British Literary Movements affecting the Turning of the Screw
by Simone Oliver
Henry James’s novel The Turn of the Screw shares a lot of literary practices with other novels of the time. Aside from having characters that function purely as Gothic tropes, it also utilizes the newly defined principles of the ghost story. Possibly the most important societal influence on his story is the role of Romanticism in the thought of James’s main character. Because James’s novel was written after the beginning of both Romanticism and the Gothic, and in the early years of the Detective novel the influences of these genres are easy to spot.
Romanticism evolved simultaneously with Gothicism, although it began earlier. Both movements relied heavily on psychological explanations, the common sense of the main character, and the inferential sublime. Both movements included elements from the other. Romanticism first appeared in the late eighteenth century in Britain and Germany where it gained a reputation as the emotional voice of the people. Owing its birth to the resurgence of interest in the German character, Romanticism originally followed the idealistic and simple lines common to folk tales. The societally scandalous was admired, although not approved of, and William Shakespeare enjoyed his first revival. Exoticism and irrational emotions became more common, and the common was seen to be extraordinary. It was one of the first movements to recognize the ‘sublime’ as an enviable part of common life.
In 1765, the English gothic tradition began, with The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story, by Horace Wadpole. Exemplified by the use of remote locations and supernatural themes, English Gothic was a surprisingly narrow genre, with the majority of works following the same story arc and featuring shallow characterizations. The first popular Gothic writer was Ann Radcliffe, generally described as a ’sedate, conventional matron’ (academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu), whose use of suspense also came to define the genre.
Many scholars split English Gothic into the ‘horror gothic’ and the ‘terror gothic’. The difference between the two is generally quite small, namely the gender of the author, although it was a dividing issue at the time. Matthew Lewis came to embody ‘horror Gothic’, as she embodied ‘terror’. Terror was thought to be the more culturally acceptable of the two, and did not depict shocking acts. It was also thought to be the female side of the gothic movement, with horror as its male counterpart. His novels include some of the most taboo acts of humanity, ranging from rape to murder. Much like today’s pulp fiction, Lewis’s novel was thought to have no substance, instead relying on the audiences’ preference for the sensational. Radcliffe defended this practice, stating that ‘Terror and horror are so far opposite, that the first expands the soul, and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life; the other contracts, freezes, and nearly annihilates them.’ (On the Supernatural in Poetry, Radcliffe) Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein further defined the genre, by providing the basis of the ‘archetypal Monster’ (academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu). The Gothic movement is generally believed to have ended in the first quarter of the nineteenth century with the publication of Charles Maturin’s Melmoth the Warrior, but many popular novels in the style have been published through today.
Edgar Allan Poe dramatically changed the landscape of the Gothic novel. His works reside in the intersection between science fiction, detective fiction, and the Gothic. Poe wrote many of the defining pieces of all of the previously mentioned genres, and contributed greatly to their evolution. Ghost stories changed from factual accounts to psychological thrillers, introducing a sense of suspense to the reader. This could be seen in societies ideals at the time, as traditional spiritualism grew more popular, and Christianity grew less so. Readers of the time were more impacted by science, and had to be convinced of the existence of ghosts prior to the story’s full development. Ghosts also began to function as characters in their own rights, with their own motivations and histories. This reflected the growing importance of the individual and the individuals originality in society.
Edgar Allan Poe also helped to define Detective fiction. Other notable authors of the genre during the time period include Charles Dickens, Sir Author Conan Doyle, and Agatha Christie. The earliest story of the genre is The Murders in the Rue Morgue, written by Poe, and was published in 1841. It is commonly believed that societal desires for ‘social and epistemological order) fuelled the popularity of this genre. (http://www.crimeculture.com/Contents/VictorianCrime.html)The birth of the industrial revolution and the resulting urbanization led to growing fears of crime. Authors frequently competed for recognition, and their feuds were written into the storylines of their stories, notably in the case of Sir Author Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe. Charles Dickens’ Bleak House was the first British Detective story, and was published in 1852. The genre never died out; instead it evolved into our current mystery novels.
Works Cited
"A Brief Historical Overview." The Gothic Experience. N.p., 26 Aug. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/gothic/history.html>.
Bryans, Paul . "Romanticism.” Washington State University - Pullman, Washington . N.p., 11 Mar. 1998. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/romanticism.html>.
Pittard, Christopher. "Crimeculture."Crimeculture. University of Newcastle, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://www.crimeculture.com/Contents/VictorianCrime.html>.
"The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Search eText, Read Online, Study, Discuss." The Literature Network: Online classic literature, poems, and quotes. Essays & Summaries. Jalic, Inc., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://www.online-literature.com/henry_james/turn_screw/>.
Towery, R. D. "detective_novel." University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://www.unc.edu/~rdtowery/detective
Romanticism evolved simultaneously with Gothicism, although it began earlier. Both movements relied heavily on psychological explanations, the common sense of the main character, and the inferential sublime. Both movements included elements from the other. Romanticism first appeared in the late eighteenth century in Britain and Germany where it gained a reputation as the emotional voice of the people. Owing its birth to the resurgence of interest in the German character, Romanticism originally followed the idealistic and simple lines common to folk tales. The societally scandalous was admired, although not approved of, and William Shakespeare enjoyed his first revival. Exoticism and irrational emotions became more common, and the common was seen to be extraordinary. It was one of the first movements to recognize the ‘sublime’ as an enviable part of common life.
In 1765, the English gothic tradition began, with The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story, by Horace Wadpole. Exemplified by the use of remote locations and supernatural themes, English Gothic was a surprisingly narrow genre, with the majority of works following the same story arc and featuring shallow characterizations. The first popular Gothic writer was Ann Radcliffe, generally described as a ’sedate, conventional matron’ (academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu), whose use of suspense also came to define the genre.
Many scholars split English Gothic into the ‘horror gothic’ and the ‘terror gothic’. The difference between the two is generally quite small, namely the gender of the author, although it was a dividing issue at the time. Matthew Lewis came to embody ‘horror Gothic’, as she embodied ‘terror’. Terror was thought to be the more culturally acceptable of the two, and did not depict shocking acts. It was also thought to be the female side of the gothic movement, with horror as its male counterpart. His novels include some of the most taboo acts of humanity, ranging from rape to murder. Much like today’s pulp fiction, Lewis’s novel was thought to have no substance, instead relying on the audiences’ preference for the sensational. Radcliffe defended this practice, stating that ‘Terror and horror are so far opposite, that the first expands the soul, and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life; the other contracts, freezes, and nearly annihilates them.’ (On the Supernatural in Poetry, Radcliffe) Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein further defined the genre, by providing the basis of the ‘archetypal Monster’ (academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu). The Gothic movement is generally believed to have ended in the first quarter of the nineteenth century with the publication of Charles Maturin’s Melmoth the Warrior, but many popular novels in the style have been published through today.
Edgar Allan Poe dramatically changed the landscape of the Gothic novel. His works reside in the intersection between science fiction, detective fiction, and the Gothic. Poe wrote many of the defining pieces of all of the previously mentioned genres, and contributed greatly to their evolution. Ghost stories changed from factual accounts to psychological thrillers, introducing a sense of suspense to the reader. This could be seen in societies ideals at the time, as traditional spiritualism grew more popular, and Christianity grew less so. Readers of the time were more impacted by science, and had to be convinced of the existence of ghosts prior to the story’s full development. Ghosts also began to function as characters in their own rights, with their own motivations and histories. This reflected the growing importance of the individual and the individuals originality in society.
Edgar Allan Poe also helped to define Detective fiction. Other notable authors of the genre during the time period include Charles Dickens, Sir Author Conan Doyle, and Agatha Christie. The earliest story of the genre is The Murders in the Rue Morgue, written by Poe, and was published in 1841. It is commonly believed that societal desires for ‘social and epistemological order) fuelled the popularity of this genre. (http://www.crimeculture.com/Contents/VictorianCrime.html)The birth of the industrial revolution and the resulting urbanization led to growing fears of crime. Authors frequently competed for recognition, and their feuds were written into the storylines of their stories, notably in the case of Sir Author Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe. Charles Dickens’ Bleak House was the first British Detective story, and was published in 1852. The genre never died out; instead it evolved into our current mystery novels.
Works Cited
"A Brief Historical Overview." The Gothic Experience. N.p., 26 Aug. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/gothic/history.html>.
Bryans, Paul . "Romanticism.” Washington State University - Pullman, Washington . N.p., 11 Mar. 1998. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/romanticism.html>.
Pittard, Christopher. "Crimeculture."Crimeculture. University of Newcastle, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://www.crimeculture.com/Contents/VictorianCrime.html>.
"The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Search eText, Read Online, Study, Discuss." The Literature Network: Online classic literature, poems, and quotes. Essays & Summaries. Jalic, Inc., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://www.online-literature.com/henry_james/turn_screw/>.
Towery, R. D. "detective_novel." University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://www.unc.edu/~rdtowery/detective
