[issybird]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I just finished listening to The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (Audible audiobook read by Emma Thompson, Richard Armitage - introduction). It so confused me as to what actually occurred in the story that I immediately followed it with The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (Librivox Audiobook read by Nikolle Doolin). I came to the opinion that . . .

Spoiler:

. . . there were no ghosts. The governess/narrator of the story was mad as a hatter and she ultimately killed her charge, probably by smothering him. I did some digging, and there seems to be a lively debate about all those points: whether she was mad, whether she was responsible for Mile's demise, and whether the ghosts she saw were real. I've picked my side.

I think many must reread this as soon as they're done, to pick up the hints they missed and to help them decide which of the two options prevails and both explanations rooted in sex at that!

I keep changing my mind.

Spoiler:

I go from ghosts to insanity and then back to ghosts; if you're going to accept the notion of the "ghost story," then ghosts have to be a possibility. I'm partially entertained by the way James had his fun with its and partially irritated by the unreliable because nutter theory that has been used to dismiss women for centuries. Maybe both theories are true.