The Turn of the Screw · Chapter
Chapter III explained
The governess describes her initial enchantment with Miles, whom she finds impossibly beautiful and innocent, and her decision to ignore the letter about his expulsion.
What happens
The governess describes her initial enchantment with Miles, whom she finds impossibly beautiful and innocent, and her decision to ignore the letter about his expulsion. She forms a pact with Mrs. Grose to see the matter out. Later, during her solitary evening walks, she sees a mysterious man on the tower—a figure she initially mistakes for someone else but realizes is a stranger—who fixes her with a long, unsettling stare before moving away.
Themes in this chapter
Innocence and Corruption
The governess perceives Miles as possessing a 'sweetness of innocence' and a 'divine' purity, yet she is haunted by the 'horrible letter' that suggests corruption.
Appearance vs. Reality
The governess's initial vision of a 'charming story' meeting someone turns into a shocking encounter with a stranger on the tower, challenging her perception of reality.
The Supernatural and Psychological Terror
The appearance of the mysterious figure on the tower, described with a 'shock much greater than any vision had allowed for,' introduces an element of psychological terror.
Isolation and Entrapment
The governess feels 'off my guard' and describes the situation as a 'trap' to her imagination, while the solitary encounter on the tower underscores her isolation.
Characters to notice
- The Governess
Describes her infatuation with Miles and her decision to ignore the letter; later, during her evening walk, she sees a mysterious man on the tower.
- Miles
Arrives at Bly; the governess is struck by his beauty and innocence, and she decides to ignore the letter about his expulsion.
- Mrs. Grose
Shares a private word with the governess about the letter; they embrace and vow to see the matter out together.
- Flora
Mentioned as having been seen by the governess with the same freshness and purity as Miles; earlier she had led the governess to the tower.
- Peter Quint
The mysterious man on the tower is not yet identified as Quint, but the governess notes he is a stranger, not anyone she has seen before.
- The Master
Referenced as the person to whose pressure the governess responded; she hopes he will approve of her conduct.
Key passages
“He was incredibly beautiful, and Mrs. Grose had put her finger on it: everything but a sort of passion of tenderness for him was swept away by his presence.”
Miles was so beautiful that any thought except a deep affection for him vanished from the governess's mind.
The governess's immediate emotional response to Miles's appearance.
“I was lifted aloft on a great wave of infatuation and pity.”
The governess felt carried away by a powerful mix of adoration and compassion.
Describes her emotional state as she decides to protect Miles.
“The change was actually like the spring of a beast.”
The sudden shift in atmosphere felt like a wild animal pouncing.
Foreshadows the disturbing encounter on the tower.
“What arrested me on the spot—and with a shock much greater than any vision had allowed for—was the sense that my imagination had, in a flash, turned real.”
The governess was stopped cold by the realization that her daydream had suddenly become a terrifying reality.
The moment she sees the figure on the tower.
