe was gone,I suppose I had a species of fit: unconsciousnessclosed thescene." Chapter 3 beginsimmediately thereaf- ter:"The nextthing I rememberis, waking up witha feelingas ifI had had a frightfulnightmare" (chaps. 2, 3). A very similarfit occurs in the transitionfrom chapters 26 to 27, whereinthe troubledJane resolves to leave Thorfield. Now, James'sgoverness reacts in thesame way to the traumaof Flora's demand thatMrs. Grose take heraway:

Of whatfirst happened when I wasleft alone I hadno subsequent memory.I only knew that at theend of, I suppose,a quarterof an hour, an odorousdampness and roughness,chilling and piercingmy trouble, hadmade me understand that I musthave thrown myself, on my face, to theground and givenway to a wildnessof grief.I musthave lain there longand cried and wailed, for when I raisedmy head the day was almost gone.(282)

The similaritiesbetween the quoted passages-similaritiesnot only in content,but also in phraseology-are simplytoo pronouncedto have been fortuitous.Likewise, the two governesses,when "fits" are not feasi- ble, decide to runaway. Jane,having forgiven Rochester for attempting to enterinto a bigamousmarriage with her, but newlydistressed over his effortsto make herhis mistress, flees Thomfield at theinsistence of a light which proves to be "not a moon, but a whitehuman form"(chap. 27), travelsto Whitcross,and entersinto a tenuousrelationship with St. John Rivers,a relationshipwhich serves only to confirmher love forRochester. James'sgoverness, too, in an opportunemoment decides to run away fromBly, but there are certaindistinctions between her escape and Jane's: Janeleaves at thesuggestion of a spirit,whereas James's governess wants to fleeout of a self-originatingsense of helplessness; Jane's compulsion to

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions leave is so powerful that she escapes at night,giving no thoughtto practicalmatters, whereas James's governess is overwhelmedrather easily: ". . . the question of a conveyance was the great one to settle. Tormented,in the hall, with difficulties and obstacles,I remembersinking down at the foot of the staircase.. ." (256). Finally,James's governess neverdoes escape Bly:encountering Miss Jessel in the schoolroom causes an abruptchange of plans. One mightquestion whether the governess's decisionto stayat Blyis theresult of thetriumph, once again,of thethrill of adversity,or simplya paradoxicalexpression of weakness:a matterof immatureinertia rather than mature determination. Whateverthe case may be, what is especiallynoteworthy in this regardis notthat both Jane Eyre and James'sgoverness occasionally have fitsor feelthe desire to runaway, but thatthese highly dramatic ways of reactingto stressare so atypicalof bothwomen. The factis thatthe two governessesare positedas being rationaland remarkablyself-analytical: each tendsto probe and to testherself and othersto a significantdegree, and each recognizes fromthe outsetthat the immediatesource of her motivationis her bachelor/employer. Jane, for example, is particularlyself-analytical as she ponders whetherto stay at Thornfieldafter learning of Rochester'swife. She decides she cannot leave, "But, then,a voice withinme averredthat I could do it; and foretoldthat I should do it. I wrestledwith my own resolution:I wanted to be weak thatI mightavoid theawful passage of furthersuffering I saw laid outfor me; and conscience,turned tyrant, held passionby thethroat.. ." (chap. 27). However one chooses to reactto the battlebetween the personifiedaspects of Jane'smind, the factremains thatJane analyzes herself to a strikingdegree: indeed,almost as muchas James'sgoverness does:

[TheHarley Street bachelor] never wrote to them-that may have been selfish,but it was a partof the flattery of his trust of myself;... So I held thatI carriedout the spirit of the pledge given not to appeal to him when I letour young friends understand that their own letters were but charming literaryexercises.... Thereappears to me moreoveras I lookback no notein all thismore extraordinary than the mere fact that, in spite of my tensionand their triumph, I never lost patience with them. Adorable they mustin truth have been, I nowfeel, since I didn't in these days hate them! Would exasperation,however, if reliefhad longerbeen postponed, finallyhave betrayed me? (247)

In addition to theirtendency to be highlyself-analytical, both women are inclinedto probe and test.Jane spends an inordinateamount of timein lane Eyre observing,cross-examining, and askingothers about Grace Poole, the village woman hired to guard the insane Bertha,and whomJane (in her ignorance) believes to be responsiblefor setting fire to Rochester'sbed. Janestates explicitly that she will "put [Grace] to some test,"and she marvels at Poole's abilitynot only to field her probing questions,but also-as Janeincorrectly perceives matters-to ascertain herlifestyle in order to attackthe governess at night:"'Fiend! she wantsto know my habits,that she may lay her plans accordingly!"'(chap. 16).

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions AlthoughJane's appraisal of thebehavior of Grace Poole is (significantly) incorrect,she nevertheless is accuratein recognizing that there is indeed"a mysteryat Thornfield;and thatfrom participation in thatmystery, I was purposelyexcluded" (chap. 17). It is buta shortstep fromJane's recogni- tionof a horrible"mystery" at Thornfieldand hermisguided attempt to fathomit, to James'sgoverness's automatic, immediate assumption that the man on thetower is partof a "mystery"at Bly-goings-onwhich she attemptsto unravelby cross-examiningand observingthe childrenand Mrs. Grose considerablymore vehementlythan Jane questioned Grace Poole or Mrs. Fairfax:

Lord,how I pressedher now! "So thatyou could see he knew what was betweenthe two wretches?" "I don'tknow-I don'tknow!" the poor woman wailed. "Youdo know,you dear thing," I replied;... "ButI shallget it out ofyou yet! .. ." (214)

Once again,James's governess emerges as a pale copy of JaneEyre; but herpaleness, paradoxically, seems to be thedirect result of her exaggerat- ing certainsalient featuresof Jane: and exaggerationis a hallmarkof parody. Perhaps the mostnotable instanceof thisis seen in the governesses' relationshipswith their respective wards. Jane'srelationship with AdbleVarens is notgreatly developed in Bronte'sstory: the governess is a bit criticalof Adele's materialismand her precocious concern for her "toilette"("there was somethingludicrous as well as painfulin the little Parisienne'searnest and innatedevotion to mattersof dress" [chap. 17]), but generallyspeaking the two seem to get along well: Jane is neither overly-laxnor overly-protective.The only timeJane does reveal more maternalimpulses is in herdreams just prior to theaborted wedding. In the firstdream, she is "burdenedwith the chargeof a littlechild: a very small creature,too youngand feeble to walk, and whichshivered in my cold arms,and wailed piteouslyin my ear." In thesubsequent dream, "the childrolled from my knee, I lostmy balance, fell, and woke" (chap. 25). It is in her dreams,then, that Jane emerges as a heroine,protecting a child and sufferingin theprocess. James's governess also is heroicin regardto children,but her inclinationtowards heroism is quite self-conscious:"I had an absolutecertainty that I shouldsee again what I had alreadyseen [i.e., ghosts],but somethingwithin me said that by offeringmyself bravelyas thesole subjectof such experience,by accepting,by inviting, by surmountingit all, I shouldserve as an expiatoryvictim and guardthe tranquillityof therest of thehousehold. The childrenin especial I should thusfence about and absolutelysave" (195). Thissense of a compulsionto save thechildren-whether or not there is anythingto save themfrom-is thepredominant note in "The Turnof the Screw," and one mayattribute it to James'sgoverness's attitude towards the children'suncle. From the beginningof thestory, it is evidentthat she is in love withher employer, even though,as Douglas pointsout, she had seen him "onlytwice" (150, 156); and it is evident throughoutthe tale that her relationshipwith him-asexual and unrequitedas itis-is herprimary source of motivation.

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Accordingto the governess, Mrs. Grose could not appreciate her refusal to enlistthe uncle's aid because"She did n'tknow-no one knew-how proudI had beento servehim and to stickto ourterms" (240); but her determinationto deal withthe ghosts herself was notsimply a matterof principle,for she vividlyimagined "his derision, his amusement,his contemptfor the breakdown of my resignation atbeing left alone and for the finemachinery I had set in motionto attracthis attentionto my slightedcharms" (239-40). The word"charms" is notable,for Jane Eyre feelssecure in her relationship with Rochester because Blanche Ingram "couldnot charm him" (chap. 18, Bronte's emphasis), and each governess feelsa specialcloseness and obligation to her bachelor/employer because ofhis warmly holding her hand in gratitude: in the case of Jane Eyre, for hersaving Rochester from his burning bed (chap.15), and in "The Turn of theScrew," for her agreeing to carefor Flora and Miles(156). Each governesshas, as itwere, a quasi-romanticrelationship with herbachelor/employer, but in the case of "TheTurn of the Screw," the relationshipdoes notseem to be rootedin reality; in fact,I wouldargue thatit is groundedin the reading experience of James's governess, and in particularin her readingof JaneEyre. Note,for example, how our knowledgeof him is filteredthrough the governess's consciousness: "He struckher, inevitably, as gallantand splendid.. ."-whetheror nothe reallywas gallantand splendid; similarly, "She figured him as rich,but as fearfullyextravagant-saw him all in a glow of highfashion, of good looks,of expensive habits, of charming ways with women" (153, emphasis mine).In fact,he was "a bachelorin the prime of life, such a figureas had neverrisen, save in a dreamor an old novel, before a flutteredanxious girl outof a Hampshirevicarage. One couldeasily fix his type .. ." (153).In fine,the bachelor at Harley Street is something out of fiction-out of lane Eyre,perhaps, for he soundsmore than a littlelike Edward Fairfax de Rochester(minus, of course, the gruff Orson Welles exterior). Itis notable in thisregard that James's governess seems almost disappointed at the cheeryaspect of Bly:"I supposeI had expected,or had dreaded,some- thingso drearythat what greetedme was a good surprise"(158). "Expected"?"Dreaded"? "Dreary"? Since there is absolutelynothing in James'sall-important frame story to indicate that the Harley Street bache- lorgave her any concrete indication of what to expect Bly to be like("his countryhome, an old familyplace in Essex"[153]), then her distinctive reactionsuggests that her preconceived notions of Bly may possibly have comefrom her reading of Jane Eyre. The onlything that Bly and Thorn- fieldhave in common(aside frombeing large and old) is theflocks of cawingrooks (JE, chap. 11; TS, 158);but to a womanwhose background superficiallyisakin to that of Jane Eyre, and whose subjective impressions ofher bachelor/employer arenotably like something out of a novel,then theBly/Thornfield connection is virtuallycemented by the rather minor sharedelement of cawingcrows. Under the circumstances,it should come as no surpriseto findJames's governess apparently expecting to hearodd soundsin thehouse: she listened "while in the fading dusk the firstbirds began to twitter, for the possible recurrence of a soundor two, lessnatural and not without but within, that I had fanciedI heard.There

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions had been a momentwhen I believed I recognised,faint and far,the cry of a child; therehad been anotherwhen I found myselfjust consciously startingas at thepassage, beforemy door, of a lightfootstep" (160). Since thesesounds neverrecur and are neverexplained, one may surmisethat theyreflect the governess's expectation that she would confrontand deal witha BerthaMason-like mystery at Bly;indeed, it is a significantpart of thisself-fulfilling prophecy that for eleven nights("they were all num- bered now" [227]), she "sat up tillI did n't know when ... stealingout" when Flora slept;"I even pushed as faras to whereI had lastmet Quint," and met Miss Jesselsitting on the stairs(226-27). In effect,she seems so determinedto locate a mysteryat Bly comparable to the mysteryof BerthaMason at Thornfieldthat it is entirelypossible that she did indeed imaginethe ghosts:a viable approach to the storywhich such criticsas Edna Kentonand Edmund Wilsonhave offered,16and whichJane Eyre herselfwould certainlyappreciate: "It is invain to sayhuman beings ought to be satisfiedwith tranquillity: they must have action;and theywill make it if theycannot find it" (chap. 12). That James'sgoverness perceives her employer as Rochester,Bly as Thornfield,and herselfas Jane Eyre is furthersupported by other notableparallels between the two stories.As RobertHeilman has argued convincinglyin his classic essay "'The Turn of the Screw' as Poem,"17 James'sstory is laced withimagery of pre-and post-lapsarianEden; and CharlotteBronte also presentsthe gardenat Thornfieldas Edenic:

... I wentapart into the orchard. No nookin the grounds more sheltered and moreEden-like; it was fullof trees, it bloomed with flowers: a very highwall shutit out fromthe court, on one side;on theother, a beech avenuescreened it fromthe lawn.... Hereone couldwander unseen. XWhilesuch honey-dewfell, such silence reigned,such gloaming gathered,I feltas ifI coulldhaunt such shade for ever:... (chap.23)

What is especiallynotable in thisregard is thatboth governessestake a special pleasure in walking in the Edenic gardens of theirrespective estates.But it is quite clear thatJames's governess walks in thegarden of Bly musingon the possibilityof encounteringher bachelor/employer there:

One of thethoughts that, as I don'tin the least shrink now fromnoting, usedto be withme in these wanderings was thatit would be as charming as a charmingstory suddenly to meet some one. Some one would appear thereat theturn of a pathand wouldstand before me and smileand approve.I did n'task more than that-I onlyasked that he shouldknow; andthe only way to be surehe knew would be tosee it,and the kind light ofit, in his handsome face. (175, first emphasis mine)

Since thereis nothingin the importantframe story to indicatethat the HarleyStreet bachelor could reasonablybe expectedto visitBly, let alone seek out the governessin the garden,then the governess'shope thathe mightbe thereis obviouslyfounded upon somethingelse-in fact,perhaps upon the knowledgeof a bachelor/employer'sbehavior which she

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions acquired fromreading lane Eyre.After all, Rochesterproposes to Janein an unforgettablescene in the garden at Thorfield; indeed, perhaps sensingthe proposal coming,Jane attempted to leave the gardenwhen she realized thatRochester was nearby.To continuethe passage cited above:

... I feltas ifI couldhaunt such shade for ever: but in threading the flower and fruit-parterres... mystep is stayed-notby sound,not by sight, but... by a warningfragrance. Sweetbriar and southernwood, jasmine, pink, and rose, have long beenyielding their evening sacrifice of incense: this new scent is neither of shrubnor flower; it is-I knowit well-it is Mr. Rochester'scigar. (chap.23)

Two elementsof tremendous importance must be discussedat this juncture.First, Rochester is associated with a cigar. I do not care to belabor thepoint that a cigaris one of themost blatant symbols of male sexualityever noted by clinicalpsychology; however, I do wish to note Oscar Cargill'ssuggestion that James may have based "The Turn of the Screw" on the case of the governess"Miss Lucy R.," one of the patients discussed in Freud's classic Studienuber Hysterie.As Cargill explains, MissLucy R. sufferedfrom chronic purulent rhinitis; in particular, she was obsessedwith the idea thatshe smelled burned pastry. After she confessed thatshe had fallenin love withher employer after a singleinterview, there came about "a strangesymbolic substitution in her subjectivesense of smell-that of thearoma of a cigar;.. ."18What Cargill fails to noteis that both James's and Bronte'sgovernesses have unusuallyacute senses of smell:James's governess, for example, speaks of the "fragrantfaces" of Flora and Miles (210). More to the point, one of Jane Eyre's earliest impressionsof Lowood School is thesmell of burned porridge, "an odour farfrom inviting" (chap. 5). WhatI would suggestis thatif indeed James were inspiredby thestory of Miss Lucy R., thenthe inspiration may have gone deeper thanhas previouslybeen recognized-that,in fact,it went to his recollectionsof the burnedporridge and cigarin JaneEyre. A second point.My previousremarks have indicatedthat I believe Jame'sgoverness was blurringthe identitiesof her bachelor/employer and of Bronte'sRochester. Now, severalcritics have surmisedthat she was blurringthe identitiesof Peter Quint and the Harley Streetbachelor;19 afterall, Quintwas hisvalet and wore his clothes,and mostimportantly, the governesssaw Quint on the tower at the very moment she was broodingabout meetingher employerin the garden-indeed, she mis- took Quint forhim (175). I would like to suggestthat James's governess was confusingQuint not only with her employer, but also withRochester. It is noteworthy,for example, that both men are seriouslyinjured while slippingon ice. Janemeets Rochester in a memorablescene whereinhis horseMesrour has lostits footing on icy Hay Lane (chap. 12); PeterQuint ostensiblydies afterfalling on a "steepishicy slope" (198). If indeed James's governessis sensitiveto similaritiesbetween herselfand Jane Eyre, thenthe associationof "ice" with"lover" would be instantaneous,

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions even if subconscious.Indeed, this Quint/Rochester association would explainwhy James's governess remarks rather illogically to Mrs.Grose thatQuint looks like an "actor"-"'I'venever seen one, but so I suppose them"'(191). After all, throughout Jane Eyre Rochester's talent as anactor isreiterated: he is the star of the charades at his house party, and fools even Janein his portrayal of an old gypsywoman (chaps. 18, 19).20 If indeed James'sgoverness is blurringthe identitiesof her employer,Quint, and Rochester;if she reacts to Blyas ifit were Thorn- fieldand createsa "mystery"to completethe picture; if, in fine,she regardsherself as a JaneEyre figure and actsaccordingly, then one can bettercomprehend the similarities inthe two tales' narrative techniques. The underlyingpremise is identical:each story is positedas a first-person narration,written by the governess involved, and recorded several years afterthe events depicted. Each governess/author,whether or notshe is reliable,tends to be intrusive,even chatty:for example, Jane Eyre declareshappily, "Reader, I marriedhim" (chap. 38), and James's heroine calls"the sisterhood [of governesses] to witness" how unusual it is to make "constantfresh discoveries" about one's pupils (181). And each governess/ author,because she is writingretrospectively, apparently perceives her old selfwith the clarity granted to maturity. Ifshe saw Blytoday, James's heroine's"older and moreinformed eyes" would make it seem of "very reducedimportance" (163), a phenomenonJane Eyre would appreciate: ". . . what is so headstrongas youth?What so blind as inexperience?" (chap.22). Indeed, I wouldsurmise that, because of her maturity, James's governessis retrospectivelyable to perceivehow patheticallyshe was emulatingJane Eyre during her sojourn at Bly-a situationwhich would explainwhy Douglas (who met her years after the events at Bly)saw her as "charming"and "agreeable" (149), whereas the impression she conveys inthe story proper is thatshe is strange-perhapsinsane. As notedearlier in thispaper, both James's governess and Jane Eyreseem extraordinarily self-conscious, e.g., they are self-analytical and tendto questionand testothers. But thisself-consciousness attains a specialintensity in"The Turn of the Screw." Indeed, James's governess is so oddlyself-conscious about her personality, behavior, and thoughts that sheseems to be actinga part.She imaginesthat her actions "must have seemedmagnificent had therebeen anyone to admire"them (221), and sheeven goes so faras toshut herself up "audiblyto rehearse" the eventual show-downwith Flora and Miles(245). What this theatricality suggests tome is that James's governess's highly dramatic imitation of Jane Eyre is so completethat it is notsimply a matterof there being many passages in bothstories which are so similarin content,style, diction, and even cadencethat, if they were pulled out of context, itwould be impossibleto ascertainfrom which tale they were drawn; rather, itis a matterof James's governessbeing so imbuedwith the literarytradition of the plucky Englishgoverness popularized by Bronte'swork that it extends even to theact of writing her story. James's governess isnot simply drawing upon a fictionalconvention: she is living it, and so completelythat both she and heremployer are given generic rather than Christian names: "the gover-

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ness"and "themaster" or "thebachelor." She is,in fine,a flesh-and-blood parody of JaneEyre.

Atthis point, it would seem thatnary a stonehas been leftunturned in thisattempt to enumeratethe relationshipswhich exist between Jane Eyreand "TheTurn of the Screw." On thebasis of the textual evidence alone, it seems clear thatJames was consciouslyutilizing and parodying theliterary convention of theEnglish governess, and moreprecisely Jane Eyre.But I do wishto make two morepoints in support of my thesis. First, it is entirelypossible that,as Cargillsuggests, James may have reviewed thework of theBrontes at approximatelythe time he began to formulate "The Turnof theScrew," simply because ClementShorter, editor of the IllustratedLondon News (forwhich James wrote The Other House) had justpublished Charlotte Bronte and Her Circle (1896).21My second point is closelyaligned with this. In an entryin his Notebooks, coming between 18 November1894 and 12January 1895, James apparently cast about for a surnamefor the character who came to be knownas Mrs.Grose.22 In the processof doodling,he wroteseveral names whichare of special signifi- cance: "Blanchett"may verywell have originatedin the name "Blanche Ingram";"Shirley" is the titleof CharlotteBronte's 1849 novel; "Nettle- field" and "Nettlefold"are remarkablysimilar to "Thorfield"; and "Glasspoole" strikinglyechoes "Grace Poole." If one may attributeany- thingto suchjottings, at thevery least it may be statedthat James had Jane Eyre on his mind-subconsciously or otherwise-as he began to write "The Turn of the Screw."

If "The Turnof the Screw" is indeed "a piece of ingenuitypure and simple,of cold artisticcalculation, an amusetteto catch thosenot easily caught"(preface, xviii), then might James be referringnot to the ghosts (real or imagined),and notto themental state of the governess, but rather to thesimple fact that he is writinga remarkablyclever parody? Certainly parody-and the idea thata real person mightbehave as if he were a fictionalcharacter-was somethingin whichJames indulged. Consider, for example, the case of Mrs. Lavinia Sloper Pennimanof Washington Square, whose effortsto uniteher niece withMorris Townsend are highly melodramatic:

Mrs.Penniman started for church; but before she had arrived, she stoppedand turnedback, and beforetwenty minutes had elapsedshe re-enteredthe house, ... and knockedat Catherine'sdoor. She gotno answer;... and Mrs.Penniman presently ascertained that she was notin thehouse. "She has gone to him, she had fled!" Lavinia cried, clasping her hands... Butshe soon perceived that Catherine had takennothing with her... andthen she jumped at the hypothesis that the girl had gone forth, notin tenderness,but in resentment."She has followedhim to hisown door-she has burstupon himin his own apartment!"It was in these termsthat Mrs. Penniman depicted to herself her niece's errand, which, viewedin thislight, gratified her sense of thepicturesque only a shade lessstrongly than the idea ofa clandestinemarriage. To visitone's lover,

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions withtears and reproaches, at his own residence, was an imageso agreeable to Mrs.Penniman's mind that she felt a sortof aesthetic disappoint- mentat its lacking,in thiscase, the harmoniousaccompaniments of darknessand storm.A quietSunday afternoon appeared an inadequate settingfor it; . ..23

That Mrs.Penniman acts, feels, indeed thinksas ifshe were a characterin a melodrama is, to my mind, the same as James's governessacting, feeling,even thinkingas ifshe wereJane Eyre. The differenceis thatMrs. Penniman'sconfusion of her realityand her readingis amusing (albeit occasionallyannoying), and she apparentlylacks theintelligence and the retrospectiveacuity to ever realize thatshe was a livingparody of the duenna of melodrama. In the case of "The Turn of the Screw," the governess'sconfusion of herreality and theJane Eyre model is ghastly- and itis all themore ghastly in that she comes to realize (and ultimatelyto writedown) exactlywhat was happeningto her at Bly. If indeed "The Turnof theScrew" is a parodyof JaneEyre-and thereseems littledoubt thatthis is thecase-then itis a remarkablyclever one. Indeed, perhapsit is too clever,if it has notbeen noticedfor nearly ninetyyears.

Rhode Island School of Design

NOTES

1. Fora goodbrief overview of the controversy surrounding "The Turn of the Screw,"see ThomasMabry Cranfill and RobertLanier Clark, Jr., "Intro- duction,"An Anatomyof The Turnof theScrew (Austin:University of Texas Press,1965), pp. 3-15.Several of themost noted articles regarding James'stale have been reprinted in two collections: Robert Kimbrough, ed. The Turnof the Screw, Norton Critical Editions (New York:W. NW. Norton & Company,Inc., 1966) and GeraldWillen, ed. A Casebook on Henry James'sThe Turnof the Screw (New York:Thomas Y. CrowellCompany, 1960). 2. HenryJames, Autobiography: A Small Boy and Others,Notes of a Sonand Brother,The Middle Years, ed. FrederickW. Dupee (New York:Criterion Books,1956), p. 222. 3. HenryJames, "The Novels of George Eliot," Atlantic Monthly, 18 (October, 1866),491; "Waiting for the Verdict," Nation, 5 (November21, 1867), 410. 4. HenryJames, "The Lessonof Balzac," Atlantic Monthly, 96 (August,1905), 168. 5. I followthe revised version of "The Turnof theScrew" published in The AspernPapers/The Turn of theScrew/The Liar/The Two Faces (New York:Charles Scribner's sons, 1908), pp. 145-309.All references to this text, volume12 of The NewYork Edition, will be indicatedparenthetically inthe bodyof thepaper. See OscarCargill, "The Turnof the Screw and Alice James," PMLA, 78 (June,1963), 238-49; and Kimbrough(above, note 1), p. 17,note 1. 6. Walterde la Mare,"The Lessonof the Masters," originally published in the TimesLiterary Supplement, May 13, 1915; cited in Kimbrough (above, note 1), p. 177. 7. VaidKrishna, Technique in the Tales of Henry James (Cambridge: Harvard 76

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions UniversityPress, 1964), p. 272, note 18; HenryJames: Stories of the Super- natural,ed. Leon Edel (New York: Taplinger PublishingCompany, 1970), p. 433. 8. Edna Kenton, "Henry James to the RuminantReader: The Turn of the Screw," The Arts,6 (November, 1924), 245-55;reprinted in Willen (above, note 1), pp. 102-14. 9. The only littleboy in Jane's care in Bronte'sstory is the son she has by Rochester(chap. 38). However, he is born at theend of novel and does not reallyfunction in the tale. 10. I followthe editionof JaneEyre withan afterwordby ArthurZeiger (New York: New American Library,n. d.). References to this edition will be indicated parenthetically(by chapternumber) in the body of the paper. 11. For James'saccount of Benson's anecdote, see The Notebooks of Henry James,ed. F. O. Matthiessenand KennethB. Murdock (New York:George Braziller,Inc., 1955), pp. 178-79.Benson's sons' reactionto James'saccount is discussed in RobertLee W'olff,"The Genesisof 'The Turnof theScrew,'" AmericanLiterature, 13 (March, 1941), 1-8. 12. Griffiths'painting is reproduced in Wolff'sarticle in AmericanLiterature (above, note 11). 13. Cargill (above, note 5) pp. 244 ff.; Francis X. Roellinger,Jr., "Psychical Research and 'The Turn of the Screw,"' AmericanLiterature, 20 (January, 1949), 401-12. 14. Cargill (above, note 5), p. 248. 15. MurielG. Shine'spoint is well takenthat the governess in James's tale is quite young:". .. she is a notable,if heightened, portrait of an adolescent,"and, I would argue,as such she is particularlyreceptive to thetypes of role models she would encounterin her reading. Shine, The FictionalChildren of Henry James (Chapel Hill: The Universityof NorthCarolina Press,1969), p. 132. 16. Kenton(above, note8); Edmund Wilson,"The Ambiguityof HenryJames," in The Triple Thinkers(New York: Harcourt,Brace and Company, 1938). 17. Robert Heilman, "'The Turn of the Screw' as Poem," The Universityof Kansas City Review, 14 (Summer, 1948), 277-89;reprinted in Kimbrough (above, note 1), pp. 214-28. 18. Cargill (above, note 5), p. 244. 19. See, forexample, Edmund W'ilson(above, note 16): "One day whenhis face has been vividlyin her mind, she comes out in sightof thehouse and sees the figureof a man on the tower .. ." (123). 20. It may be noted in passing thatMiles bears certainresemblances to John Reed, Jane's cousin in lane Eyre: Johntypically calls his mother"old girl" (chap. 2), muchas Miles addressesthe governess rather precociously as "my dear" (249). Likewise, both boys are dismissedfrom school (JE, chap. 10; TS, 165) and both die young-although John Reed apparentlycommits suicide (chap. 21). Althoughthe similaritiesexist, I do not thinkit would prove particularlyfruitful to pursue the matterany furtherthan to make note of them. 21. As Cargill writesof James and Shorter,"Since his editorwas new to him, what would have been morenatural to Jamesthan to read thebiography ... of the Brontesisters in orderto post himselfon Shorter'staste?" As a matter of fact,there is no questionwhatsoever that James read Shorter'sbiography, forhe mentionsit at the end of an articledatelined "London. January15, 1897" in Harper's Weekly,41 (February 6, 1897), 134-35.James's positive reactionto the biographywas temperedby the factthat he apparentlydid notthink Shorter had consideredsufficiently the unfortunate situation of the Brontes:their personal unhappiness "was themaking of theirfame" (135)- 77

This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:06:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions inother words, the public tended to blur the distinctions between the reality of theBrontes and thefiction they created. I maynote in passing that Cargill points out the common references in jane Eyreand "The Turnof theScrew" to (l)sunk fencesand (2)the David/Saulallusion (p. 243,note 24). However,Cargill does not pursue the implicationsof theseshared elements. 22. Notebooks(above, note 11), p. 178. 23. HenryJames, Washington Square, ed. GeraldWillen (New York:Thomas Y. CrowellCompany, 1970), p. 143.

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