Harold C. GODDARD

Harold C. GODDARD

Goddard's essay is considered the most important criticism before Wilson's famous article. Although his article was not published until 1957, his daughter claims he wrote it in 1920, so he is given the credit for being the first to expound a hallucination theory of the story.

In his interpretation Goddard doesn´t employ psychoanalytic terminology, or refer to psychoanalytic literature, but he makes a thoughtful reading of the text itself, he "reads between the lines" and relies on common sense to make a psychological analysis and discover what the characters thought or how they felt.

Goddard says: "When a young person, especially a young woman, falls in love and circumstances forbid the normal growth and confession of the passion, the emotion, dammed up, overflows in a psychical experience, a daydream, or internal drama which the mind creates in lieu of the thwarted realization in the objective world... “

In his criticism, he tries to explain how the governess gathers incomplete pieces of information (about the children, the former guardians, etc.) and creates a story in which she is the heroine who acts with courage to save the children for the man she loves but cannot possess. The governess’s hallucinations are combined with Mrs. Grose ignorance and superstition, especially in the ambiguous scenes in which the ghosts of Mr. Quint and Ms. Jessel are "identified".

Goddard also points out that, as well as the governess hallucination has got a “creative logic”, James also employs “creative logic" as a strategy to make the story credible to the reader, more credible than most stories of the supernatural because readers, even if not consciously, can perceive the real plot: two children in the care of of an insane woman.

In his own words: " he hypnotizes us into forgetting that it is the governess' version of the story to which we are listening, and lures us, as the governess unconsciously lured Mrs. Grose, into accepting her coloring of the facts for the facts themselves."  James makes readers forget that there are no facts, only the governess’s own assertions, that support the existence of the ghostly visions that are a threat to the children.

Goddard believes the story is “susceptible of various readings”. His essay contains very detailed examples that support the hallucination theory and provides bases for readings which combine psychoanalytic, theological, and sociological considerations. That’s why the essay is one of the most outstanding critical responses to The Turn of the Screw in the period prior to Edmund Wilson's famous essay.

When I first read the story I was “hypnotized” (as Goddard suggested) by Henry James and I bought the “ghost story”. However, I felt something was wrong, I couldn´t understand why the ghosts were a threat to Miles and Flora.  After I read Goddard’s criticism, I agreed with his hallucination theory since he provides several examples to support the non-apparitionist view. What’s more, I realized that I couldn´t see the corruption in the ghosts because they were only in the governess’s mind. In the end,  I felt a bit disappointed by the non-apparitionist view because I’m fond of terror and ghosts stories, but I could see that the true value of the story lies in its ambiguity.