Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung von The Turn of the Screw
Für wen es gedacht ist
For readers who love creeping dread, puzzles of interpretation and close attention to language, and anyone curious about the roots of the modern ghost story.
Worum es in diesem Buch geht
The Turn of the Screw is a short novel by Henry James, first published in 1898 as a serial in a magazine. It is a ghost story, but it is told with such care that readers have argued about it for over a century. James wanted to frighten his audience without showing them too much. He gives you a few strange sights, a narrator who is sure of what she sees, and a great deal of silence around them.
The story begins on Christmas Eve, when a group of friends in an old house trade tales of the supernatural. One guest, Douglas, produces a manuscript written years ago by a young governess. Her account takes us to Bly, a country house in Essex, where she cares for two orphaned children. It gives you a close and unsettling portrait of one mind under pressure. Is she a brave guardian, or is something wrong with how she sees? The first key point is how she comes to Bly at all.
In dieser Zusammenfassung
- 1A young governess accepts an odd conditionFree
- 2Bly seems a paradise with two perfect children
- 3A stranger appears on the tower and at the window
- 4A second ghost and a child who will not say
- 5Love, fear and the pressure to know the truth
- 6What the story is really about and how it is told
Punkt 1 von 6
A young governess accepts an odd condition
The governess in the manuscript is the youngest daughter of a country clergyman. She is twenty years old and has never held a post like this. She answers an advertisement and travels to a grand house in Harley Street in London. There she meets the man who needs her, a wealthy bachelor who is the uncle and guardian of two orphaned children.
He is charming, and she is dazzled by him. He does not want to be bothered with the children. His condition is strict. She must never trouble him, never write to him with problems, and must deal with everything herself. She agrees, partly because she is eager to please him.
This condition shapes everything that follows. The frame story also matters here. We hear her account through Douglas, who reads it aloud, and he says she is dead. Her voice comes to us at second hand, from a page.
Before she leaves, she knows that the children are orphans, and that a previous governess has died. The job feels like a chance to prove herself. Notice how much hope she carries, because hope makes her later alarm all the sharper.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- The governess
- A young clergyman's daughter takes her first post caring for Miles and Flora at Bly.
- Miles
- Flora's charming older brother returns from school and becomes the focus of the governess's anxious attention.
- Flora
- Miles's younger sister lives at Bly, where her apparent innocence wins the governess's affection.
- Mrs. Grose
- Bly's kindly housekeeper becomes the governess's confidante and supplies information about the household's past.
- Peter Quint
- The master's deceased valet is the stranger the governess believes she sees watching Bly and Miles.
- Miss Jessel
- The children's deceased former governess is the woman their new governess believes she sees near the lake.
- Douglas
- A guest at the Christmas gathering introduces the governess's manuscript and reads her account to the company.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 43,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 2 h 55 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary; paperback, hardcover and large print at cost
- LanguagesEnglish and 14 other languages
Questions about The Turn of the Screw
What is The Turn of the Screw about?
It is about a young governess who looks after two orphaned children at a country house called Bly. She begins to see two figures she believes are dead servants and fears for the children's safety.
Are the ghosts in The Turn of the Screw real?
The book supports two readings. In one, the ghosts are real and threaten the children. In the other, they come from the governess's troubled mind. James keeps both possible, and readers still argue about it.
What does the title The Turn of the Screw mean?
It refers to tightening pressure, like turning a screw one more time. The story adds tension in small steps, and a line in the opening frame jokes about giving a ghost tale another turn with children.
Is The Turn of the Screw hard to read?
The plot is simple, so most readers settle into the rhythm within a few pages.
When was The Turn of the Screw written?
Henry James published it in 1898, first as a magazine serial. It uses the Victorian fashion for Christmas ghost tales.