The Turn of the Screw, Chapter 3 summary

What happens

1. The governess meets Miles at the inn and finds his beauty and apparent innocence incompatible with the accusation against him.
2. She decides not to answer the letter, contact his uncle, or question Miles, and Mrs. Grose promises support.
3. During the summer weeks, the governess enjoys the children, her freedom, and solitary evening walks around the grounds.
4. While imagining an approving encounter with her employer, she sees a man standing on a tower and briefly mistakes him for someone expected.
5. She realizes the man is unknown to her; he watches her, moves between the tower’s corners, and turns away.

In this chapter

What to notice

The sentence separates her wish for an approving encounter from the unfamiliar figure she actually sees. Recognition gives way to uncertainty.

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