An Old Little Lit Review
- Charlotte Rose Troy
- Apr 17, 2023
- 5 min read
This is proof that I read for my course, and not just for the giggles.
Welcome back to the home of unoriginal thinking. Today, we are going to talk about my MA Thesis. That's a scary word if I ever heard of one. Thesis (shiver). For those of you who still don't know, (where have you been?) my thesis will be a comparative study of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847) and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (1898). I will be focusing on the representation of the antagonistic characters Bertha Mason and Miss Jessel. I would like to define these works by Davison's definition of the Female Gothic as a young woman's journey "and her ambivalent relationship to contemporary domestic ideology, especially in joint institutions of marriage and motherhood" (48). More importantly these two texts, they feature a dark, mysterious female character who appears to be haunting the young governess. In my thesis, I will also be referencing two adaptations of these texts: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (1966) and The Haunting of Bly Manor directed by Mike Flanagan (2020).
My research approaches so far have focused on adaptation theories, the creation of ambiguity, and apparition theories. In my first chapter, I will by referencing adaptation theories in "Beyond Fidelity: The Dialogue of Adaptations" by Robert Stam and A Theory of Adaptation by Linda Hutcheon. As a film theorist, (that's Stam not me) I found Robert Stam's argument about the supposed integrity of adaptations very relevant to my argument. For example, the consistent use of moralistic terminology in reviews of adaptations such as "infidelity, betrayal, deformation, violation, vulgarization, and desecration" (54). This feeling of disloyalty to original versions of texts is very interesting and helps me to further understand the perception of adaptations. They are not viewed as texts in their own right but often as reincarnations of their predecessors. By refusing to see them outside of the rigid world of the original text or film, disappointment is almost inevitable. Similarly to Stam, I will also consider Metz's argument that "we feel the loss of our own phasmatic relation to the novel" (12) through the interpretation of others. Once more, it is being hinted toward the rigid understanding of adaptations. This point links up quite well with the argument made by Hutcheon in her discussion on the intention of texts themselves. While there is still a clear debate over the relevance of the author's intentions, they should not be completely dismissed. By only relying on the text itself, the creative process cannot be fully understood "like why an artist chooses to adapt a work and how it is to be done." (107-8). It is also helpful to consider Edward Said's view that literature is "an order of repetition, not of originality- but an eccentric order of repetition not one of sameness" (12). In general, this confirms the difficulty to say something entirely original within the literature. This further aligns with a later work, in which Hutcheon confirms that "[a]n adaptation is a derivation that is not derivative- a work that is second without being secondary"(9).
Figure 1. Book Cover design by Orset for
A Casebook on Henry James's The Turn of the Screw
edited by Gerald Willen. Crowell, 1960.
Following on from adaptation theories, I will focus on the creation of ambiguity within these texts. In the case of The Turn of the Screw, endless speculation remains about the governess's interactions with Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. Many critics debate whether or not the governess imagines their presence to impress her employer and to depict herself as a guardian of the children (Li 422). Others such as Ward, contest that James lacks certainty as an author in his characterization of his protagonists" (54). However, I would argue that this opinion is quite dismissive of the strengths of Henry James as a writer. It fails to appreciate the way James is able to keep a consistently ambiguous atmosphere that can never be resolved. In my own work, I will be taking a different approach: rather than attempting to demystify The Turn of the Screw and try to give a "correct reading." In my own interaction with ambiguity, I will involve the discussion of Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan who believes ambiguity cannot be resolved due to the unreliability of a narrative voice "we cannot know whether the narrator is reliable or not and whether the events he records are to be taken on trust or to be treated with ironic disbelief" (15). It also does not aid my thesis to even attempt to confirm the true reality of the novella as it does not diminish the purpose of Miss Jessel as a character.
I would also like to discuss ambiguity in relation to racial identity for Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea respectively in my second chapter. A greater element of the alienation of Bertha Mason/Antoinette Cosway is linked to her ambiguous race. Critics such as Burton emphasize the praising of "The Anglo-Saxon Woman" (296). as the ultimate form of femininity. By seeing the perfect form of womanhood in conjunction with whiteness, unveils a further problem for Antoinette. I would propose that this is correctly suggested that Rochester "is determined to resolve Antoinette's ambivalence first into singular tones of English womanhood" (Ciolkowski 342). However, Antoinette is marked as unfit for this role due to her unclear racial identity. I will relate this point to the works of Mardorrossian who sees that Rochester has already "framed her as a madwoman contaminated by the ex-slave blackness" (82). Since it is established that she cannot be a proper English woman, Bush suggests that like slave masters who give "new and often ridiculous names" (24), Rochester reintroduces her as Bertha Mason.
In the third and second chapters I will refer to the role of the Female Gothic within these texts. I would like to refer to Claire Kahane's view of the Gothic as "committing women to an imprisoning biological destiny that denies the autonomy of the self" (59). In the work of Murillo, this would suggest that the use of "ghostly double perhaps provides an escape from this entrapment" (755). Both of these opinions help further illustrate the relevance of the literal and symbolic deaths of Miss Jessel and Bertha Mason. Through death, these women are liberated from the societal constraints of their gender. Each of these texts views death as a renewal of life for the antagonists.
As I am consulting a wide range of theoretical works, I hope my thesis reflects a well-rounded argument. By using these works and interacting with them, I will give a new lens to consider these texts. No pressure I guess.
Until next time,
Stay Unoriginal
Works Cited:
Burton, Antoinette. "The White Women's Burden: British Feminists and the Indian Woman, 1865-1915." Women's Studies International Forum, vol. 13, no. 4, 1990, pp.295-308.
Bush, Barabara. Slave Women in Caribbean Society, 1650-1838. Indiana University Press, 1990.
Ciolkowski, Laura E. "Navigating the Wide Sargasso Sea: Colonial history, English fiction, and British empire. Twentieth Century Literature, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 339-359.
Davison, C.M. 'Haunted House/Haunted Heroine: Female Gothic Closets in "The Yellow Paper."' Women's Studies, vol. 33, no. 1, 2004, pp. 47-75.
Hutcheon, Linda A. A Theory of Adaptation. Taylor and Francis Group, 2012.
Kahane, Claire. "Gothic Mirrors and Feminine Identity." The Centennial Review, vol. 24, no. 1, 1980, pp. 43-64.
Li, Wanlin. 'Ambiguity and Gender Politics of Authorship in Henry James's The Turn of the Screw and "The Ghostly Rental".' Style, vol. 54, no.4, 2020, pp.418-40.
Mardorossian, Carine Melkom. "Double (de)colonization and the feminist criticism of Wide Sargasso Sea." College Literature, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 79-95.
Metz, Christian. The Imaginary Signifier. Indiana University Press, 1977.
Murillo, Cynthia. "The Spirit of Rebellion: The Transformative Power of the Ghostly Double in Gilman, Spofford, and Wharton." Women's Studies, vol. 42, no. 7, pp.755-81.
Rimmon-Kenan, Shlomith. The Concept of Ambiguity, the Examples of James. Chicago University Press, 1977.
Said, Edward W. Beginnings: Intention and method, Columbia University Press, 1985.
Stam, Robert. "Beyond Fidelity: The Dialogics of Adaptation." Film Adaptation, edited by James Naremore. Rutgers, 2000.
Ward, J.A. "The Ambiguities of Henry James". The Sewanee Review, vol. 83, no. 1, 1975, pp. 39-60.
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