Themes and Motifs in the novella

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Themes in context: Sexual innocence and corruptibilty
The governess herself is presented as a young, pretty and inexperienced character. Having only recently left her childhood home to seek her position at Bly, she is flighty, naive and prone to sexual desire. she is equally as pretty and young as MJ
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Challenging masculine dominance: Peter Quint
A leering, roguish predator, who we discover to have died from a drunken fall. He is a traditional romanticised figure. The governess who stands as a symbol of conservation of traditional values.
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Madness and Sanity: different interpretations
Should we assume that the story is simply an account of one woman's struggle to protect her young wards from evil apparitions. Are the ghosts real? Or is the governess insane - psychological Freud Theory?
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Isolation and transference
The house at Bly is sufficiently isolated from surrounding towns and villages as to make any human relationship outside of the house's servants virtually impossible. The house and it's apparently dark history, and ambiguous circumstances
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Interpreting the Governess' fears
The governess' fears are numerou. She seeks to protect/raise the children, under the deluded impression she needs to win the masters heart. She fears her own failure and therfore the master will reject her. She has irrational fears about herself.
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The role of the apparitions: First interpretation
Firstly, if we are to percieve that the governess is perfectly sane and simply under pressure of her great responsibilty, then we should also view the apparitions themselves as real. The sheer flawlessness of the angelic children heightens her fears.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

A leering, roguish predator, who we discover to have died from a drunken fall. He is a traditional romanticised figure. The governess who stands as a symbol of conservation of traditional values.

Back

Challenging masculine dominance: Peter Quint

Card 3

Front

Should we assume that the story is simply an account of one woman's struggle to protect her young wards from evil apparitions. Are the ghosts real? Or is the governess insane - psychological Freud Theory?

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

The house at Bly is sufficiently isolated from surrounding towns and villages as to make any human relationship outside of the house's servants virtually impossible. The house and it's apparently dark history, and ambiguous circumstances

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

The governess' fears are numerou. She seeks to protect/raise the children, under the deluded impression she needs to win the masters heart. She fears her own failure and therfore the master will reject her. She has irrational fears about herself.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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