Seeing the Governess with a Discerning Eye: Psychology and Illusion in "The Turn of the Screw" his novella The Turn of the Screw. Madness, although shunned and often feared by the world, must be attempted to be understood so that the mentally ill can best be helped. Throughout the novella, the reader is confronted with indications of the already, but still deteriorating, mind of the housekeeper. In light of the housekeeper's madness, the reader can understand why she behaved the way she did. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Since the housekeeper is crazy, the reader must recognize that she actually thought she was seeing ghosts. Delusion can be defined as "a peculiar belief or impression that is firmly held despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder" (oxforddictionaries.com), but Webster's New World Dictionary defines it simply as “a false belief, especially a belief that persists at a psychotic level” (“delusion”). The first definition describes the illusion as having the possibility of being true. Therefore, it is called delusion only because it deviates from what is normally accepted. The second definition, however, bluntly defines the illusion as absolutely false. Dictionaries also give different explanations of what sanity or madness might encompass, but in order for the reader to judge the housekeeper's strange actions to be reasonable, the reader must see delusion as a relative concept. Therefore, he must recognize that the housekeeper was mentally ill. Furthermore, it is important to note that once she arrived in Bly, the governess was already delusional, but her physical isolation and her intense desire to be the savior and heroine in her fantasy led her to become even crazier. his treatment of children can be explained by his exaggerated sense of heroism. At just twenty years of age he left his poor but good family to go to the city to earn a living and pursue the excitement of an independent life. She found work with a man who was looking for a housekeeper for his country home to take care of his niece and nephew. He struck her as a gentleman, and was “as gallant and splendid” as he was handsome, rich, and pleasant (James 4). It can be inferred that the governess read a lot of fiction because upon seeing him, in her admiration, she described him as “inevitably” resembling only a character “from a dream or an old novel” (4). She took the job because she simply wanted to feel valued and needed, and she was willing to go to extreme measures to achieve this feeling. He had agreed to live in almost complete solitude, to never contact his uncle regardless of the problem, and to leave behind everything he knew. This decision alone shed light on her pre-existing mental illness because, as Douglas tells it, other women had rejected the position. They felt that the conditions were too prohibitive and “were somehow, simply, afraid” (6). The housekeeper felt that her uncle was giving her the job “as a kind of favor, an obligation that she should undertake with gratitude” (6). The governess cared deeply for the children and was willing to do anything to love and serve them. . Naturally, to fulfill the kind duty bestowed upon her, she would like to protect them from harm. He wanted to prove himself to his uncle, and when he began to suspect that ghosts haunted children, his delusion of heroism increased. When he explicitly stated for.

Topic > Seeing the Governess with a Discerning Eye: Psychology and Illusion in "The Turn of the Screw" his novella The Turn of the Screw. Madness, although shunned and often feared by the world, must be attempted to be understood so that the mentally ill can best be helped. Throughout the novella, the reader is confronted with indications of the already, but still deteriorating, mind of the housekeeper. In light of the housekeeper's madness, the reader can understand why she behaved the way she did. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Since the housekeeper is crazy, the reader must recognize that she actually thought she was seeing ghosts. Delusion can be defined as "a peculiar belief or impression that is firmly held despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder" (oxforddictionaries.com), but Webster's New World Dictionary defines it simply as “a false belief, especially a belief that persists at a psychotic level” (“delusion”). The first definition describes the illusion as having the possibility of being true. Therefore, it is called delusion only because it deviates from what is normally accepted. The second definition, however, bluntly defines the illusion as absolutely false. Dictionaries also give different explanations of what sanity or madness might encompass, but in order for the reader to judge the housekeeper's strange actions to be reasonable, the reader must see delusion as a relative concept. Therefore, he must recognize that the housekeeper was mentally ill. Furthermore, it is important to note that once she arrived in Bly, the governess was already delusional, but her physical isolation and her intense desire to be the savior and heroine in her fantasy led her to become even crazier. his treatment of children can be explained by his exaggerated sense of heroism. At just twenty years of age he left his poor but good family to go to the city to earn a living and pursue the excitement of an independent life. She found work with a man who was looking for a housekeeper for his country home to take care of his niece and nephew. He struck her as a gentleman, and was “as gallant and splendid” as he was handsome, rich, and pleasant (James 4). It can be inferred that the governess read a lot of fiction because upon seeing him, in her admiration, she described him as “inevitably” resembling only a character “from a dream or an old novel” (4). She took the job because she simply wanted to feel valued and needed, and she was willing to go to extreme measures to achieve this feeling. He had agreed to live in almost complete solitude, to never contact his uncle regardless of the problem, and to leave behind everything he knew. This decision alone shed light on her pre-existing mental illness because, as Douglas tells it, other women had rejected the position. They felt that the conditions were too prohibitive and “were somehow, simply, afraid” (6). The housekeeper felt that her uncle was giving her the job “as a kind of favor, an obligation that she should undertake with gratitude” (6). The governess cared deeply for the children and was willing to do anything to love and serve them. . Naturally, to fulfill the kind duty bestowed upon her, she would like to protect them from harm. He wanted to prove himself to his uncle, and when he began to suspect that ghosts haunted children, his delusion of heroism increased. When he explicitly stated for.