Topic > The real plot vs. The adaptation of The Turn of the Screw

Henry James' 1898 novel The Turn of the Screw is renowned for its ambiguity and its effectiveness as a psychological thriller. As a result, it has been adapted into many films, including one of the same name directed by Tim Fywell in 2009. This adaptation based on the original text promotes the idea of ​​supernaturalism while trivializing the unique plot, thus making it less engaging for an audience. public compared to James's text. Many events, values ​​and themes present in both forms are articulated in different ways and at various levels. These are shown in many aspects, including the historical period, the characterization of the children and the ambiguity of the ghosts, which contribute to creating an exciting and complex story, at least as regards the 1898 text. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the film adaptation, the historical era of The Turn of the Screw was transposed to a time period twenty years later. This influenced the prominence of crucial themes, including sexual repression, within the novel. As described by James in Victorian England, society at the time was largely repressive towards women and condemned the idea of ​​sexual interaction. The statement "It was a pleasure...quiet and justified...I was giving pleasure...to the person to whose pressure I had responded" (29-30) articulates the Governess's in-depth speculation about her future interrelationship with that of the Master . She is fascinated by him due to his lack of contact with men other than family members and is a victim of hormonal curiosity. Since the film was set during the Edwardian reign, society was more enlightened and individuals were given freedom, allowing them to express their sexual emotions. This was shown in one particular scene where Mrs. Grose and the governess discuss feeling similar emotions about being "taken away" to Whitmore Street with the Master. At ease, these women make no attempt to disguise their reactions or downplay their greatness. This particular modification diminishes the tyranny of repression, thus losing a strong impact on the public. The film adaptation of The Turn of the Screw also made major changes to the characterization of the children, Flora and Miles. In the novel Flora is 8 years old and is described with purely physical observations as unimaginably beautiful and angelic. Miles is a precocious 10-year-old and especially disconcerting to the governess. The description of “my little girl…the vision of whose angelic beauty probably had more to do with restlessness than anything else…” prefigures the Governess's unhealthy infatuation with children. James used this specific description to remind the reader who the narrator of the story actually is and alludes to the possibility of events being distorted due to personal perspective. As a result, all the opinions we receive are from the governess's point of view, conveying the idea that the children are more likable characters in the novel than in the film. Reminiscent of James' use of nested narration, the film's perspective is that of the psychiatric doctor. who interprets Bly's incidents from the housekeeper's account of the events. The children are older with more talkative roles and are portrayed as hostile, unsympathetic and corrupt characters, as if they have alternative agendas. Although Flora is angelic as described in the novel, she is shown with another side of her character and therefore does not seem as naive or innocent. In the case of Flora picking flowers with another person and the housekeeper assuming it was Mrs. Grose, she gets itshown a contrastingly cunning side of Flora. Essentially, this side of her character may have existed in the novel but was not delineated by the Governess. This could be the result of Flora not showing the governess an alter ego option or her perception of the children's physical appearance masking all other aspects of them. Miles also plays a more dominant role and mirrors his uncle's cunning nature. After arriving at Bly, he puts his feet up and expects the maids to take care of him. This allows the audience to see him with greater authority, as if he were the “master” of the house. While diminishing the original events of the text, this adaptation places the film within a horror-based genre, promoting the transformation of children into characters necessary to increase the suspense and encourage the continuation of the modified story. The novel The Turn of the Screw and its film adaptation both present the idea that ghosts are real rather than existing as figments of the Governess's imagination. James constructs the novel in a way that potentially supports both arguments, making much of his work somewhat ambiguous. Indeed, the governess has a tendency to discover Quint or Miss Jessel when she is distressed or lonely while reflecting on Mrs. Grose's physical descriptions and opinions. This factor, along with the emotional impact of sexual repression and isolation in Bly, contributes to the idea of ​​the Governess's downward mental spiral. Although partially set in an asylum, the film upholds the reality of the existence of ghosts. The statement “I believe in the other” (Anne, Governess) introduces the theme of horror and allows the audience to be persuaded towards the idea of ​​supernatural entities. Since this quote occurs at the beginning of the film, this idea is contrasted with the authorities doubting the housekeeper to the extent of the arrest. In further contrast to the original, Mrs. Grose remains separated from planting the seed in the housekeeper's mind thanks to Carla's introduction. This helps the latter perspective as it follows a scene where Miss Jessel appears to the housekeeper to "save" her while Flora was standing on the windowsill. Simultaneously removing their ambiguity, this tactic also alludes to ghosts physically interacting with real-world objects. Carla commits suicide immediately after allowing the audience to contemplate how the apparition of the deceased physically communicated to the Governess events that had not yet occurred. Many aspects of James's original The Turn of the Screw have been heavily changed in the modern film adaptation. This is the result of many factors, including time constraints, film-specific techniques (sound, visual cues, leif motifs, and camera angles), and the necessary alterations in narrative structure to edit a novel that (necessarily) features only a storyteller. and literary devices. When watching a movie, a different section of the brain is used to understand its meaning. In the Governess's delusions throughout the book, the text is constructed in such a way that individuals must view them, all with different perceptions. Yet the film emphatically displays ghost scenes that incorporate the meaning into repetition to easily convey the meaning. This tactic prevents audience members from missing crucial subplots and, consequently, losing interest. Furthermore, the narrative structure was transformed into voyeuristic narration to allow the audience to remain engaged and interested. If the film were narrated by the Housekeeper, most of her internal monologue would be unsatisfactory due to the difficulty of showing the.