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... alk in the afternoon whenever she had her own time. She longed to see the master in her walk. She claimed to see some man that she first thought to be the master on the top of the tower while taking a stroll outside one afternoon: One of the thoughts that, as I dont in the least shrink now from noting, used to be with me in these wanderings was that it would be as charming as a charming story suddenly to meet some one KI only asked that he should know; and the only way to be sure he knew would be to see it, and the kind light of it, in his handsome face (James 15). The governess love for the master was passionate but it was also an unsolved love.
This may have had an effect on her state of mind, leading her to some kind of psychical disorder. Tuominen suggests that sleep provides a restorative process. Though not apparently pointed out, it is not too difficult for the readers to perceive that the governess was suffering from a serious problem of insomnia, and thus causing her mental disorder and hallucinations. Before proceeding with the governess, we will refer to Kellerman for a definition of hallucination. The definition of hallucination, generally, is the seeing of something that is not there; for example, severely disturbed patients in mental hospitals who are diagnosed as having acute schizophrenia or other diagnoses of psychosis may, from time to time, report hearing voices speaking to them directly when, in reality, they may have been quite alone. Others may see some apparition such as the figure of a person looming in the distance when no such person is present (56).
The governess from the beginning to the end of the story was the only person who asserted that she saw the apparitions. Taking what she went through after arriving at Bly into consideration, the apparitions could be considered as the product of psychical disorder that caused her insomnia. Other research has been done with regard to sleep deprivation. Scientists have found volunteers to stay awake for over four successive days. After the early morning hours of the third nightKEvidence that the subject experience illusion, incorrect perception of existing objects, and hallucinations, perception of non-existent objects, is observed at this point. Participants report that the surfaces of objects begin to waver or that cobwebs appear on the floor.
Often times patients will see faces come and go or experience auditory illusions, like that the sound of running water is actually people talkingKAfter fourth day of total sleep deprivation, researchers observe delusions in addition to illusion and hallucinations. Participants often show signs of paranoia and suspicion, indicating their belief that events and conversations are going on behind their backs that they are not being told about. They may experience heightened suggestibility, meaning that they are more likely to believe things that they would be less credulous about in a non-sleep deprived state. Symptoms of depersonalization may manifest themselves after the fourth day of deprivation. (Smith) Kellerman also mentioned in Sleep Disorders that sleep deprivation will even produce bizarre psychotic-like behavior.
Auditory and visual hallucinations are effects frequently observed in persons who volunteer to participate in sleep-deprivation studies requiring subjects to stay awake for several days (121). There are many problems concerning what actually happened to the governess when she claimed to see the ghosts. For example, on the night when Miles and Flora plotted together to trick the governess, there was no way for the governess standing in between them in altitude to see Peter Quint talking to Miles on the top of the house. The same problem occurred to the occasion when the governess listened to Miles playing the piano in the house, she could not possibly sense that Flora was with Miss Jessel at the lake. She insisted on knowing something she did not actually see, which were only her hallucinations that could not conceivably be seen.
Another illustration of her illusion could be the case in which she told Mrs. Grose that she talked to Miss Jessel but in fact she did not. Neither Peter Quint nor Miss Jessel talked to her. She imagined seeing Miss Jessel sitting at her desk and communicating with her.
Knowing that Miss Jessel and Peter Quint had evil intention for the children, if she in truth was able to communicate with them, she would have done something else more than waiting for them to get close to the children. She seemed to be fond of seeing the apparitions as she stayed up all night, wandering around the house searching for Quint and Miss Jessel. Others reaction to the governess can serve as a proof to her madness as well. What Miles actually did at school or with Peter Quint was unknown but Miles decided not to tell anything about his school or Peter Quint for the fear that the governess would get upset.
He was only a child of ten years old and it was very natural for him to want to leave the new governess a good impression. Nevertheless, the governess gradually went into a state of madness and Miles could tell that she was afraid of something so he planned the trick with Flora on the governess, trying to prove to her that he could be holding some kind of power and independence while the governess could be weak. The governess role in the household was tested and she may well have felt frustrated. Flora and Miles sensed the governess unusual attentive watching over them. They hoped for some time to be with themselves but the governess thought of their wish to be as wanting more time to spend with Quint and Miss Jessel.
Some people might argue that Mrs. Grose seemed to acknowledge the existence of the apparitions seen only by the governess. We know that Mrs. Grose was an uneducated woman, there is the danger that she will be too easily led to believe the assertions of an educated gentlewoman placed over her (Heller 57). Meanwhile, we cannot neglect the possibility that Mrs. Grose echoed with the governess only because the governess had the supreme authority given by the master.
Being at a lower social rank, Mrs. Grose cannot be the proof of the reliability of the governess. The issue whether the governess was insane or not may never be solved. Not only because critics seem to be able to find as much evidence as possible to prove their arguments but also, the reliability of the account of the governess colors the whole story with great ambiguity. We are not certain of the state of mind of the governess when she wrote down the story and when she related the story to Douglas. However, as we closely examine the state of mind of the governess, her reliability does appear to be a question mark to us.
Beidler provided two readings of The Turn of the Screw and in the second one he declared: the governess saw only what she wanted to see (Beidler 9). She was so exhausted from her prolonged insomnia that she envisioned a story with ghosts for herself to fulfill her growth as a governess.
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Research essay sample on State Of Mind Miss Jessel
