The Turn of the Screw by Henry James Summary and Analysis
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James Summary and Analysis Prologue In a cozy, firelit setting, a group of companions on Christmas Eve in a rural English manor engage in the traditional custom of sharing ghost stories. When a person named Griffin recounts an encounter involving a young boy and a ghostly figure, his associate, Douglas, a few evenings later, remarks on how the child's age amplifies the terror, suggesting a story of far greater "dreadfulness" concerning two children. This story, he reveals, is contained within a manuscript, a genuine account written by his late sister's governess, a woman he befriended during his university holidays. This document had been locked away for two decades following her passing, and kept secret for forty years. The narrative's scribe quickly surmises that the governess's reticence stemmed from a romantic attachment, a suspicion Douglas neither confirms nor denies, promising further revelation upon the manuscript's a...