Turn of the Screw Notes

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French for end of the century, often characteristic for the close of the 19th century.

The art and literature of this type often features theme of cynicism and pessimism, and has been described to have a sophisticated despair.

It represents a time of breakdown of class, but also a time for hope of a new beginning.

The novel is the authors account of Douglas's reading of the Governess's manuscript of her tale., both of whom are now deceased. This heightens the ambiguity of the facts and details within the story as we stray further from the actual events themselves.

Douglas comes to know the governess as she was his sisters governess - is she truly was so mad and out of control of her mental state then she would not have continued to be the governess of many other children.

'she stuck me as awfully clever and nice.'

Instability

'I remember the whole beginning as a series of flights and drops.'

'I slept little that night.'

'I was strangle at the helm'

'My counselor cold n't read!'

'The more I go over it the more i see in it, and the more i see in it the more I fear. I don't know what I don't see, what I don't fear!'

'I don't save or sheild them! It's far worse than I dreamed. They're lost!'

"As she stood there, holding tight to our, her incomparable childish beauty had suddenly failed, had quite vanished...she was hideously hard; she had turned common and almost ugly"

Fin-de-siecle

Prologue

I

II

VI