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.
