In one section, the Governess actually mentions in an internal monologue "relatives living in the attic," a possible allusion to Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre." In addition, the pair of perfect orphan children in play could serve as a subtle reminder of Pip and Estella in Dickens' "Great Expectations." Nonetheless, James seems to know intrinsically that the familiarity of the surroundings to the characters and the story to readers will make the discoveries and events truly memorable. James' horror is not even of the potboiling variety, if anything it is a reappropriation of Victorian tropes. These are not the cliffhangers of film serials or adventure stories (ready to replay to start the next episode of say “Doctor Who,”) these are designed to allow the story to live on in your thoughts. In his most skillful style choice, the once-serialized (with illustrations) chapters tend to end with a small revelation. The help around the manse is caring enough but live in hiding. The two children Miles and Flora are almost too good to be true. So it is fitting that James feeds you so many details and expects you to take them in. It is easy to feel her being dazzled (her verbiage) to the point of distraction.ĭistraction, as we know, is a common practice among magicians. As you begin to hear the actual tale from the standpoint of the Governess, the idyllic landscape and the grandeur of the house in Essex take on a life of their own. When you watch the Gore Vidal adaptation from the Sixties or the Dan Curtis version from 1974, this portion is removed and you are deposited into the story in medias res. Opening with a lengthy prologue that establishes the story’s voice (not the narrator,) James provides a framework to guide you through the times themselves. Two years later, James moved to the English city of Rye and accepted a contract from Collier’s for his own twelve-part ghost story. However, James became fascinated with the proverbial “ghost story” especially its fascination with ambiguous details and capture of claustrophobia. Now whether this was figurative or realistic remains to be proven. Lonely and feeling his career slipping away, James wrote a friend in October 1895, “I see ghosts everywhere.” His dear friend Robert Louis Stevenson followed. ![]() His mother, the diarist Alice James passed away. Then at night, as your tension increases to the point of manifesting a mixture of inseparable fear and dread, it illuminates a path to slowly draw you into its realm of possibility.Īmerican-British author Henry James was suffering from gout and seeing his once sparkling literary reputation lose its luster as the end of the Nineteenth Century neared. It frees you for the daytime hours, watching and observing at a distance like a new pet. It hides in the eyes and reticence of those who know its story, its peril, and its next victim.
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