The Turn of the Screw by Henry James can be interpreted in many different ways. James, in writing his story, seemed to be purposely leaving the actual interpretation of the story up to the reader. Rather than having one true explanation for the strange happenings in his novella, he provokes thought and wonder through a lack of exact information. After looking at many of these ways of interpretation I have decided upon one that seems to be the most reasonable. The major question that seems to be in debate with this story is whether or not the ghosts really existed, or if they were merely figments of the governess" imagination. The sanity of the governess is extremely questioned here. The most reasonable conclusion that one can draw from this story is that the governess comes to Bly sane, but very vulnerable and that the ghosts really do exist and they drive the governess to the insane state she is in at the end of the story. Many readers also question whether or not the children at Bly can see these ghosts. It is clear after reading the novella that Flora could see them and Miles could not. This can be seen in many events within the story. The idea of the ghosts of the past coming back to haunt is not a new one, but this story gives this same idea a new twist. This twist similarly relates to that in the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison. .
The governess, upon her arrival at Bly, indeed seems sane. She, as far as the reader knows, has a solid background. It would be far fetched to think that the images the governess is seeing are of her own mind due to the fact that she described both Peter Quint and Ms. Jessel in great detail and accurately. Right after she sees the image of Peter Quint outside of the window, she describes almost everything about him perfectly; including is red hair, lack of hat, borrowed clothing, and intense eyes. Another reason to believe that the governess is not imagining these people is the fact that Flora seemed to see Ms.