Bcl 5 - The Turn Of The Screw

Henry James

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Henry James

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Retold by Maud Jack so n Activities by Ju stin Rainey

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Editor: Richard Elliott Design and art direction: Nadia Maestri Computer graphics: Maura Santini, Simona Corniola Illustrations: Anna and Elena Balbusso Picture research: Laura Lagomarsino

© 2004

Black Cat Publishing, an imprint of Cideb Editrice, Genoa, Canterbury

First edition: April 2004

Picture credits: By courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London: 5; Phillips, The International Fine Art Auctioneers, UK / Bridgeman Art Library: 7; © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery / Bridgeman Art Library: 43; New York Historical Society, New York, USA / Bridgeman Art Library: 85.

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D ossiers Governesses and upper-class children

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Puritanism

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IN T E R N E T FILM P R O J E C T TH E IN N O C E N T S

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IN T E R N E T PR O JE C T

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8. 15. 25. 33. 4 0 . 5 4 . 6 2 . 7 0 . 8 2 , 8 8 , 9 6 , 1 0 0 , 1 0 8 , 122 __________________________ 125

F C E

F irst C e r t if ic a te in English e x a m i n a t i o n - s t y le e x e r c i s e s

T: grades 6-7 T r i n i t y - s t y l e e x e r c i s e s ( G r a d e s 6 - 7 ) fit

This s t o r y is re co rd e d in full. T hese sym bols indicate th e beginning and end o f th e e x t r a c t s linked to th e listening activities

H en ry Jam es (1 9 1 3 ) by Jo h n Sin g er S arg en t.

Introduction SOenry James was born in 1843 in New York City. His family was prosperous and cultured. They often travelled to Europe and lived there for long periods while Henry was growing up. His father was a learned 1 New England moralist whose Puritan 2 beliefs had a strong q e£>! ( j <

influence on his children. Henry was educated by private tutors until he was twelve and then went to schools in Boulogne, Paris, Geneva, and Bonn. When his family returned to the United States, he finished his schooling at Newport, Rhode Island then entered Harvard Law School. However, a year later he left Harvard and started to think -CV ^'.5 < Uaj '

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seriously of a writing career. He began writing reviews and critical essays, which were published in

1.

l e a r n e d : well e d u c a t e d ; w h o had r e a d a lot o f b o o k s .

2.

P u r i t a n : f o r an e x p l a n a t i o n o f P u r i t a n i s m , s e e t h e d o s s ie r on p. 8 5 .

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The Atlantic Monthly. 1 His first novel - Watch and Ward - was published in instalments in 1871. Four years later, he spent a year in Paris in the company of eminent literary figures such as Turgenev, Flaubert, and Zola. The following year, 1876, he settled in London and published his second novel, Roderick Hudson. This was followed by a constant stream of novels, essays, and short stories. The following are his best known novels: The American (1877), The Europeans (1878), Daisy Miller (1879), Washington Square (1880), The Portrait o f a Lady (1881), The Bostonians (1886), The Aspern Papers (1888), The Spoils ofPoynton (1897), What Maisie Knew (1897), The Turn o f the Screw (1898), The Awkward Age (1899), The Sacred Fount (1901), The Wings o f the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903), and The Golden Bowl (1904). He died in 1916. A recurrent theme in James's fiction is the culture clash between Americans and Europeans. As an American who spent most of his life in Europe, he was very well placed to see the contrasts between the two cultures; Daisy Miller and The Portrait o f a Lady, for example, both revolve around this central idea. Another major concern in his work is the child's view of the adult world; What Maisie Knew and The Turn o f the Screw are both subtle explorations of this theme. The Turn o f the Screw is also a ghost story. In this it differs from most of James' other novels, which are realistic. It has, however, one thing in common with all his fiction: it is profoundly ambiguous, and in this respect it anticipates Modernism. The story is a simple one. A young woman, who is the narrator of the story, accepts a position as governess to two children in a country house. The children are orphans. Their uncle - who is also their guardian - lives in London. Therefore, the governess will be completely responsible for the children and alone in the house, except 1.

The A t l a n t i c M o n th l y : p r e s t ig i o u s A m e r i c a n lit e r a r y m a g a z i n e .

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for the children and the servants. In this rather lonely situation, the b IC \

governess begins to see ghosts. Many questions remain unanswered at the end of The Turn o f the Screw. Are the children in the story - Miles and Flora - little angels or little devils? Does the governess really see the ghosts, or is $he hallucinating them? Is the governess a remarkable and heroic young woman, or is she mad and cruel? Are the governess's actions influenced by Puritan ideas? And, if so, what does James seem to be saying about Puritanism? When Oscar Wilde read it, he wrote, 'I think it is the most wonderful,

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lurid, poisonous 1 little tale, like an Elizabethan tragedy. I am greatly

impressed by it.'

L esson s (1 9 th cen tu ry ) by H elen H allingh am .

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p o i s o n o u s : p o is o n is a s u b s t a n c e , like a r s e n i c or cy a n id e , t h a t , if i n g e s t e d , will be f a t a l . W ild e u s e s t h e a d je c t i v e ‘p o i s o n o u s ’ m e t a p h o r i c a l l y t o m e a n d e ep ly d is tu rb in g .

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•

* Q

Match the dates with the co rrect events in Jam es’ life. An example has been done for you. Date

Event

1843

He settled in London.

1855 1871 1876 1881 1898 1916

He started attending school after his early education with private tutors. The P ortrait o f a L ady was published. He was born in New York City. T he Turn o f th e S crew was published. He died. His first novel W atch a n d W ard was published in The A tlan tic Monthly.

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W hat is the significance of these people and places in Henry Jam es’ life?

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his father

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Harvard Law School

Paris

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London

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Flaubert

W hat two them es recur in Jam es’ fiction? Which works illustrate this? Theme

Title

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•

•

•

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Q

In w hat way does The Turn o f the Screw differ from Jam es’ other w orks? W hat does it have in com m on?

Q

The Turn o f the Screw poses five unanswered questions. W hat are they?

B efore you read Q

W hat are the typical ‘ingredients’ of a ghost story?

Q

Working with a p artner consider the tim e, the setting and the place.

Q

W rite a very unoriginal ‘spooky’ opening paragraph by answering these questions: — What time of day is it? — What time of the year is it? — What is the weather like?

Q

Give your main ch aracter a name and age. Where is the main character? Is he/she alone? What is he/she doing? Where is he/she? Where is he going? What is happening? Describe the location.

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Wanted Governess for two children, Apply in person to 12 H arley Street, London, W i.

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Prologue t w as C h r istm a s Eve. W e s a t around th e fire in th e old h o u se and liste n ed to a g h o s t sto ry . W h en th e s t o r y

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w as fin ished , s o m e o n e said t h a t it w as th e only c a ^ e l i e

k new o f in which a g h o s t had ap p e a re d to a child. Douglas said, ‘Y es, t h a t gives th e s t o r y a n o t h e r tu rn o f th e sc rew . 1 I know a H u t

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g h o s t s t o r y involving tw o children. I am th e only p e rso n w ho has e v e r h eard it. It is to o h o rrib le .’ < g ^ p. \L\ cAv ‘Oh, how d elicio u s!’ said o ne o f th e w o m en , but he ignored her. Looking a t me, he said, ‘It is th e m o s t horrible s t o r y I h ave ev e r h e a r d .’ ‘T hen p lea se sit down and tell u s ,’ I said. ‘I c a n ’t. The s t o r y is w r it te n down, and t h e m a n u s c r ip t is a t my

1.

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g iv es t h e s t o r y a n o t h e r t u r n o f t h e s c r e w : a d d s m o r e t e n s i o n and in te re s t to the story.

‘Is it fr o m y ou r own e x p e r i e n c e ? ’ I ask ed . ‘Oh, t h a n k God, n o !’ he said. ‘Did you w rite it d o w n ? ’ ‘No. The m a n u s c r ip t is old and is w r it te n in th e m o s t beau tifu l handw riting. A w o m a n ’s han d w ritin g . She h as b e e n dead fo r tw e n ty y e a r s . Sh e s e n t m e t h e m a n u s c r ip t b e f o r e she d ied.’ We w ere all listening now, and s o m eb o d y said t h a t perhaps Douglas w as in love with th e lady. ‘No,’ he said. ‘She w as a ch arm in g person, but she w as te n y e a rs older th a n L She w as my s i s t e r ’s g overn ess w hen I w as a t university. I m e t h er w hen I c a m e h o m e in th e v a c a tio n . W e o f t e n w e n t fo r w alks to g e t h e r . I liked her ex trem ely , and I think she liked me too, b e c a u se she told m e th e story. She had never told anyone, and I have n ev e r told a n y o n e .’ He looked a t m e again. ‘I s e e , ’ I said. ‘Sh e w a s in lo v e .’ ‘How clev e r you are! Y es, she w a s in love. T h a t c a m e o u t in th e story . I u n d e rsto o d it, and sh e k new I u n d e rsto o d it, but w e n e v e r talked a b o u t it. The m a n u s c rip t can be h ere in a fe w days. I will read it to you t h e n . ’ ‘W ho w as sh e in love w i t h ? ’ a sk ed s o m e o n e . ‘I will tell you w h en th e m a n u s c rip t arriv es. Now I m u st go to b e d ,’ said Douglas, and he le ft th e room . E v ery o n e w a s e a g e r 1 to h e a r t h e sto ry . S o m e people still th o u g h t t h a t Douglas had b e e n in love with th e lady. W e w e re all am a z e d t h a t he had n o t told th e s t o r y in all t h o s e y e a r s — f o r t y y e a rs! — and t h a t m a d e us even m o re im p a tie n t to h e a r it.

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e a g e r : full o f i n t e r e s t or d e sire .

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aroun d th e fire again. Douglas told us t h a t th e m a n u s c r ip t did n o t really begin a t th e beginning o f th e sto ry . ‘I will ex plain th e c i r c u m s t a n c e s / he said. He th e n told us t h a t th e lady in q u e stio n — his frien d — w a s t h e y o u n g e s t d a u g h te r o f a po o r c o u n try p a r s o n . 1 At th e age o f tw e n ty , sh e a n sw e re d an a d v e r t is e m e n t in th e n ew sp a p er. A g e n tl e m a n n ee d ed a g o v e r n e s s f o r his n ie ce and n ep h ew . 2 In his reply to h er le t t e r o f application , th e g e n tle m a n ask ed h er to c o m e to London to m e e t him. She w a s very n erv o u s w h en she arrived a t his h ouse. The g e n tle m a n w a s h a n d s o m e , young, and single. Sh e had n e v e r s e e n such an a t t r a c t i v e m an. He w a s like a m an f ro m a d re a m or a novel. He w a s ch arm in g , kind, and lively. Sh e th o u g h t he m u st be v ery rich, b e c a u s e he had a h o u se in London and a n o t h e r even larger h o u se in th e co u n try . The c o u n try h o use w a s called Bly. It had belo nged to his fa m ily f o r g e n e r a tio n s . He w a n te d h er to go t h e r e im m ed iately . He explain ed t h a t he w as th e guard ian 3 o f his n ep h ew and n iece, w h o se p a r e n ts had died in India tw o y e a r s b e f o r e . Sin ce he had no w ife and no e x p e r ie n c e o f carin g f o r children, he n eed ed s o m e o n e to t a k e o v er th e respo n sib ility . He w a n te d her to be t h a t pe rso n . He p i t i e d 4 t h e poor children and w a n te d to do ev e ry th in g possible to help t h e m . The little boy w as a t bo ard in g school, 5 but

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1.

p a r s o n : vica r; p r i e s t in t h e P r o t e s t a n t ch u rch .

2.

his n iece an d n e p h e w : his b r o t h e r ’s d a u g h t e r and so n.

3.

g u a r d i a n : ( h e r e ), p e r s o n r e s p o n s i b l e f o r his b r o t h e r ’s ch ild ren.

4.

pitie d : f r o m t h e v e r b ‘t o p i t y ’, f e l t s o r r y for.

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b o a r d i n g sch o o l : p r i v a t e s c h o o l f o r u p p e r - c l a s s c h ild ren in w h ich t h e ch ild re n live a t t h e sc h o o l t h r o u g h o u t t e r m - t i m e and only go h o m e in t h e ho lid ay s.

he r e tu rn e d to Bly fo r th e holidays. Mrs G ro se, t h e h o u s e k e e p e r , 1 had b e e n w ith th e fam ily fo r m a n y y e a r s . Sh e w a s an e x c e lle n t w o m a n . T h e re had b e e n a n o t h e r g o v e rn e s s , but sh e had died. At t h a t p o in t in D ou glas’s s to ry , s o m e o n e a sk ed a q u estio n : ‘W h a t did th e la s t g o v e r n e s s die o f ? ’ ‘T h a t will c o m e out in th e s t o r y , ’ Douglas replied brusquely, then

he c o n t in u e d : ‘T h e y o u n g w o m a n w a s m e r v o u s a b o u t

a c c e p tin g th e p o sitio n o f g o v e r n e s s a t Bly. It so un d ed lonely and grim. 2 Sh e th o u g h t a b o u t it f o r tw o days th e n w e n t b a c k to th e g e n t l e m a n ’s h o use and a c c e p te d th e position . The sa la ry 3 w as v ery g o o d .’ ‘And sh e w a s a t t r a c t e d to t h e young m a n , ’ I said. ‘Sh e sa w him only t w i c e , ’ said Douglas. ‘T h a t w a s th e b e a u ty o f her p a s s i o n ,’ I replied. ‘He told her t h a t o th e r ca n d id a tes fo r g o v e rn ess had refused. They w ere afraid. The situ atio n sounded stra n g e , particularly b e c a u se he insisted t h a t th e g o v e rn ess m u st n ev e r c o n t a c t him. She m u st do everything herself, w ith ou t disturbing him. W h en my friend agreed to be g o v e rn ess a t Bly, th e g e n tle m a n looked very relieved. 4 He to o k her hand and th an k ed her. She never saw him ag ain .’ Then Douglas o pened th e m a n u s c r ip t and b eg an to read.

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1.

h o u s e k e e p e r : t h e w o m a n r e s p o n s i b l e f o r m a n a g i n g t h e h o u s e ; sh e g ives o r d e r s t o all t h e o t h e r f e m a l e s e r v a n t s in t h e h o u s e .

2.

g rim : u n a t t r a c t i v e ; d e p r e s s i n g .

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s a l a r y : i n c o m e ; pay; m o n e y .

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re lie v ed : c o n t e n t t o be r e l e a s e d f r o m a d uty or t a s k .

Q

Compare the setting of The Turn o f the Screw to your story from p. 9. It is probably very different. Answer the sam e questions: a. Who is/ are the main character(s)? Are they alone?

b. What time of the day is it?

c. What time of the year is it?

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A story inside a story A story m ust have someone who tells it - ‘the storyteller’; this person must have someone to tell the story to - ‘the audience’ (reader or listener). In the prologue there are four stories (1 to 4). Story 1 is told in story 2, which is told in story 3, which is told in story 4. Complete the table below with the missing information. Story

Teller

How?

governess

1 2

governess

3

orally

4

Q

Audience

Douglas’ guests

Henry Jam es

a. The prologue is set on two different days. W hat are they? b.

Match these days with their dates 1. 24/12

a.

2. 25/12

b.

3. 31/12

c.

4. 1/1

d.

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A Q

C

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Douglas creates anticipation for a ghost story. How does he do this? Choose from the list below and put them into the order in which he presents them . The first has been done for you. You should exclude TWO from the list. a. □

He postpones telling the story for four days.

b. □

The woman in the story was his governess.

c.

His story is special because it is about two children.

□

d. m

He tells his audience ‘It is the most horrible story I have ever heard’.

Q

e. □

He knew the person involved in the story.

f.

He had told the story only to a few people.

□

g- □

He had never told the story before.

h. □

He was grateful that the story was not his own experience.

W hat is; the significance of these tim e expressions? a. ‘ten years’ .......................................................................................... b. ‘twenty years’ ................................................................................... c. ‘forty years’ .......................................................................................

@

Answer these questions: a. How did Douglas know the governess? b. Why can’t Douglas tell the story immediately? c. Who was the governess in love with? d. How did the governess find out about the job? 1.

Q

her father told her

2. Q

her neighbour told her

3. Q

she read an advertisement in a newspaper

e. How many times did the governess m eet her employer? 1. Q once

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2.

twice

3. Q

three times

C f.

T

V

T

E

S

Which is NOT a reason why the gentleman wanted the children to have a governess?

1.

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Q

he had to go to India

2. O

he was single and inexperienced with children

3. O

he felt sorry for them

The m ystery at Bly a. Put the words in the jumbled sentences into their co rrect order. 1.

d id /Iast/of/what/die/the/governess?

2.

other/the/refused/candidates/had/w hy?

3.

m ust/governess/the/again/w hy/contact/him /never?

b. Can we answ er any of these questions? Keep the unanswered questions in mind as you read the story. Q

The Turn o f the Screw is a novella: a long, short story. It does not have chapters but parts. Authors can give these chapters or parts titles. Jam es never used chapter titles, for instance. We will try to give the ten p arts of The Turn o f the Screw a title. You will find a similar exercise in FCE Paper 1 (Reading comprehension). Working with your partner, which titles for the Prologue do you prefer and why? One title is inappropriate. Why? a.

Douglas begins his story.

c. The governess of Bly.

b. The mystery of Bly. d. When will Douglas start his story?

L ooking ahead Q

Getting to know the ch aracters. Listen to this e x tra ct from the beginning of Part I. W rite the nam es of the ch aracters. The first has been done for you. a. the housekeeper: Mrs Grose b. the niece: .......................................... c. the nephew: ....................................

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f t e r I a c c e p te d th e p o sitio n o f g o v e rn e s s , I f e lt su re t h a t I had m a d e a m is ta k e . I w as an x io u s a b o u t it f o r th e n e x t tw o days and on th e long co a c h ride to Bly. How ever, w h en I arrived in th e ev en ing o f a beau tifu l s u m m e r day, th e place s e e m e d to o f f e r m e a friendly w e lco m e . The w indow s o f t h e g r e a t h o u se w e re open, and a pair o f m aid s 1 looked out. The h o u s e k e e p e r — Mrs G ro se — sto o d a t th e f r o n t door, and a little girl held h er hand. Her n a m e w a s Flora, and sh e w a s th e m o s t b eau tifu l child t h a t I had e v e r se e n . Mrs G ro se t r e a t e d m e with g r e a t co u rte s y . Sh e sh o w ed m e my room , w hich w a s o ne o f th e la r g e s t and b e s t b e d ro o m s in th e house. A fte r all m y a n x ie ty , th is w as a p l e a s a n t su rprise. The only thing t h a t s e e m e d s t r a n g e w as t h a t Mrs G ro se w a s obviously so glad to s e e m e — sh e s e e m e d e n o rm o u sly relieved by m y arrival.

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a p a ir o f m a i d s : t w o f e m a l e s e r v a n t s .

P a rt l Mrs G ro se and I decided to m o v e F lo ra ’s little w h ite bed into my r o o m .

I w an ted

to

be w ith

h e r a lw a y s

an d

tak e

full

resp o n sib ility f o r her. As w e s a t a t dinner, I a sk ed Mrs G ro se, ‘Does th e boy look like h e r ? ’ ‘Y e s ! ’ replied Mrs G ro se. ‘M a s te r Miles 1 is a b eau tifu l child! He c o m e s h o m e fr o m scho o l on F rid ay .’ The n e x t day I a sk ed Flora to sh o w m e round th e h o u se and g ard en s. Sh e a g re e d w ith g r e a t p leasu re. The h o u se s e e m e d like a ca s tle in a fa iry sto ry , 2 and Flora, with h er golden hair and h er blue d ress, w a s th e fairy. T h a t ev en in g a le t t e r arrived fo r m e fr o m m y em p lo y er. It w as only a fe w w ord s, but e n c lo se d w ith his n o te w as a n o t h e r le tte r. ‘T h is,’ w r o te m y em p lo y er, ‘is f ro m th e h e a d m a s t e r o f M iles’ school. P le ase read th e le t t e r and re sp o n d to it. I d o n ’t w a n t to know an y th in g a b o u t it.’ I o pened th e h e a d m a s t e r ’s le t t e r and read it. The le t t e r w a s so d isturbing t h a t I did n o t sleep t h a t night, and th e n e x t m o rn in g I decided to d iscuss it with Mrs G ro se. ‘Mrs G ro se, w h a t can it m e a n ? The h e a d m a s t e r sa y s t h a t Miles m u st leave th e school. He is n o t invited to r e t u r n !’ Mrs G ro se blushed, 3 ‘But why n o t? W h a t h as M a s te r Miles d o n e ? ’ sh e ask ed . ‘The h e a d m a s t e r d o es n o t sa y clearly. He simply sa y s t h a t Miles c a n n o t c o n tin u e a t th e scho o l. It m u s t m e a n t h a t he has done s o m e t h in g bad and t h a t th e h e a d m a s t e r d o es n o t w a n t him n e a r th e o th e r ch ild re n .’

1.

M a s t e r Miles : a s Mrs G r o s e is a s e r v a n t , sh e m u s t a d d r e s s t h e c h ild ren p o lite ly a s ‘M a s t e r ’ and ‘M is s ’.

2.

fa i r y s t o r y : c h i l d r e n ’s s t o r y a b o u t m a g ic a l b e in g s (fa i ri e s ) .

3.

b lu shed : w e n t red in t h e f a c e f r o m e m b a r r a s s m e n t .

‘W hy d o es he say such cruel th in g s ? M a s te r Miles is only te n y e a r s old! W h en you s e e him you will u n d e r s t a n d / ‘Have you e v e r s e e n him do an y th in g b a d ? ’ I a sk ed her. ‘Of c o u rse I have! He is a child, a f t e r all!’ ‘You like children w ith a n a u g h t y 1 s p i r it ? ’ I ask ed , th e n added, ‘So do I! But n o t so n a u g h ty as to c o rru p t o th e r c h ild re n / Mrs G ro se laughed and said, ‘Are you afraid h e ’ll co rr u p t y o u ? ’ The n e x t day I ask ed her, ‘W ho w as th e lady w ho w as here before?’ ‘Th e la s t g o v e r n e s s ? Sh e w as young and p r e tt y — a lm o s t as young and p r e tt y as y o u .’ ‘He s e e m s to like us young and p r e t t y ! ’ I said. ‘Oh, he d id . He liked e v e ry o n e young and p r e t t y . ’ Th en she s e e m e d to feel sh e had said s o m e t h in g t h a t sh e should n o t h ave said. ‘I m e a n t h a t ’s h is w ay — th e m a s t e r ’s . ’ ‘But o f w h o m did you sp e a k f i r s t ? ’ Mrs G ro se blushed. ‘Of th e m a s t e r , o f co u rse. W h o e l s e ? ’ ‘Did t h e la s t g o v e r n e s s th in k t h a t Miles w a s n a u g h t y ? ’ ‘She n e v e r said s o . ’ ‘Did sh e die h e r e ? ’ ‘No,’ said Mrs G ro se. ‘Sh e w e n t a w a y .’ ‘Do you m e a n t h a t sh e b e c a m e ill and w e n t h o m e ? ’ ‘No. She w e n t h o m e f o r a s h o r t v a c a tio n , but sh e n e v e r c a m e back. T h en I h eard t h a t sh e w as d e a d .’ ‘But o f w h a t ? ’ I asked . ‘He n e v e r told me. P lease, Miss, 2 I m u s t re tu rn to m y w o r k .’

24

1.

n a u g h t y : bad ( th e w ord is used t o d e s c r i b e ch ild re n ).

2.

Miss : p o lite f o r m o f a d d r e s s t o a sin gle lady.

C Q

T

V

T

E

S

Put these events from Part I into their co rrect order. The first event has been done for you. You will not use one event. Rem ember th a t she and h er refer to the governess. a. □ b. □

She is pleased by her bedroom. Flora takes the governess for a walk around the house and gardens.

c.

□

d. □ e. □

Mrs Grose tells her about the previous governess. She m eets Flora and Mrs Grose. She receives a le tte r from Miles’ h e a d m a ste r saying the child cannot return to the school.

f.

m

g- □

The governess arrives at Bly. She and Mrs Grose decide that Flora should sleep in the same room.

h. □

Miles returns to Bly from boarding school.

Contrast: The Turn o f th e Screw is a story of con trasts . An obvious difference betw een two or more things (C am bridge International Dictionary o f English). Part I co n trasts the governess’s feelings of anxiety and w orry with her feelings of relief and satisfaction. a. Complete the table with examples of these contrasting feelings.

Anxiety

Relief

She thought she had made a mistake coming to Bly. She liked her bedroom (one of the largest and best in the house). The previous governess had left Bly mysteriously.

25

A

C

T

V

I

T

E

S

b. Check the meaning and pronunciation of the words below. Match opposites in the list below to make contrasting parts. anxiety sanity

corruption good doubt certain ty

innocence evil relief madness

We will see these co n trasts during the story.

c. On the basis of w hat we learnt in b w hat co n trast does Miles rep resent?

Part I introduces more questions th a t need an answ er. W hat are they? To help you, go back to the governess’s feelings of anxiety you identified in exercise 1.

Q

a. Look at this sentence. W hat is wrong with it? 7 s p o k e to Miles an d Flora bu t s h e d id n ’t an sw er m e ’ Correct it.

b. Read again from ‘The next day till ‘Mrs Grose blushed. “Of the m aster, o f co u rse.’” The pronoun h e is used twice. 1.

Who is the governess referring to?

2.

Is Mrs Grose referring to the same person as the governess?

c. Mrs Grose knows m ore than she says. W hat two things does she know th at she doesn’t tell the governess at the end of Part I? Discuss your ideas with your partner.

26

C Q

T

V

T

E S

a. Which of the events th at you ordered in exercise 1 (p. 25) do you think is the m ost im portant in Part I? Discuss your choice with your partner. b. Would this choice make a good title for Part I or is something missing? Compare a lThe go verness arrives at Bly’ with b ‘What really happened at Bly?’ Both are possible titles for Part I a is a ‘topic’ title: a title th a t sum m arises the main event or subject; b is ‘th em atic’: a title th a t attem p ts to not only refer to the topic but achieve some stylistic effect as well. Which (a or b) do you prefer? Think about this as you prepare to choose titles for the p arts of the story.

T: GRADES 6-7 Q

Topic — Village and City Life In the prologue and in the first part of the story we have a co n trast between the London life of the rich gentleman and the rem oteness of Bly, set deep in the countryside. Which phrase indicates th a t it is a long way aw ay? • Where do you live? In the city or in the countryside? •

If a city, describe it. Is it big? Is it a capital city? Tell your partner about it.

•

If the countryside, describe where you live, the views, the speed of life.

•

Now with a partner discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both city and country life. Bring some pictures into class to help you.

27

A

C

T

V

T

E

S

L o oking ahead FO E

(A

O

In exercise 1 (p. 25) one event did not com e from Part I: Miles returns to Blyfrom boarding school Listen to this short e x tra ct from the beginning of P art II. For questions 1-5, choose the best answ er A, B or C. 1

2

3

When Miles returned home, the governess was A □

angry with him.

B

□

angry with the boy’s headmaster.

C

Q

angry with Mrs Grose.

The governess thought Miles A Q

needed love.

B

□

knew nothing.

C

Q

was very special.

The governess wanted to speak A □

as soon as possible in private with Mrs Grose.

B

as soon as possible with the children.

□

C □ 4

What did the governess decide to do? A Q

She decided to write to her employer.

B

She decided to write to Miles’ headmaster.

Q

C Q 5

as soon as possible with the headmaster.

She decided not to do anything.

Mrs Grose thought the governess’ decision was A □

right.

B

inappropriate.

Q

C Q

impulsive.

In exercise 2c (p. 26) we saw th at Miles represented a co n trast. Which p art of the contrasting pair (positive/negative) is highlighted in this listening e x tra ct?

28

II h en little Miles c a m e h o m e, I w as s h o ck e d 1 t h a t t h e h e a d m a s t e r h ad w r i t t e n t h a t le t t e r a b o u t such a c h a r m in g polite boy. T h e re w as s o m e t h in g divine a b o u t him t h a t I h ave n e v e r s e e n in any o t h e r child. He s e e m e d to know n o th in g in t h e world e x c e p t love. As so o n as I could have a p riv a te c o n v e r s a ti o n with Mrs G ro se, I e x p r e s s e d my p e rp le x ity and a n g e r a b o u t th e h e a d m a s t e r ’s le tte r . ‘T h a t l e t t e r is g ro te s q u e ! It’s ridiculous! My d e a r w o m a n , lo o k a t h im !’ She smiled and said, ‘I look a t him all th e tim e. W h a t will you say in a n s w e r to th e l e t t e r ? ’ I m a d e a d ecision. ‘N o thin g!’ ‘And to M iles’ u n c le ? ’ I w a s c le a r and decisive. ‘N o thin g!’ ‘And to th e boy h i m s e l f ? ’ I w a s w o n derful. ‘N o thin g!’

29

‘I th in k you are right, and I’ll help you if I c a n , ’ said Mrs G ro se, and she kissed m y ch e ek . W e e m b r a c e d like s is te r s , and I f e lt glad o f her su pport. ‘W ith h er h e lp / I th o u g h t, ‘I will p r o t e c t t h e s e poor beau tifu l ch ild re n !’ In my ig n o ra n ce , co n fu sio n , and p e rh a p s v anity, I th o u g h t t h a t I could t e a c h th e boy w h en his v a c a t io n w a s over. But in f a c t it w a s I w ho le arn ed th e le sso n s. I learn ed th in g s I had n o t le a rn ed in m y small r e s tr i c t e d life. In a way, it w a s th e f ir s t tim e I had know n s p a c e and air and f r e e d o m . I w a s o f f my g u a r d . 1 The children gave m e so little tro u b le : th e y w e re e x tra o rd in a rily g en tle. It m igh t be t h a t w h a t h ap p e n ed a f t e r w a r d s m a d e th o s e early days s e e m p e r fe c t . The ch a n g e w a s like th e a t t a c k o f a wild b e a s t. In th e f irs t w ee k s it w as still s u m m er, and, w hen th e children had gon e to bed, th e r e w as still an hour o f light w h en I could go fo r a walk alone. This w as my fa v o u rite tim e o f day. During t h a t hour, I ro a m e d 2 around th e grounds, 3 en joyin g th e b e a u ty and dignity of th e

p la c e .

I im a g in e d

m y e m p lo y e r c o m in g to

me

and

co m p lim en tin g m e on my w ork. I th o u g h t m y s e lf a r e m a rk a b le young w o m an . Well, I m u st have b ee n a re m a rk a b le young w o m a n to co v e r u p 4 th e re m a rk a b le things t h a t so o n beg an to happen. One evening, as I w as walking, I im agined t h a t my em p lo y er ap p e a re d b e f o r e m e and sm iled a t m e w ith approval. Then, suddenly, it s e e m e d as if w h a t I had im agined had c o m e true! T h e re he sto o d , a t th e top o f one o f th e tw o to w e r s o f th e g r e a t h o use! But no — it w a s n o t him. I had n e v e r s e e n th is m a n b e fo re . 1.

I w a s o ff m y g u a r d : I did n o t e x p e c t a n y d a n g e r.

2.

r o a m e d : w a lk ed w ith no c l e a r d ir e c ti o n .

3.

g ro u n d s : land and g a r d e n s a ro u n d a big h o u s e .

4.

c o v e r up : k eep s e c r e t .

Th e re a lis a tio n m a d e m e feel frig h te n e d and alone. I th o u g h t, ‘This m an h as b e e n living in th e h o u se all th e tim e, and I did n o t k now it!’ It w a s a f rig h te n in g th o u g h t. The m an w a s n o t w ea rin g a h at. This gave him th e in fo rm al a p p e a r a n c e o f s o m e o n e in fa m ilia r surroun d ings. W e w e re to o f a r a p a r t to call o u t to e a c h o th e r, but w e s t a r e d 1 a t e a c h o th e r. I sa w him as clearly as I s e e th e l e t t e r s on th is page. He w alked to th e o th e r side o f th e to w e r , still looking a t m e. T hen V

he d isap p eare d f ro m m y sight. W h en I g o t b a c k to th e h o use it w as g e ttin g dark. I w e n t to my ro o m and th o u g h t a b o u t th e p e rso n I had s e e n on th e to w e r . He m u s t be a tra v eller, who, p assin g Bly, had decided to h ave a c lo se r lo o k a t t h e

h o u s e an d g r o u n d s . To do so w i t h o u t a s k in g

p e rm issio n w a s very bad m a n n e r s , and th e w a y he s t a r e d a t m e w a s bad m a n n e r s to o . ‘At le a s t he is g on e n o w ,’ I th o u g h t to m y self. ‘W e shall s e e no m o re o f h im .’ As th e days p asse d , I tried n o t to th in k a b o u t th e s t r a n g e m an. In stead , I th o u g h t a b o u t m y w ork. Miles and Flora w e re a p lea su re t o te a c h . T h e y filled my days w ith jo y. The only d ark sp o t in our life t o g e t h e r w as th e q u e stio n o f w h a t had h ap p e n ed a t Miles’ school. He n e v e r m e n tio n e d it, and I did n o t ask. I w as co n vin ce d V t h a t he w a s in n o c e n t — to o in n o c e n t and pure f o r t h e horrible dirty world o f school. Of co u rse, I w as u nd er th e ch ild re n ’s spell, 2 and I k new I w as. T h e ir c h a r m m a d e m e f o r g e t my own p ro b lem s. My fam ily had w r it te n m e so m e d isturb in g le tt e r s : th in g s w ere n o t going well a t h o m e. But w ith m y children n o th in g else s e e m e d to m a t t e r . T h ey w e re so b eau tifu l and g en tle!

32

1.

s t a r e d : looked i n t e n s e l y f o r a long t im e .

2.

spell : m a g ic; e n c h a n t m e n t .

C

T

V

T

E

S

Q Answer these questions. Compare your answ ers with your partner. a. How did the governess want to help the children? b. What did she like doing in the evening? c. Who did she imagine meeting? d. Who did she see and where? e. How did she spend her days?

0

Find the line th at anticipates problems ahead in the story.

Q

Crossword a.

Find the m ystery word. It is a possible title for Part II.

1. frightening / the type of story you wrote before the prologue

6. ... but on arriving she f e l t ... 7. Flora’s hair 8. the owner of the manuscript

2. Flora’s brother 5

3. the housekeeper of Bly, 4

M r s ...........

6 □

when the governess asked

at Bly 5. the governess felt this on her journey to Bly

b.

□

□

4. the housekeeper did this questions about what had happened before her arrival

7

□

□

□

□

8 □

2

□ 8□ □ □ □ □ □□□□□□ED □□□□an □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ 1

Can you give Part II any other titles?

33

A Q

C

T

T

V

E

S

The first sighting Look at these two sentences: 1. On one occasion she saw a ghost. 2. On several occasions she saw a ghost. The Past Simple (saw) is used to express single events in the past (1) and repeated actions in the past (2). (2) can be re-expressed: ‘she used to see a ghost.’ a.

The following sen ten ces com e from th e g o v e rn e ss’ d escription of w h at she saw one evening on h er daily a walk. W hich sen ten ces can be rew ritte n w ith ‘used t o ’? Com plete th e table as in th e exam ple.

Sentence 0

Used to

On one occasion she saw a ghost.

— no

0 0 On several occasions she saw a ghost. a.

During th at hour, I roamed around the grounds.

b.

I imagined my employer coming to me and compli­ menting me on my work.

c.

I thought myself a remarkable young woman.

d.

One evening, as I was walking, I imagined that my employer appeared before me.

e.

34

There he stood, at the top of one of the two towers of the great house!

Rewrite

She used to see a yes

ghost.

b.

W hat makes the sighting ‘frightening’? (think about your ‘spooky’ story).

Q

The n a rra to r’s description of w hat she saw introduces an oth er im portant them e: the co n trast between sanity and m adness (‘is she m ad...?’ See the Introduction p. 7). W hat two ‘dark sp ots’ w ere there in the governess’s life at the tim e of the sighting?

Looking ahead n

Q

Listen to this e x tra ct from the beginning of Part III. Which of the three titles is the m ost appropriate? a. The woman at the window. b. The child at the window. c. The man at the window.

C E ^ ^ F o r questions 1-4, com p lete th ese sen ten ce s w ith th e m issing information. 1

The governess saw s o m e o n e ................................................

2

She understood that the person she saw w a s ...................... and w a s .........................

3

When she went outside, the v is ito r .........................

4

Looking into the dining room she saw th at Mrs Grose looked

35

Ill ne g rey Su n d ay evening, j u s t b e f o r e chu rch, I e n t e r e d th e d in in g-ro o m alone. I sa w s o m e o n e o u tsid e t h e w indow , lo oking in. It w a s t h e s t r a n g e m a n I had s e e n b e f o r e on th e to w e r ! He w a s m u ch c lo se r th a n th e la s t tim e , and he m ad e m e cold w ith f e a r. He looked s t r a ig h t a t me, and I could s e e t h a t he re co g n ise d m e. Then he looked quickly round t h e ro o m . He w a s looking f o r s o m e o n e else. Suddenly I w a s su re t h a t he w as looking f o r Miles! This k now led ge m a d e m e co u ra g e o u s. I ran out o f t h e ro o m , o u t o f th e h ouse, and round to th e place w h e re he had stoo d , o u tsid e th e d in in g-ro o m window. But, w hen I g o t th e r e , my v isito r had van ish ed . The g roun d s w e re silen t and em p ty . I tu rn e d to th e w indow and looked in, as he had looked in. J u s t th e n , Mrs G ro se e n t e r e d th e d ining-ro o m , as I m y s e l f had e n t e r e d it b e fo re . Sh e saw me, as I had s e e n him. Sh e w e n t pale — had I tu rn e d w h ite like t h a t ? — th e n sh e le ft th e ro o m quickly, j u s t as I had done. I w o n d e red w hy s h e w a s frig h te n e d .

36

Mrs G ro se ran round th e h o u se to th e d in in g -ro o m window. ‘W h a t ’s w r o n g ? ’ she cried, as sh e c a m e up to m e. ‘Y o u ’re as w h ite v

a s a s h e e t. You look a w fu l.’ I held her hand in mine. ‘W h e n I w as in th e d in in g -ro o m ,’ I said, ‘I sa w s o m e o n e looking in th ro u g h th e w indow, j u s t as you did. B ut it w a s m u ch w o rse. I saw a s t r a n g e m a n . ’ ‘Have you s e e n him b e f o r e ? ’ ‘Y e s — o n ce. On th e old t o w e r . ’ ‘W hy didn’t you tell m e ? W a s he a g e n t l e m a n ? ’ ‘No.’ ‘W a s he s o m e o n e fr o m th e v illa g e ? ’ ‘No.’ ‘But if he is n ’t a g e n tl e m a n —’ ‘W h a t is h e ? He is a h o r r o r .’

‘A horror?’ ‘I d o n ’t know w h a t he is!’ Mrs G ro se looked round th e e m p ty groun d s th e n said, ‘L e t’s go to ch u rch n o w .’ ‘I c a n ’t leave th e c h ild re n .’ ‘Are you afraid t h a t h e is a d a n g e r to th e c h ild r e n ? ’ ‘Y es. A re n ’t y o u ? ’ ‘W h a t d o es he look lik e ? ’ ‘He h as no h a t , ’ I said. ‘His hair is red and curly. He h a s a long pale f a c e . His e y e s s t a r e in ten se ly . He is ta l l.’ Mrs G r o s e ’s f a c e w e n t w h ite again as I d esc rib e d him. ‘He looks like an a c t o r , ’ I said. ‘Is he h a n d s o m e ? ’ a sk ed Mrs G rose. ‘Y es. V e ry .’ ‘And his c l o t h e s ? ’

38

‘T h ey are e le g a n t, but th e y are n o t his o w n .’ ‘T h e y ’re t h e m a s t e r ’s c l o t h e s , ’ said Mrs G ro s e , pale and a g ita ted . ‘You know him, t h e n ? ’ I ask ed . ‘Y es. He is P e t e r Quint. He w a s t h e m a s t e r ’s p e rso n a l s e r v a n t w hen th e m a s t e r lived here. T h e y w e re h ere t o g e t h e r la s t y ear, but th e n t h e m a s t e r le ft and Quint s ta y e d . For s o m e tim e he w as here, in c h a r g e , 1 bu t th e n — ’ ‘He le ft t o o ? W h e r e did he g o ? ’ ‘He died!’ cried Mrs G ro se. ‘Y e s. Mr Quint is d e a d .’

1.

in c h a r g e : in a p o s i ti o n o f r e s p o n s ib ility .

39

A Q

C

T

V

T

E

S

W hat does Mrs Grose do th at the governess says was ‘...just as I had d o n e’? Complete the spaces with the missing information. a. The governess saw a man outside the dining-room window. ......................................... s a w ............................................ outside the dining­ room window. b. The man (Peter Quint) looked in from outside and saw a frightened governess. ......................................... looked in from outside and saw

^

W hat effect do you think these repetitions have? Discuss your ideas with your partner.

^

Which one is P eter Quint? Why?

40

C Q

T

V

E

S

a. On the basis of w hat you have read so far, w hat does P eter Quint have in common with the last governess? b. Decide if the following sen ten ces tru e or false? C orrect the sentences th at are false. T 1.

F

For a period of time both Peter Quint and the last governess were alone with the children.

2. Peter Quint lent his m aster clothes. 3. Peter Quint is dead.

c. If the present governess has seen P eter Quint, who do you think she will see n ext?

Q

Part III is alm ost exclusively in the form of a dialogue between the n arrato r and Mrs Grose. Role play the dialogue taking it in turns to play both roles.

Q

‘Sanity or m adness’? W hat support is there for the n a rra to r in Part III?

Q

Which of these titles do you prefer? Discuss your choice with your partner. a. The man at the window. b. Peter Quint. c. The governess sees Peter Quint. d. Mrs Grose’s story.

41

G o v ern esses an d

upper-class children Uhe main action of The Turn o f the Screw is set in the 1840s. At that time, a gentlewoman had one way of succeeding in life: she m ust m arry. In order to attract a husband, she had to have money. Until the Married W om en's Property Acts of 1870 and 1882, all a woman's property became her husband's as soon as she married. For a man of the middle classes, choosing the right w ife could m ean a big difference in his financial fortunes. A middle-class woman who had no money therefore had very little chance of marrying at all. The situation was made worse by the fact that there were over half a million more women than men in E n gland and W ales. The only w ay a g en tlew o m an w ith no money could make an income was by becoming a governess. When she worked as a governess in the 1840s, Charlotte Bronte earned £20 a year plus food and accom m odation, and £4 was deducted for laundry. A young maid-of-all-work earned about £9 a year plus food and accommodation; a skilled artisan earned about £75 a year; and a m iddle-class fam ily w ith £200 a year could afford to keep a servant. These figures make it clear that a young, single, middle-class woman with no money, who became a governess in order to support herself, had no possibility of changing her life later on: she had to remain a governess - and rem ain single - all her life. Charlotte Bronte escaped this fate only by becoming one of the greatest novelists of the nineteenth

42

cen tu ry. The g ov ern ess in The Turn o f the Screw was not so fortunate. Although Mrs Grose says that the governess is 'pretty' and Douglas calls her 'a charm ing person', she never marries. She is still single and still a governess ten years after the events of the story, when she narrates them to Douglas. As far as we know, she is still single at the age of fifty, when, just before her death, she sends the manuscript to Douglas. Upper-class children were all educated at home until they were eight years old. The governess taught them reading, writing, and a rith m e tic. At the age of e ig h t, bo y s w ere u su a lly sen t to board in g school, w here they learned such su bjects as Latin, Greek, history, and algebra. Girls remained at home, where the governess taught them French, drawing, water-colour painting, and m usic. The governess, having received a g irl's education herself, could not teach the classical subjects that boys learned at boarding school. Girls did not get the opportunity to learn those subjects until girls' boarding schools and w om en's colleges at u n iv e rsitie s b eg an to open in the 1860s, as a re su lt of the Victorian feminist movement. A governess in the 1840s, then, lived in an upper-class house as a social equal of the family for which she worked: she too was a lady. But her life was very different from those of the other ladies in the household. Because she had no money, she was unlikely to m a rry . In s te a d , she m u st w o rk in so m eo n e e ls e 's h o u se , preparing young ladies for the life she herself could never have: the life of a wife and mother with a home of her own.

44

Q The situation of women has changed considerably since the mid19th century. Complete the table summarising the situation of middle-class women then and now.

Then

Now

• For a woman to succeed

•

in life she had to marry. • On marriage, a woman’s

•

property does not become her husband’s. • A middle-class woman with no money had little chance of marrying.

Q

a. W hat is the significance of these am ounts of money?

b.

1.

£20

2.

£9

3.

£200

4.

£75

Complete this chain of cause and effect ‘If a middle-class woman didn’t have money she 1 ...................... and if she 2 ........................she had to become a governess and if she 3 ...................... she would probably stay a governess all her

Q

a. Which diagram (a, b or c) best illustrates the inform ation contained in paragraph 4, p. 4 4 . The Education of Upper-class Children a Girls

b Boys

The age of 8

Girls

Boys

Girls

c Boys

The age of 8

Girls

T

Boys

Girls

Boys

The age of 8

Girls

n

Boys

b. W hen did the education of u p p er-class children change and why? c. Why could a go vern ess n ot te a ch Latin, G reek, h isto ry and algebra? Q

Why was a governess in mid-Victorian England considered ‘a lady’?

Q

W hat is the situation today in your cou n try? Are th ere any differences in education between classes in your country? W rite a short paragraph summ arising them .

L ooking ahead Q

Which of these events do you NOT expect to occur in Part IV? a. Q

Mrs Grose tells the narrator about Peter Quint.

b. Q

The m aster returns from London to Bly.

c.

The narrator sees the last governess.

Q

Now read Part IV and check if you were right.

46

IV rs G ro se and I had a long c o n v e r s a ti o n t h a t evening. I had s e e n him, and sh e had s e e n n othing, bu t she did n o t s e e m to th in k I w as mad. W e decided to p r o t e c t th e children fr o m Quint. It w a s cle a r to m e t h a t he w a n te d t h e m to s e e him. ‘But th e y w o n ’t s e e h im / I said. ‘I will p r o t e c t t h e m / Mrs G ro se told m e t h a t Quint had s p e n t a lot o f tim e with Miles. ‘He played with Miles. He w as to o indulgent w ith him. He w as m u ch to o f r e e / ‘Too f r e e with m y b o y ? ’ I said. ‘Too f r e e w ith e v e r y o n e !’ Mrs G ro se replied. ‘He w a s a bad m an. I k new it, but th e m a s t e r didn’t / ‘And you didn’t tell h i m ? ’ ‘Oh, th e m a s t e r d o e s n ’t like tro u b le . And I w a s afraid o f Quint. He w as so c le v e r .’ ‘W e r e n ’t you afraid f o r th e ch ild re n ? T h o s e in n o c e n t little lives? T h ey w e re you r r e s p o n sib ility .’

47

‘No, t h e y w e r e n ’t! T h e y w e r e Q u in t’s r e s p o n s ib ility . T h e m a s t e r t r u s t e d h im .’ The po o r w o m a n b u rst into t e a r s . ‘Quint w as in c h a r g e o f th e children f o r m o n th s . T hen, on e w in te r m orning, a la b o u rer fr o m th e village found him dead on th e road. A pp aren tly Quint had b e e n drinking a t th e public house. On his w ay h o m e, he slipped on th e ice and hit his h e a d .’

48

7Ja r£ iv Over t h e n e x t fe w days, I th o u g h t a b o u t m y p o sitio n a t Bly. ‘My j o b , ’ I th o u g h t, ‘is to p r o t e c t th e children. This now a p p e a rs very difficult. I will have to be h ero ic to do my jo b well. But I will do it well! And h e shall know how well I p r o t e c t e d t h e m ! ’ Miles and Flora w e re th e m o s t lovable children in th e world, and th e y w e re alone. T h ey had no p a r e n ts to p r o t e c t t h e m . T h e y had n o th in g but me, and I — well, I had t h e m . I b eg a n to w a tc h th e m closely. I w as in a s t a t e o f su s p e n s e — w aitin g f o r s o m e t h in g to h appen — t h a t could have ended in m a d n e s s . But I did n o t h ave to w ait long. One a f t e r n o o n , I w e n t f o r a w alk with Flora. Miles s ta y e d in th e house, reading a book. Flora im agined a s t o r y in w hich sh e and I w ere c h a r a c t e r s . She told m e th e s t o r y as we w alked by th e lake. The lake, she said, w as th e S e a o f Azof. 1 W e stopp ed , and I s a t down and b eg a n sew ing 2 while Flora co n tin u ed with her s to ry . I suddenly realised t h a t s o m e o n e w a s w a tc h in g us fr o m th e o th e r side o f th e S e a o f Azof. I did n o t look up fr o m m y sew ing, and y e t I knew t h a t a third p e rso n w as p r e s e n t . I looked a t Flora, w ho w as a b o u t te n m e t r e s aw ay. ‘Will sh e s e e i t ? ’ I w o n d e red , and I w aited fo r a cry o f i n t e r e s t or f e a r f ro m her. But Flora did n o t cry out. This is m o re f rig h te n in g th a n an y th in g else in my sto ry : in ste a d o f crying out, sh e tu rn ed h er b a c k to th e w a t e r and fell silent. Th en I looked up and saw w h a t I had to see. W h en I w a s alo n e with Mrs G ro se t h a t evening, I th r e w m y s e lf into h er a r m s and cried, ‘T h e y k n o w l The children k n o w l’ ‘T h ey k now w h a t ? ’ a sk ed Mrs G ro se. ‘All t h a t we know, and p e rh a p s even m o r e !’ I replied. ‘Two hours ago, in th e g ard en, Flora sa w !’

1.

th e S ea o f A zo f : inland s e a c o n n e c t i n g w ith t h e B la c k S e a .

2.

sew in g : m a k i n g or re p a ir in g c l o t h e s .

49

‘No! T h a t ’s th e h o rro r o f it! She k ep t it s e c r e t . She didn’t sa y an y th in g to m e, bu t I could s e e t h a t sh e k n e w .’ ‘Do you m e a n she knew h e w a s t h e r e ? ’ ask ed Mrs G ro se. ‘No — she! A w o m a n d re ss e d in black. Sh e ap p e a re d on th e o t h e r side o f th e la k e .’ ‘Have you ev e r s e e n h er b e f o r e ? ’ ‘No, bu t y o u have, and F lo r a has! It w a s th e o th e r g o v e rn e ss, t h e o n e w ho died!’ ‘Miss J e s s e l ? ’ ‘Y e s . ’ ‘How c a n you be s u r e ? ’ ‘Ask Flora! No — d o n ’t a sk her. She w o n ’t tell you. S h e ’ll lie.’ ‘Oh! D on’t sa y such th i n g s !’ cried Mrs G rose. ‘I know it ’s t r u e ! ’ I replied. ‘Flora d o e s n ’t w a n t m e to know a b o u t it. I sa w t h a t w o m a n , sta n d in g on th e o th e r side o f th e lake, s t a r in g a t Flora w ith t h o s e te rrib le ey es! Sh e w a n ts Flora! She w a n ts to ta k e Flora fr o m us! T h at's w h a t Flora k n o w s !’ ‘W h a t did she look lik e ? ’ a sk ed Mrs G ro se. ‘Her clothes were poor. She w as very beautiful. But she looked evil.’ ‘Y e s , ’ said Mrs G ro se. ‘Miss J e s s e l w a s evil. T hey w e re b o th evil.’ ‘I know you didn’t tell m e th is b e f o r e b e c a u s e you th o u g h t you sh o u ld n ’t sp e a k o f such thin gs. But now you m u s t tell m e. W h a t did sh e die o f? W a s t h e r e s o m e t h in g b e t w e e n t h e m ? ’ 1 ‘Y e s . ’ ‘In sp ite o f th e d if f e r e n c e —? ’

1.

52

W as th e r e s o m e th in g b e tw e e n t h e m ? : w ere th ey lovers?

P a rt IV ‘Y es. Even th o u g h sh e w a s a lady and he w a s j u s t a c o m m o n serv an t.’ ‘W hy did sh e l e a v e ? ’ ‘Oh, she co u ld n ’t have s t a y e d . ’ ‘W h a t did she die o f ? ’ ‘I d o n ’t know. I didn’t w a n t to know. I im agined, and w h a t I im agined w a s t e r r i b le . ’ W h en I h eard th is, I b u rst into t e a r s and th r e w m y s e lf into Mrs G r o s e ’s a r m s again. ‘I w a n te d to p r o t e c t th e children, bu t I c a n ’t! It’s f a r w o rse th a n I th o u g h t! T h e y a re lo s t !’ I dried m y t e a r s and said, ‘Do you r e m e m b e r , w h en th e h e a d m a s t e r ’s l e t t e r c a m e , you told m e t h a t Miles had b ee n n a u g h ty ? W h a t did you m e a n ? ’ ‘Well, w hen Quint w a s h ere, Miles s p e n t ho urs w ith him. I th o u g h t it w a s w rong. Miles should h ave b e e n with Miss J e s s e l. One day I spo k e to h e r a b o u t it, but sh e ignored m e. So I sp o k e to Miles. I m e n tio n e d t h a t he o f t e n d isap p eare d w ith Quint and sp e n t hours w ith him. Miles said t h a t w a s n o t tru e! T h en I said t h a t it w a s w ro n g f o r a young g e n tl e m a n to spend h o urs w ith a c o m m o n s e r v a n t, and he said t h a t I w as a c o m m o n s e r v a n t t o o ! ’ ‘W h en Miles w a s w ith Quint, w h e re w as F lo r a ? ’ ‘She w a s w ith Miss Je s s e l. T h a t w a s w h a t th e y all w a n t e d !’ ‘Ah!’ I said. ‘It is j u s t as I f e a r e d . I m u s t w a tc h th e m m o re closely th a n e v e r !’

53

A

C

T

I

V

I

T

I

E

S

P art IV has 3 main events: 1

Mrs Grose tells the narrator about Peter Quint.

2

The narrator sees the last governess.

3

Mrs Grose tells the narrator about Miss Jessel.

F C E © Mrs Grose tells the n arrato r about P eter Quint. For questions 1-5, choose the answ er (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the te x t. 1

2

3

4

After her conversation with the governess, Mrs Grose A Q

thinks the governess is mad.

B Q

doesn’t think the governess is mad.

C Q

thinks they are both mad.

D Q

thinks she is mad.

The governess is convinced Peter Quint A Q

does not want to be discovered.

B Q

wants the narrator to see him.

C

wants to be seen by the children.

D Q

wants to see him.

Peter Quint A Q

spent a lot of time with Miles.

B Q

didn’t spend much time with Miles.

C Q

spent a lot of time with the master.

D Q

spent a lot of time with Mrs Grose.

What was the main reason why Peter Quint had such influence at Bly? A Q

The children liked him.

B Q

The m aster trusted him.

C Q

He was clever.

D

54

PJ

He was attractive.

5

How did Peter Quint die? A Q

In an accident.

B Q

He was murdered.

C [ ] He killed himself. D Q

Q

He drank himself to death.

The n a rrato r sees the last governess. Match the answ ers (A-J) to the questions (1-10). An example (1G) has been done for you. There is one question th at does not have an answ er. Which one is it and w hat is the answ er? Question

Answer

1.

How does the governess consider her job of protecting the children?

A

□

She was telling the governess a story.

2.

Who doesn’t know anything about

B

□

Beautiful and evil.

events at Bly?

C

□

3.

Why do the children need protecting?

4. 5.

D □ E

□

governess realised someone was 6 . What was 'm ore frig h ten in g than

an ythin g els e in m y story 1? 7.

Who did Mrs Grose at first think the governess had seen?

8. Why didn’t the governess want to

They have no parents and they are in danger.

What was Flora doing when the watching her?

She wants to take Flora.

Where did the governess see the ‘third person’?

She will lie about what she knows.

F

□

Peter Quint.

G m It is heroic. H □

I

□

J □

Her master. The fa ct th at Flora

tell Flora about what she had seen? 9.

What was the woman ‘dressed in b la c k ’ like?

10. What, according to the governess, does Miss Jessel want?

55

A F C E ®

C

T

V

I

T

E

S

For questions 1-14 read the te x t below and look carefully at each line. Some of the lines are correct, and some have a word which should not be there. If a line is correct put a tick ( / ) by the line number. If a line has a word which should not be there, write the word by the line number. There are two examples (0 and 0 0 ). 0 After seeing the woman by the side lake, the governess

00

rushes to find Mrs Grose, telling her that Flora ‘knows’. She

..$19.?... .....

1 says that Flora saw the figure of a woman at the lake and

............

2 said her nothing. Across the lake, a woman appeared and

............

3 did simply stood th e re . The g o v e rn ess had never see n

............

4 h e r b e f o r e , bu t sh e sa y s , F lo ra and Mrs G ro se k now

............

5 her: Miss Jessel. Mrs Grose is confused at first and cannot be

............

6 understand why the governess is so sure about what that she

............

7 has seen. Nevertheless, the governess insists th a t Flora

............

8 knows about Miss Jessel and that if asked about seeing her

............

9 she will lie. Now, the governess’s most greatest fear is not

............

10 seeing the ghost but rather of understanding the truth about

............

11 Flora: the child sure is interacting with the ghost without her

............

12 knowing. The governess’s anxiety is added due to by the

............

13 news that Miles spent long periods of time with Peter Quint,

............

14 described by the housekeeper as having a bad and influence

............

on the child.

Q

Madness or sanity? a. Why didn’t Flora cry out? What two possible answers are there? Discuss your ideas with your partner. b. Consider the three main events we saw in exercises 1-3. Give Part IV a title. Compare your ideas with other students in your class.

56

A Q

C

T

T

E

S

Mrs Grose tells the n arrato r about Miss Jessel. ‘The Turn o f th e Screw is profoundly ambiguous’ (Introduction). a.

W hat does Mrs Grose tell us about Miss Jessel? W hat doesn’t she tell us? Fill in the table below. Miss Jessel W hat we learn

W hat we don’t learn

•

•

•

•

•

•

b. W hat effect do these unanswered questions have?

Looking ahead Look at the four statem en ts below. Working with your partner, decide if they are true or false. Then listen to the e x tra ct from the beginning of Part V to check. T

1. The governess wanted the children to know she knew their secret. 2. The children showed a lot of affection. 3. Flora and Miles could not concentrate on their lessons. 4. Miles learned easily even away from school.

F

□□ □□ □□ □□

57

V w a tc h e d and w aited . Days p a sse d and n o th in g unusual h appened . My f e a r s f o r th e children — and even s o m e awful m e m o r ie s o f m y own — grew m o re vivid. I w as ca r e fu l n o t to sho w th e m t h a t I k new th e ir s e c r e t , but th is w as difficult, b e c a u s e th e ir s e c r e t m a d e th e m even m o re in t e r e s tin g to m e. I w a s still und er th e spell o f th e ir c h a r m and in n o c e n ce , even w h en I s u s p e c te d t h a t th e y w e re deceiving me. 1 I sh o w ed even m o re a f f e c t io n to th e m th a n b e fo re . I w a s afraid t h a t th e y m igh t th in k it s t r a n g e t h a t I kissed and e m b r a c e d th e m so o ft e n . T hen I n o tice d t h a t th e y kissed and e m b r a c e d m e m o re o f t e n to o , and I w o n d e red why. T h ey s e e m e d v ery e a g e r to p lea se m e. T h e y w o rked hard a t th e ir le sso n s, p e r fo r m e d little t h e a t r i c a l sh o w s, and le arn ed

1.

58

d e ce iv in g m e : d e l i b e r a t e l y giving m e a f a l s e i m p r e s s io n .

P n r6 V p o em s. Looking back, I am su rprised t h a t I did n o t th in k a b o u t finding a scho o l f o r Miles. I w a s c o n t e n t to k eep him w ith m e a t Bly. He w as clev e r en o u gh to learn th in g s on his own. He s e e m e d to be u nd er s o m e in flu en ce t h a t m a d e him w a n t to le arn. I had b r o th e r s m y self, and I k new t h a t little s i s te r s could ad o re th e ir older b r o th e r s . But I had n e v e r s e e n an older b r o th e r t r e a t his little s i s t e r with so m u ch co n s id e ra tio n . T h e y n e v e r argued. They w e re alw ay s in a g r e e m e n t w ith e a c h o th e r. Indeed, I th in k th e y s o m e t im e s ag re e d to d eceive me. One evening, I s a t in m y ro o m reading late into th e night. Flora w as asleep in her little w h ite bed in th e c o r n e r o f m y room . Suddenly I f e lt t h a t s o m e t h in g w a s m oving in th e house. I to o k a candle, w e n t o ut into th e corrid or, and clo sed and locked th e d oor quietly. I w alked to th e s t a ir c a s e . My can d le w e n t out, but th e firs t light o f dawn 1 m a d e it p o ssible to s e e w ith o u t it. I th e n sa w th a t th e r e w as s o m e o n e on th e sta irs . He w alked up th e s t a ir s and sto p p ed in f r o n t o f th e g r e a t window. He looked a t m e, and I looked a t him. It w as Quint. He s e e m e d like a living h u m an being. It w as like m e e tin g a crim inal in th e h o u se late a t night. And y e t I w as n o t afraid , and I k new t h a t he knew t h a t I w a s n o t afraid . The only u nn atu ral th in g a b o u t our m e e tin g w as t h a t w e s t a r e d a t ea c h o th e r in silen ce. ‘P erh ap s I m y s e lf am a g h o s t / I th o u g h t. T h e n he tu r n e d

and d is a p p e a r e d

in to t h e d a r k n e s s o f t h e

sta ir c a s e . I re tu rn e d to m y ro o m and sa w to m y h o rro r t h a t F lo ra ’s little bed w a s em p ty . Th e n Flora ste p p e d out f ro m behind th e cu rtain . ‘W h e r e have you b e e n ? ’ sh e ask ed .

1.

th e f i r s t ligh t o f d aw n : t h e light t h a t c o m e s j u s t b e f o r e t h e sun rises .

59

‘W e r e you looking o u t o f th e w ind o w ? Did you th in k I w as w alking o u t s i d e ? ’ ‘Well, I th o u g h t s o m e o n e w a s / Flora replied, looking up a t m e with h er bea u tifu l blue ey es. ‘Did you s e e s o m e o n e o ut t h e r e ? ’ ‘Oh n o ,’ sh e said, and I th o u g h t t h a t sh e w a s lying. A fte r t h a t , I slep t very little a t night. W h e n Flora w a s asleep , I would go o u t to th e s t a ir c a s e , but I n e v e r m e t Quint th e r e again. Once, looking down t h e s t a ir c a s e , I sa w a w o m a n sittin g on on e o f th e low er s t a ir s w ith h er b a c k to m e and h er head in h er hands. Sh e looked very sad. Th e n sh e v an ishe d w ith o u t looking round a t me, but I k new it w a s Miss Je s s e l. For t e n n ig h ts I s ta y e d a w a k e late, w aitin g and w atc h in g . On th e e le v e n th night, I w e n t to sleep a t m y n o rm al hour, but I aw o k e a t on e o ’clo ck and s a t up s tra ig h t, as if a hand had to u c h e d m e. F lo ra ’s bed w a s e m p ty again. She w a s behind th e cu rtain , looking out o f th e window. She did n o t s e e m to n o tice t h a t I w as aw ak e . ‘Miss J e s s e l m u s t be o u t s id e !’ I th o u g h t. Quickly and quietly, I w e n t out into th e corrid or. I w a n te d to find a n o t h e r window, so t h a t I could look o u t and s e e w h a t Flora w a s seein g . I pau sed by M iles’ b ed ro o m d oor and th o u g h t, ‘Is he to o a t th e window, w a t c h i n g ? ’ Th e n I e n t e r e d an e m p ty ro o m , w e n t to th e w indow, and looked out. This ro o m w as b e n e a t h th e old to w e r . In t h e m o o n lig h t I sa w s o m e o n e sta n d in g on th e l a w n , 1 looking up a t s o m e t h in g a b o v e m e. T h e re w as clearly a n o t h e r p e rso n a b o v e me — t h e r e w as s o m e o n e on th e to w e r . But th e p e rso n on th e lawn w a s n o t Miss Je s s e l: it w a s po o r little Miles h im self!

1.

60

law n : a r e a o f s h o r t cu t g r a s s .

A Q

C

T

V

T

E

S

The n a rra to r’s nights are disturbed by four people. Who are they? And w here w ere they? How are they described? Fill in the table with the missing information. Person

W here w ere they?

Peter Quint

How are they described? ‘He seemed like a living human being.’ ... ‘a criminal’.

In her bedroom. Miss Jessel On the lawn.

FC E

Q For questions 1-4 choose the answ er (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the te x t. 1

2

The governess knew Peter Quint A

□

was afraid.

B

□

knew she was afraid.

C

Q knew she w asn’t afraid.

D

□

The governess thought Flora A

didn’t want to tell her who she had seen out of the window.

B

□

C

Q hadn’t seen anyone out of the

d

3

-d

was afraid to tell her who she had seen out of the window. window.

would tell her later what she had seen.

How did the governess know that the woman on the lower stairs was Miss Jessel? A

Q She saw her face.

B

Q She recognised her voice.

C

Q We are not told.

D □

62

w asn’t afraid.

She introduced herself to the governess.

A 4

C

T

V

T

E

S

Who did the governess think Miles was probably looking up at? A Q

Peter Quint.

B

Herself.

Q

C □

Flora.

D Q

Miss Jessel.

Discuss your answ ers with your partner.

©

Explain the significance of these ordinal/cardinal num bers in P art V. a. twice b. ten c. eleventh

©

‘Sanity or m adness? In Part III, exercise 4 on p. 41 you w ere asked; ‘W hat support is there for the n arrato r in Part III?’ In Part V, w hat evidence can you find to support the position th a t the governess is m ad? Summarise your ideas in a short paragraph.

G ra m m a r ‘(Miles) was clever enough to learn things on his ow n’ — ‘en o u g h ’ generally follows adjectives e.g.: He isn’t old enough... — and can be followed by the infinitive e.g.: ...to vote

^ C E ©

For questions 1-5, complete the second sentence so th a t it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You m ust use between two and five words, including the word given. There is an example at the beginning (0). 0

It was too dark to see Miss Jessel clearly, light There . w.Q.sjl+. € P.£ .u.9 hJi9 tit.

to see Miss Jessel clearly.

63

A 1

C

T

T

E

S

With the information given, the reader can’t make clear decisions about what is happening. got The r e a d e r ................................................ to make clear decisions about what is happening.

2

What Miles did at his school was bad enough for him to be expelled, serious What Miles did at his s c h o o l................................................. th a t he was expelled.

3

The governess accepted the job after having met the m aster once, convince Meeting the m aster o n c e ................................................ the governess to accept the job.

4

The governess’s father was too poor to provide his daughter with a private income. w asn’t The governess’s f a t h e r ................................................. to provide his daughter with a private income.

5

Flora is young enough to sleep in the same room as the governess, can Flora’s age m e a n s ..................................................in the same room as the governess.

Q

‘Does the governess really see the ghosts, or is she hallucinating th em ?’ (Introduction, p. 7) We are half-way through The Turn o f the Screw. Whose side are you on? a.

Divide your class into two groups: One supports the argument th at the governess really sees the ghosts, while the other supports the position that the governess is imagining them. Use the story so far to support your position.

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k* Interview After you have finished, work with a student from the other group. Try and persuade him/her of your position.

S o m e useful la n g u a g e To present your opinion: First... First o f all... Then, w h a t is m ore... A n oth er f a c t is...; F in ally.... To express a difference of opinion: Well, I can s e e y o u r p o in t but... I don't a g ree... F lav ey ou co n sid ered ?

Q

W hat title would you give to Part V? Which of these titles do you prefer? Try and add another to the list. a.

Sleepless nights.

b. The house of spirits,

c.

What has Miles seen?

d. Night visitors,

e...........................................

Lookin g a head Q

Before listening to this e x tra ct from P art VI consider these two questions: •

‘Did you see someone out th e re ?’ the governess asked Flora. The child said ‘no’ but the governess thought she was lying. Who did she possibly see?

• W hat was Miles doing on the lawn late at night? >

Listen to this e x tra ct from the beginning of Part VI and answ er these two questions. Check your answ ers when you read Part VI.

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VI had no o p p o rtu n ity to ta lk to Mrs G ro se until la te th e n e x t evening. Mrs G ro se w as a g r e a t help to m e: she sh a re d my te rrib le s e c r e t s , and sh e believed me. But she had no im ag in atio n . She still th o u g h t th e children w e re beau tifu l ch a r m in g little an gels. Sh e could n o t im agine th e th in g s t h a t w orried m e m o s t. As tim e w e n t on, and th e children co n tin u e d to s e e m happy, Mrs G ro se sto p p ed w orryin g a b o u t th e m and beg an w orrying a b o u t m e. W h en I finally found th e tim e to tell h er w h a t had h ap p ened th e night b e fo re , we w e re sittin g t o g e t h e r in th e ev en ing light, sew ing. The children w e re walking up and down th e lawn. Miles w as readin g a b o o k to Flora. I told h er a b o u t se e in g Miles ou tsid e on th e lawn a t o n e o ’clo ck in th e m orning. I had g on e to him im m ed iately . W h en he sa w me, he w alked to w a r d s m e seren ely . T o g e th e r we w e n t up th e s t a ir s w h e re Quint had w aited fo r him and down th e co rrid o r w h e re I had w a tc h e d and w aited , to his

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e m p ty ro o m . W e w alked in silen ce. I f e lt a kind o f triu m ph , b e c a u s e it s e e m e d im po ssible fo r him to ex plain why he had b ee n o utsid e. He w as in a t r a p ! 1 ‘You m u s t tell m e n o w ,’ I said. ‘Tell m e th e tr u th . W h y did you go o u t s id e ? ’ He stood th e re smiling like a little fairy prince. I can still see t h a t wonderful smile. ‘If I tell you, will you u n d e rsta n d ? ’ he asked gently. ‘Y e s . ’ ‘I did it b e c a u s e I am tire d o f being good all th e tim e. I w a n te d you to th in k I w as bad, f o r a c h a n g e .’ Then he kissed m e, and I nearly b u rst into te a r s . ‘But I m igh t n o t h ave s e e n y o u ,’ I said. ‘I told Flora to go to th e window, so t h a t you would look o ut o f th e w indow t o o ! ’ he said, sm iling even m o re. I could n o t tell him w h a t I s u sp e c te d . I could n o t be th e f ir s t to m e n tio n th e h o rro rs we w e re e x p e rie n cin g . / w a s th e o ne w ho had fallen into a trap ! W e e m b r a c e d again. Then he said, smiling again, ‘Think how bad I c o u ld b e !’ ‘He k no w s how bad he could b e , ’ I said to Mrs G ro se. ‘And t h a t ’s w h a t he sh o w ed th e m a t s c h o o l.’ ‘Y o u ’re alw ay s ch an g in g y ou r op in io n !’ p r o t e s t e d Mrs G ro se. ‘I d o n ’t ch a n g e: I’m j u s t beginning to u nd e rsta n d . I am su re t h a t th e fo u r o f th e m m e e t c o n s t a n tly . N eith er o f th e children has e v e r m e n tio n e d Miss J e s s e l or P e t e r Quint. And Miles h as n ev e r ta lk e d a b o u t his school. W e sit h ere and w a tc h th e m , and th e y s e e m beau tifu l and in n o c e n t, but all th e tim e th e y a re th inkin g a b o u t th e dead! He is n o t reading to h er now: th e y are talkin g

1.

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He w a s in a t r a p : a t r a p is s o m e t h i n g h u n t e r s use t o c a t c h a n i m a l s . T h e e x p r e s s i o n m e a n s he had no w a y t o e s c a p e .

P art vi about th em

— talkin g a b o u t h o rro rs! T h e y a re so g e n tle and

ch a rm in g and good in o rd er to d eceive u s!’ ‘But th e y a re only ch ild re n !’ cried Mrs G ro se. ‘Y es. I know it s e e m s mad, bu t it ’s tru e . T h e y a re n o t ours. Th ey d o n ’t live w ith us. T h e y live w ith Quint and t h a t w o m a n !’ ‘But w hy do Quint and t h a t w o m a n w a n t th e c h ild r e n ? ’ ‘To c o n tin u e th e ir evil in flu en ce o ver th e m — th e evil in flu en ce th e y had o v er th e children during t h o s e m o n th s . T h e y w a n t to co n tin u e th e w o rk o f d e m o n s !’ ‘Good G o d !’ said my frien d. It w a s c le a r t h a t sh e believed me. ‘T hey w e r e evil,’ sh e co n tin u ed . ‘But w h a t can th e y do n o w ? ’ ‘D o ? ’ I r e p e a t e d , so loudly t h a t Miles and Flora pau sed in th e ir walk and sm iled a t us. ‘D on ’t th e y do e n o u g h ? ’ I ask ed , m o re quietly. ‘T h ey ca n d e s t r o y th e m ! T h e y c a n ’t do it y et. At p r e s e n t th e y are alw ay s s e e n in s t r a n g e pla ces, aw a y f ro m th e children: th e to p o f th e to w e r , o u tsid e th e window, on th e o th e r side o f th e lake. But th e y w a n t to c o m e clo ser, and, s o o n e r or later, t h e y will su cce ed . Th e children will tr y to go to th e m — and die in th e a t t e m p t — u nless we ca n p r e v e n t t h e m ! ’ ‘Th eir uncle m u s t p r e v e n t t h e m , ’ said Mrs G ro se. ‘You m u st w rite to him and tell him e v e r y th in g .’ ‘He will th in k I am m ad. B esid es, he told m e n o t to w o rry h im .’ ‘He oug ht to be h e r e , ’ sh e in sisted . ‘I c a n ’t w rite to him and a s k him to c o m e , ’ I replied. W e looked a t e a c h o th e r. Sh e u n d e rsto o d m e as o n e w o m a n u n d e rs ta n d s a n o th e r . I knew t h a t sh e k new w h a t I w a s thinking: ‘If I w rite to him, he will laugh a t m e. He will th in k I h ave in v e n te d th e s t o r y to a t t r a c t his a t t e n t io n . He will th in k t h a t I w a n t to s e e h im .’ I said to her, ‘If you w rite to him, I will le a v e .’ She looked really frig h te n e d th e n .

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Answer these questions about the e x tra ct you listened to in Part V. a. How did Mrs Grose help the governess? b. What problem did Mrs Grose have in understanding? c. Why did the governess feel ‘a kind of triumph’? d. Why did Miles go out onto the lawn the night before? e. Why did Miles tell Flora to go to the window?

Ambiguous: having or expressing more than one possible meaning, som etim es intentionally. (C am bridge International Dictionary o f English).

We have seen how The Turn o f the Screw is an ambiguous story (Part IV, exercise 5, p. 57). The governess sees the children’s behaviour as having an o th er m eaning. Read from ‘You’re alw ays changing your opinion!’, protested Mrs Grose, and complete the table below:

Appearance

Governess’s interpretation They m eet Peter Quint and Miss Jessel constantly.

They seem beautiful and innocent. They are talking about Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. Miles and Flora live at Bly with the governess and Mrs Grose.

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‘Mrs Grose was a great help to me: she shared my terrible secrets, and she believed m e.’ Someone who you can share your feelings and secrets with is called a ‘confidant’.

T: GRADES 6-7 Topic — Early mem ories a. • Have you got a special friend who you can talk to ? • Why is this person special? • Why can you share your feelings with him /her? • Do you think there are any differences in friendship between boys and girls?

b. Mrs Grose is not only the go verness’s confidant but she is OUR co n tact with Bly and the events there. W hat questions does she ask the governess? W hat answ ers does she receive? Mrs Grose’s questions

Answer

1 2

G ra m m a r Mrs Grose asks the governess to write to the m aster and tell him everything. This is exactly what we would do. The governess refuses, saying: ‘He will th in k I a m m a d ’. and adds 'Ify ou w rite to him , I will le a v e ’. The governess explains the probable or certain consequences of a future action. This construction is called ‘The 1st Conditional’. What tense is in the ‘if’ clause? What verb is in the main (second) clause?

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A c.

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Working with a p artner, com plete the 1st conditional chain: add a t least tw o links in th e chain. Com pare your chain w ith o th e r pairs. Whose is the longest? An example has been done for you. I f s h e w rites to th e c h ild r e n s uncle, h e will th in k s h e is m ad . —► I f h e thin ks s h e is m a d , ..................................................................................

F C E O

Read this advertisem ent carefully, on which you have made some notes.

HAUNTED1 LONDON TOUD Re-live centuries o f terror! —----

Is it suitable fa r children?

- the walking corpse 2 of Piccadilly - the Whitechapel murders - the demon lover of Kensington - the Victoria strangler - the ghostly bell-ringer of Marylebone - the house of horror by the Thames Tour London’s haunted past of horror M eet every even in g M onday to Friday. Bank Tube 5 pm. Two tours by coach or on foot Coach tour £ 14.99 (1-2 hours) _ _ _ Walking tour £ 7.99 (2 hours) (Includes drink in haunted pub!)____

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1.

H a u n te d : a p la ce w h e r e a g h o s t a p p e a r s .

2.

c o rp s e : d ead body.

Haw many people in each party? Which did you da? W h a t’s the best? A ny ather suggestions?

A

C

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Y o u r c la s s is v is itin g London so o n . You th in k th e to u r so u n d s interesting. You know a friend of yours w ent on the tou r last sum m er and you w ant some m ore details. You have made some notes. Com plete this email to your friend. Make sure you include all the points opposite. Rem ember to use an appropriate style. ©

oe

; Send Now

^ Send Later

Link

*■ Qf Delete

£ gjj *

To:

Dear

Options *

Rewrap

Insert

* j$j|jCategories *

,%|

From:

#

.................... .

Hi! Did I tell you that our class is going to London next year? I saw an ad in a London newspaper about a tour of haunted London. class w ould really like to go on it.

Our

I remember you telling me you went

on the same tour last summer...

^

a. Look at these 4 titles. Use three of them to sum m arise three sections of Part VI. W here do sections 2 and 3 begin? Discuss your choices with your partner. 1.

Not as they seem.

2.

I wanted to be bad.

3.

The mystery of the lake.

4.

Their uncle must be told.

b. W h ich o f th e t h r e e t it l e s w ould you c h o o s e as th e tit le fo r Part VI?

Lookin g ahead In Part VII the governess w rites 7 thought o f ru nn in g away fro m Bly’. W hat do you think the reason could be? Discuss your ideas with your partner. Keep a record of them as you read Part VII.

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IN T E R N E T FILM PROJECT

The Turn o f the S crew was made into a film with the title The Innocents (GB/1961). Read this short review and use the Internet to answ er the questions.

1 _______________ gives a fine, subtly hysterical perform ance as the governess of two lonely, children in a rem ote estate in England. The c h ild re n , w h o s e p a re n ts h a v e d ie d , a re le ft in th e c a re o f th e ir housekeeper by their disinterested uncle, w ho decides to hire them a new governess. The governess, is drawn to w hat she believes as the children’s m ysterious and troubling world - a world dom inated by the strong and disturbing spirits of the e state ’s corrupt, am oral w arden 1 and the children’s first governess. This is a very fine screen adaptation of Henry Jam es’ The Turn o f the Screw. 2 _______________ ’s direction

1

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w arden : person in charge of a building and estate, here Bly.

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is s u p e rio r. T h e film is rich in d e ta il, and h as a q u ie t, ta s te fu l s e n s u a lity . In te llig e n t, e m o tio n a lly s a tis fy in g film m a k in g . W ith : 3 Michael R ed grave. Peter W yngarde, Megs Jenkins. The children are played extrem ely well by Pam ela Franklin and Martin Stephens. Notes: M usic by G eorges Auric. Photographed by 4 Freddie Francis. Screenplay by W illiam Archibald and 5 Trum an C ap o te. 1 W hat is the name of the actress w ho played the role of the governess? W hat other fam ous film did she star in? 2 W ho was the director? W hat other film s did he direct? 3 W hat can you find out about M ichael Redgrave? 4 W hat other activity in the cinem a did Freddie Francis do? 5 W hat other activity is Trum an C apote more fam ous for? 6 W ith alm ost 40 film s based on his novels, H enry Jam es heads the list of w orld-w ide television and cinem a credits together with C harles Dickens. 7 W hat other novels by Henry Jam es have been made into films? C om plete the brief sum m ary chart below of som e recent film adaptations. Title

Director

Starring

Year made

O rganise a class show ing of the film The Innocents. Then w rite a review describing w hat you liked and/or d id n ’t like about the film.

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VII m o n th passed by. S o m e tim e s I th o u gh t I saw my stu d en ts looking a t me ironically. W h a t we said to each o th e r w as much less im p o rtan t th a n w h at we id not say. W e had a ta c it a g re e m e n t never to discuss the things t h a t worried me m ost. The forbidden su b je cts w ere g ho sts in general and the children’s m e m o ries o f Miss Jesse l and Quint. The children w atch ed m e with in terest. ‘She thinks she will talk about Miss Jesse l to d a y ,’ th e y s ee m ed to say to each other. ‘But she w o n ’t ! ’ T h e y o f t e n ask ed m e a b o u t m y p a st. I told th e m ev e ry th in g a b o u t m y life b e f o r e I c a m e to Bly. I told th e m s t o r i e s a b o u t m y s e lf and m y b r o th e r s and s is t e r s and th e c a t and th e dog a t h o m e. I told th e m a b o u t m y e c c e n t r i c f a t h e r , th e fu rn itu re in our h ouse, and t h e c o n v e r s a ti o n s o f old w o m e n in our village. T h ey p a rtic u la rly liked m y s t o r i e s a b o u t G oody 1 G osling. L a te r I 1.

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G oody : a title — like ‘M r s’ or ‘M i s t r e s s ’ — f o r a m a rried w o m a n o f t h e low er c l a s s e s . This title w a s pa rticu larly c o m m o n in t h e s i x t e e n t h and s e v e n t e e n t h c e n tu r i e s in P uritan c o m m u n it i e s in England and A m e rica.

P a r£ v il realised t h a t th e y e n c o u ra g e d m e to tell th e m t h e s e s t o r ie s b e c a u s e t h e y w e r e s a f e . My p a s t w a s n o t d a n g e r o u s . T h e forb id d en s u b je c t s w ere all fro m t h e ir p ast. The s u m m e r had ended. The days w e re s h o r t e r and th e sky w as grey. Many ti m e s I e x p e c t e d to s e e Quint or Miss J e s s e l, bu t I sa w n oth in g. This w orried m e: I w a s a fraid t h a t I had lo st my c a p a c ity to s e e th e g h o s t s . If th e children sa w th e m , I w a n te d to s e e th e m to o , so t h a t I could p r o t e c t th e children. Hpw ca n I ex plain m y o b s e s s i o n ? At tim e s , I w as su re t h a t th e g h o s t s a p p e a red to t h e children while I w as th e r e with t h e m , but I could n o t s e e th e g h o s ts . I c o u ld se e , h o w ever, t h a t Miles and Flora saw th e m and w e lco m e d t h e m . I n e v e r said an ythin g , th o u g h I o f t e n w ished to . S o m e t im e s I sh u t m y s e lf in m y ro o m alon e and a c t e d out, as in a t h e a t r e , a s c e n e o f tr u t h -t e llin g with th e children. T h e n I f e l t a s h a m e d o f m y wish to sp eak: Miles and Flora had th e good m a n n e r s to be silent. One s u b je c t we d iscu ssed o f t e n w as th e ir uncle. ‘W h en do you th in k he will c o m e ? ’ W e a sk ed e a c h o th e r, ‘should we w rite to h im ? ’ This w a s all f a n t a s y , o f co u rse. He had no in te n tio n o f com ing. He n e v e r w r o te to Miles and Flora. Miles and Flora w ro te to him, but I n e v e r s e n t him th e ir le tt e r s . T h ey w e re to o beau tifu l to be p o ste d ; I k e p t t h e m m y self; I still have th e m now. One g rey a u tu m n Sunday, as we w alked to ch u rch, Miles said to m e, ‘W h en am I going b a c k to school, m y d e a r? A boy sh o u ld n ’t be w ith a lady a lw a y s .’ I tried to laugh, and I s e e m e d to s e e in his b eau tifu l f a c e how ugly and s t r a n g e I looked. ‘And alw ay s w ith th e s a m e la d y ? ’ I ask ed .

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‘Y o u ’re a very nice lady, bu t I am a boy, and now I’m growing up.’ ‘Y e s, I k n o w ,’ I said, but I fe lt helpless, 1 and I th in k he knew th a t . ‘I h ave b e e n good, h a v e n ’t I? E x c e p t t h a t o ne night. I could do s o m e t h in g bad like t h a t a g a in .’ ‘Y e s, but you w o n ’t , ’ I said. ‘So w h en a m I going b a c k to s c h o o l ? ’ ‘W e r e you happy a t s c h o o l ? ’ ‘O h,’ he said, ‘I’m happy a n y w h e r e .’ ‘Th en s t a y h e r e !’ ‘But I w a n t to learn and to s e e m o re life,’ said Miles. ‘I w a n t to be with m y own s o r t . ’ 2 I laughed. ‘T h e re are n o t m a n y o f you r so rt, Miles, e x c e p t F lo ra .’ ‘Flora is n o t my own so rt. S h e ’s a b ab y girl.’ ‘D on ’t you love F lo r a ? ’ By th is tim e, we had re a c h e d th e chu rch, and th e o th e r s had e n t e r e d it. W e sto p p ed in th e ch u rch y ard , 3 and Miles looked a t th e t o m b s . ‘If I didn’t — and you to o —’ he said. ‘Y e s ? If you didn’t —? ’ ‘Well! You know w h a t ! ’ Th e n he looked a t m e and said, ‘Does my uncle th in k w h a t you th in k ? I m e a n , d o es he k n o w ?’ I w as so su rprised by th is q u e stio n t h a t I s a t down on o n e o f th e t o m b s . I could n o t a n s w e r w ith o u t se e m in g to criticise my

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1.

h e lp le ss : i m p o t e n t ; u n a b le t o do a n y t h in g .

2.

m y ow n s o r t : peo p le like m e (in t h is c a s e , o t h e r bo y s).

3.

ch u r c h y a r d : g ro und aro u n d t h e c h u rc h , used a s a c e m e t e r y .

em plo y er. But we had all done th in g s w ro ng a t Bly, so it did n o t s e e m to m a t t e r . ‘I d o n ’t th in k you r uncle c a r e s m u c h ,’ I said. ‘T h en you d o n ’t th in k he will c o m e h e r e ? ’ ‘W ho will g e t him to c o m e h e r e ? ’ 7 w ill!’ t h e

b o y said w ith e x t r a o r d i n a r y b r i g h t n e s s and

e m p h a sis. T h en he w alked into t h e ch u rch , leaving m e to sit on m y to m b and th in k a b o u t our c o n v e r s a tio n . I should have g on e into ch u rch w ith him, but I did n o t, and t h a t sh o w ed him how m u ch our c o n v e r s a tio n had d istu rb ed m e. Miles knew t h a t I w a s afra id to ta lk to his uncle. I did n o t w a n t to a n s w e r his u n c le ’s q u e s t io n s a b o u t t h e fo rb id d en s u b je c t s . I did

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n o t w a n t his uncle to c o m e to Bly. Miles k new th is and w as using his kno w led ge to g e t m o re fr e e d o m . He w a n te d to go to school, so he w as o ffe r in g m e a ch o ice. It w as as if he had said, ‘E ith er you send m e to scho o l or I a s k m y uncle to c o m e to Bly.’ This w as th e f ir s t c le a r ev id en ce t h a t Miles had a c o n s c io u s n e s s and a plan, and, f o r th e f ir s t tim e , I w a n te d to e s c a p e fr o m him. I th o u g h t o f running a w a y f ro m Bly. I could go b a c k to th e house, p ac k my th in gs, and be g on e b e f o r e a n y o n e re tu rn e d fro m ch u rch. I hurried b a c k to th e house. How m u ch tim e did I h ave b e f o r e th e o th e r s re tu r n e d ? W h e r e could I find a c a r r ia g e ? 1 D ism ayed 2 by th e d ifficu lties o f escap in g, I s a t on th e s t a ir s and put m y head in m y hand s. Th en I sto o d up again quickly, suddenly realising t h a t , a m o n th b e f o re , I had s e e n Miss J e s s e l ’s g h o s t in e x a c tl y t h a t position. I ran up th e s t a ir s to th e sch o o l ro o m to g e t m y things. A w o m a n s a t a t m y ta b le , w riting a le tte r . At f ir s t I th o u g h t t h a t she w as a maid. Sh e did n o t n o tic e m y e n t r a n c e . Sh e s to o d up and w alked a c r o s s th e ro o m , looking m e la n ch o ly and in d iffe r e n t. Then I realised w ho sh e w as: d isho no u red and tra g ic, Miss J e s s e l s to o d b e f o r e me. W hile th e vision lasted , I had th e s e n s a t io n t h a t / w a s th e intru der: th e scho o l ro o m and th e ta b le w e re hers, n o t m ine. I cried aloud, ‘You te rrib le , m is e ra b le w o m a n !’ The sound o f my voice w a s loud in th e e m p ty silen t ho use. Sh e looked a t m e fo r a m o m e n t , and th e n sh e van ished . I k new th e n t h a t I had to stay .

1.

c a r r ia g e : h o r s e - d r a w n v eh ic le.

2.

D ism ayed : m a d e un hap py .

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Answer these questions: a. What subjects did the governess and the children talk about? b. What subjects were ‘forbidden’? c. Why was the governess worried that she had not seen the ghost for some time? d. What did the governess notice about the children’s behaviour? e. Why did the governess decide not to send the children’s letters to their uncle?

0

At the church Devil or little angel? Miles says things th at are ambiguous and th a t can be interpreted in two ways. Complete the table with the co rre ct inform ation from the list (a-f) below. Two examples (d and f) have been done for you. W hat he says

Interpretation Devil

Little Angel

1 ‘I have been good, haven’t I. Except th a t one night. I could do something bad like that again.’ 2 ‘I want to be with

d. With boys of his own age.

my own sort.’ 3 Tm happy anywhere.’

f. He has supernatural powers that go beyond conventional ideas of happiness.

a. He wants to go back to school. It is not important where. b. He communicated openly with Quint and wanted the governess to see him doing it. c. He could not sleep. He wanted to play a trick on her.

82

A

C

T

I

V

I

T

I

E

S

d. With boys of his own age. e. With the devil/ghosts; people like Quint and Miss Jessel. f.

^

He has supernatural powers th at go beyond conventional ideas of happiness.

'Eitheryou send m e to school or I ask m y uncle to com e to Bly.’ Why doesn’t the governess w ant this to happen? If Miles asks his uncle to come to Bly... Complete this sentence. Rem em ber the co n stru ction and ideas you used in F art VI, exercise 3c, p. 72.

7 thought o f ru nn in g away fro m Bly.’ a. What made the governess think this? (What ideas did you have in Part VII, looking ahead, p. 73?) b. What stopped her from leaving? c. Do you think she really wanted to leave?

Q

'...but I fe lt h elpless’ The suffix ‘-less’ is added to some nouns to make adjectives with the meaning of ‘w ithout’. The opposite of these adjectives can be (but not always!) ‘-ful’. a.

Check th e m eaning of th e nouns and th en co m p lete th e tab le below. Noun

Adjectives

Adjectives

help

helpful

helpless

use thought care meaning hope

83

A

C

T

T

E

S

b. Complete the sentences below (a-f) with the co rre ct form of the adjectives used above. An example (0) has been done for you. 0.

Mrs Grose tried to be Jl?Jj?£y]................... , but the governess felt th at the future of the children depended on her alone.

1.

‘I have to b e .................................. I don’t want the children to suspect th at I know their s ecret.’

2.

‘H o w ................................their uncle is! He is not at all interested in Miles and Flora.’

3.

To an outsider events at Bly may a p p e a r ................................., but they are all significant to the governess.

4.

‘I a m .................................; I will save the children.’

5.

Exposed to the evil influence of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel, Miles and Flora are s o .................................

6

‘It w a s ................................to send the children’s letters to their uncle. He would never have read them. I have them still.’

c. W rite some sentences using the adjectives you did not use from the table.

@

a. Choose an example of direct speech (‘Should we write to h im ?1) from P art VII as a sum m ary title. b.

You h ave found ev id en ce of th e g o v e r n e s s ’s sa n ity (P a r t III, exercise 4, p. 41) and m adness (P art V, exercise 4 , p. 6 3 ). W hat evidence is th ere of both in P art VII? Compare your ideas with your partner.

•

Sanity

Madness

(she really saw the ghosts)

(she is hallucinating them) •

•

84

Puritanism Home critics have seen The Turn o f the Screw as a tale about the dangers of Puritan ideas. These critics argue that the governess is puritanical and that her Puritan beliefs cause her to make the wrong decisions. In order to consider this, we must first know what is meant by 'Puritan'. In the sixteenth century, people in several European countries were dissatisfied with the Roman Catholic Church. This dissatisfaction developed into a political and religious movement called The Reformation. Those who supported reform were called Protestants, because they protested against the corruption and decadence of the

P u ritan s G oing to C hurch (1 8 6 7 ) by G eorge H en ry B o u gh to n .

85

Church. They objected to the wealth displayed in Catholic churches, the use of candles and incense, and the vow of celibacy required of priests and nuns. They wanted the buildings and ceremonies of the Church to be simpler and closer to those of the early Christians. In the 1530s, the English Church separated from the Roman Catholic Church. Many English Christians had wanted reform for a long time. However, the immediate cause of England's split with the Church of Rome was that Pope Clement VII refused to annul the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Catherine of Aragon. This was the beginning of the Protestant Church in England. The Puritans were radical English Protestants who sought a further purification of the Church during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). Puritan ideas applied to the political world influenced Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) and his parliamentarians, who defeated King Charles I and beheaded him in 1649. The 1650s, when Cromwell and the parliamentarians ruled England, were the height of Puritan influence in the British Isles. Many Puritans emigrated to North America, hoping to establish a purer Church in the New World. In 1629 they founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the influence of their severe doctrines was felt in the United States for centuries. They objected to ornamentation of any kind (such as beautiful clothes and furniture, jewellery and perfume) and to dancing, music, theatre, art, and literature. They were responsible for the persecution of so-called witches in Massachusetts, where over one hundred women were convicted of witchcraft between 1648 and 1693. Puritans believed that a true Christian's life should be spent in hard work, care for the family, and prayer.

86

Although the word 'Puritan' applies only to the extreme Protestants of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, many later religious groups in England and North America had - and indeed still have ideas inherited from the Puritans. For example, the Methodists and Dissenters 1 in nineteenth-century England believed that Christians should read the Bible rather than rely upon priests to interpret Holy Scripture for them, and they thoroughly disapproved of any display of sexuality. These ideas were derived from Puritanism. Another example, this time from the United States, is the idea that purity can and should be achieved in individual lives and in communities: this belief led directly to the persecution of the 'witches' in seventeencentury Massachusetts. It was also responsible for McCarthyism 2 in the 1950s and the impeachment3 of President Clinton in the 1990s. When an Australian journalist was asked to comment upon Clinton's impeachment hearings in the Senate, she said, 'Thank God they got the Puritans and we got the criminals!'4

1.

M e t h o d is t s a n d D i s s e n t e r s : t w o ra d ica l relig io us g ro u p s t h a t g a ined p o p u la rity in t h e 1 8 0 0 s .

2.

M c C a r th y ism : t h e p e r s e c u t i o n o f c o m m u n i s t s in t h e U nited S t a t e s in t h e 1 9 5 0 s , f o llo w in g t h e cla im m a d e by S e n a t o r J o s e p h M c C a rt h y in 1951 t h a t t h e r e w e r e c o m m u n i s t s in t h e S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t o f t h e U nited S t a t e s g o v e r n m e n t .

3.

i m p e a c h m e n t : trial o f a P r e s i d e n t o f t h e U nited S t a t e s w ith a vie w t o re m o v i n g him f r o m o f f ic e . P r e s i d e n t Clinton w a s i m p e a c h e d in 1 9 9 8 f o r lying a b o u t his r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith M o n ica L ew in sky. T he i m p e a c h m e n t , h o w e v e r , w a s n o t s u c c e s s f u l , a nd C linton c o n t in u e d as P r e s i d e n t until t h e en d o f his t e r m o f o f f ic e .

4.

‘T h a n k God... c r i m i n a l s ! ’ : in n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y B rita in , cr i m i n a l s w e r e o f t e n ‘t r a n s p o r t e d ’ t o A u s tr a lia . T h e A u s tr a li a n j o u r n a l i s t is e x p r e s s i n g r e l i e f t h a t h e r ow n c o u n t r y is n o t P u r it a n ic a l, b e c a u s e it w a s n o t f o u n d e d by P u rita n s e t t l e r s , bu t by c r i m i n a l s i n s te a d .

87

^

Which cam e first? a. Q

Q

^

c. Q

Protestantism

the decadence and corruption of the Catholic church

b. Q

the lack of ornamentation and display in Catholic churches the similarity between the Catholic church and early forms of Christianity

W hat was the immediate cause for the separation from the Roman Catholic church of the English church? Q

religious

b. Q

political

c.

Q

economic

Q

the 1650s

Which decade marked the height of Puritanism ? a. Q

Q

Catholicism

c.

a.

Q

b. Q

W hat did P rotestan ts p rotest against? a. Q

^

Puritanism

1600-1610

b. Q

the 1630s

c.

Why did the Puritans go to North Am erica? a. Q

to expand their influence on a new continent

b. Q

to make a fresh start

c.

to avoid the mistakes they made in Europe

Q

W hat did the Puritans believe was essential to be a good Christian? a.

Q

a love of beautiful things

b.

Q

hard work and prayer

c.

Q

persecution of witches

88

A

C

T

I

V

I

T

I

E

S

Lookin g ahead 0

a. In Part VIII the governess asks Miles ‘W hat happened before you cam e back and before you w ent aw ay?’ b. How will Miles re a c t to this q u estion ? Discuss you r ideas w ith your partner.

-CE

c. Listen to this e x tra ct from the beginning of P art VIII. For questions 1-5 choose a speaker (A-E) to answ er questions 1-5. There is one e x tra letter you will not need to use. You can use a letter more than once.

A the governess B

Miss Jessel

C Miles D Flora E

Mrs Grose

Who: 0

\C\ thought it was best not to ask too many questions?

1

Q

thought it was unusual for someone to have friends?

2

Q

did the governess and Miss Jessel talk about?

3

Q

decided th at it was time to write to the children’s uncle?

4

Q

blames the uncle for what has happened?

5

Q

blames herself for what has happened?

89

VIII Mrs G ro se and th e children c a m e b a c k

m

ch u rch, th e y did n o t a s k m e w h e re I been . L a te r t h a t day, I w e n t to sp e a k to Mrs G ro se alo n e in h er ro o m . Sh e s a t by th e fire with a w orried look on h e r f a c e . ‘D on’t you w a n t to know w hy I didn’t c o m e to c h u r c h ? ’ I asked . ‘Y e s , ’ sh e replied, ‘but th e children told m e n o t to ask. Miles said t h a t you d o n ’t like to be q u e stio n e d and t h a t we m u s t n ’t do an y th in g you d o n ’t like! But w h e re did you g o ? ’ ‘I only w e n t to ch u rch f o r th e w a lk ,’ I said. ‘I had to c o m e b ac k and m e e t a f r ie n d .’ ‘A frien d — y o u ? ’ ‘Oh, y es, I h av e on e or tw o f r ie n d s !’ I laughed. ‘I c a m e h o m e, m y dear, f o r a ta lk w ith Miss J e s s e l . ’ ‘A talk! Do you m e a n sh e s p o k e ? ’

90

l\ r t

V III

‘Y e s. I fou nd h er in th e school r o o m .’ ‘And w h a t did sh e s a y ? ’ ‘T h a t sh e s u f f e r s th e t o r m e n t s o f th e d am n ed , and sh e w a n ts Flora to s h a re t h e m ! ’ The sim ple h o n e s t w o m a n cried o ut in h orror. ‘So I h ave decided to w rite to th e ir u n c le ,’ I said. ‘Oh, Miss, p lea se d o !’ ‘I will. Miles th in k s t h a t I am afraid to w rite to him, but he shall s e e t h a t he is w rong. If his uncle a sk s m e why I have n o t s e n t Miles to school, I will sh o w him th e h e a d m a s t e r ’s le tte r . I will tell him t h a t I could n o t find a new scho o l f o r a child w ho had b e e n expelled f o r — ’ ‘W e d o n ’t know w h y !’ cried Mrs G ro se. ‘For w ic k e d n e ss. 1 It c a n ’t be an y th in g else. He is clev e r and beau tifu l and p e r fe c t . It’s all th e ir u n c le ’s fau lt: he le ft th e m h ere with t h o s e horrible p e o p le !’ ‘He didn’t really k now th e m . It’s m y f a u l t ,’ said Mrs G ro se, going pale. ‘Well, you s h a n ’t 2 s u f f e r f o r it.’ ‘And n e ith e r shall t h e ch ild re n !’ sh e replied. T h a t evening, in m y ro o m , I b eg an th e l e t t e r to m y em p lo y er. The wind w as blowing outsid e, and Flora w as a sleep besid e m e. I st a r e d a t th e blank 3 s h e e t o f p a p e r and liste n ed to th e rain. Finally, I t o o k th e can d le and w e n t o ut into th e corrid or. I stop p ed and liste n ed a t M iles’ door. Suddenly, he called out, ‘C om e in!’

1.

w ic k e d n e s s : evil; d oing v e ry bad th in g s .

2.

s h a n ’t : sh all n o t , will n o t.

3.

blank : e m p ty .

91

I e n t e r e d his ro o m and found him sittin g in bed, aw ak e . ‘How did you k now I w as t h e r e ? ’ I ask ed . ‘Oh, I heard you. Did you th in k you m a d e no n o i s e ? ’ he said, sm iling up a t me. ‘W hy a r e n ’t you a s l e e p ? ’ ‘I lie a w a k e th in k in g .’ I s a t on his bed and held his hand. ‘W h a t do you th in k o f ? ’ ‘I th in k o f y o u .’ ‘I p r e fe r you to s le e p .’ ‘And I th in k o f th is s t r a n g e b u sin e s s o f o u r s .’ ‘W h a t s t r a n g e b u sin ess, M iles?’ ‘How you keep m e h ere with you. And all th e r e s t . ’ ‘W h a t do you m e a n by “all th e r e s t ”? ’ ‘Oh, you k n o w !’ I could s a y n o th in g f o r a m inu te. W e looked a t e a c h o th e r in silen ce. T hen I said, ‘You ca n go b a c k to scho o l if you like. Not to th e old school. W e m u s t find a n o th e r , b e t t e r place. I didn’t know t h a t you w a n te d to go. You n e v e r told m e b e f o r e . ’ He looked so b eau tiful, lying th e r e , listen ing to me. He w a s like a p a t ie n t in a ch ild re n ’s hospital, and I w ished t h a t I could be th e n u rse to cu re him. P erh a p s I really could help him. ‘Didn’t I? ’ he said. He w a s w aitin g fo r help, but n o t fro m me. He w as w aitin g f o r P e t e r Quint to tell him w h a t to say! Quint had put a spell on him, and now he had to a c t th e p a r t o f an in n o c e n t child. ‘No. You n e v e r m e n tio n e d y ou r school. In f a c t , you didn’t ta lk a b o u t you r p a s t a t all. You s e e m e d happy to a c c e p t th e p r e s e n t. I th o u g h t you w a n te d to s t a y h e r e . ’ ‘No. I w a n t to g e t a w a y ,’ he said. ‘D on ’t you like B ly ? ’

92

‘Y e s, I do like it, but y o u know w h a t a boy w a n ts ! My uncle m u s t c o m e h ere, and you m u s t decide w h a t to do. You will h ave to tell him e v e r y th in g / ‘And w h a t will y o u h ave to tell him, Miles. He will a sk y o u q u e s t io n s t o o . ’ ‘W h a t q u e s t i o n s ? ’ ‘He will a sk you a b o u t y ou r school. He c a n ’t sen d you b a c k t h e r e —’ ‘I d o n ’t w a n t to go back. I w a n t to go to a new s c h o o l.’ He said it w ith o u t an y sign o f e m b a r r a s s m e n t ; he w a s se r e n e . I th o u g h t, ‘If we do sen d him to a new school, he will p ro b ably be expelled fr o m t h a t one t o o . ’ It s e e m e d so trag ic, so u nn atu ral. I f e l t such pity f o r him t h a t I e m b r a c e d him, crying, ‘D ear little M iles!’ He let m e kiss him. ‘W h a t ’s w rong, old la d y ? ’ he a sk ed in his usual friendly way. ‘Is t h e r e n o th in g t h a t you w a n t to tell m e ? ’ He tu rn e d aw ay f ro m m e and looked a t th e wall. Again he s e e m e d like a p a t ie n t in a c h ild re n ’s h o spital. ‘I’ve told y o u ,’ he said. ‘I told you th is m orning. I w a n t you to leave m e a lo n e .’ I sto o d up by th e bed. W h a t he said w a s so p a t h e ti c and dignified. God kno w s I n e v e r w a n te d to h a r a s s 1 him. I j u s t did n o t w a n t to a b a n d o n him — to lose him. ‘I’ve begun a le t t e r to you r u n c le ,’ I said. ‘Well, th e n , finish it!’ I w a ited a m inu te . ‘W h a t h ap p e n ed b e f o r e ? ’ He looked up a t m e again. ‘B e f o r e w h a t ? ’ ‘B e f o r e you c a m e back. And b e f o r e you w e n t a w a y .’

1.

94

h a r a s s : t o t r o u b l e , a n n o y , and i r r i t a t e c o n tin u a lly .

I \ r {

He w a s silen t f o r s o m e tim e, but he c o n tin u e d to look a t me. ‘W h a t h a p p e n e d ? ’ he r e p e a t e d . S o m e th in g in his voice s e e m e d fo r th e f ir s t tim e to ad m it t h a t s o m e t h in g te rrib le had h appen ed. I s a t on th e bed again. I th o u g h t I had o n e m o re c h a n c e to p o s s e s s him. ‘D ear little Miles! I w a n t to help you so m uch! I would n e v e r hurt you! P le ase help m e to sa v e y o u !’ But I k new in a m o m e n t t h a t I had g on e to o f a r . 1 A cold wind blew as if fro m a b ro k e n window. The boy s c r e a m e d in jo y or te r r o r . I sto o d up in th e d a rk n e ss. ‘The cand le is o u t !’ I cried. ‘I blew it out, d e a r !’ said Miles.

1.

g o n e t o o f a r : said t o o m u ch ; b e e n t o o ex p licit.

95

A

F ▼C E O

C

T

I

V

T

E

S

For questions 1-8, choose the answ er (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the te x t. 1

2

Which word best describes Mrs Grose’s reaction when the governess says she had met a friend? A Q

Horror.

B

Pity.

□

C Q

Amusement.

D Q

Surprise.

How many lies did the governess tell Mrs Grose? A

Q

B

3

4

Three.

C

Q Four.

D

Q Five.

Why does the governess decide to write to the children’s uncle? A Q

To prove she isn’t afraid of Miles.

B

Because Mrs Grose asked her.

Q]

C

Q To tell him

D

Q She hopes to

see him again.

A Q

She had been writing Flora a story.

B

Q

She had been writing a letter.

C

Q

She had been trying to start a letter. She had been listening at his door.

When the governess came into Miles’s room he was A

Q sleeping.

B

□

reading a book.

C

Q

lying on his bed awake.

D Q

96

about the headm aster’s letter.

What had the governess been doing before she went to Miles’s room?

D Q 5

Two.

looking out of the bedroom window.

A 6

T

I

V

T

I

E

S

Which of the following does Miles NOT want? A Q

To go to a new school.

B

□

His uncle to come to Bly.

C

Q

The governess to leave him alone.

D Q 7

C

To return to his old school.

What was Miles’s reaction to the news th at the governess was writing a letter to his uncle? A Q

Anger.

B

Q

Disinterest.

C

Q

Amusement.

D □ 8

Why did the candle go out? A B C D

0

Sadness.

□ □ □ □

The window was broken. The governess blew it out. Miles blew it out. We don’t know.

In the governess’s story Miles appears as a disturbing child both for w hat he says and w hat he doesn’t . a. What does he say or do in Part VIII that is disturbing? b. What does he decide not to say in Part VIII that is disturbing?

Q

W hat two things does the governess say in Part VIII th a t support the idea th a t she is perhaps mad?

97

A FC E Q

C

T

I

V

I

T

I

E

S

For questions 1-10, read the te x t below and decide which answ er (A, B, C or D) best fits each space. There is an example at the beginning (0). The m e etin g (0)..G ... th e g o v e rn ess and Miles in his bed room has (1) the ingredients of suspense. The two (2) interpretations — Miles is an angel and the governess is mad (3) Miles is a devil and the governess is sane — come (4 ) at this point of the story. There are no clear answers (5) way and the reader has to decide for him o r h e r s e l f . B o th c h a r a c t e r s h a v e d i s t u r b i n g ( 6 ) ......... to t h e i r personalities: Miles is secretive and the governess is (7) lonely, h o use a t night and can d les t h a t blow ( 8 )

A dark add to th e

disturbing ( 9 ) J a m e s c r e a te s and which has delighted readers (10) its publication.

0

A among

B with

C between

D from

1

A each

B every

C all

D a lot

2

A oppose

B support

C opposing

D supporting

3

A for

B on

C to

D against

4

A face-to-face

B back-to-back

C end-to-end

D side-by-side

5

A neither

B every

C either

D any

6

A qualities

B aspects

C side

D nature

7

A obsess

B obsession

C obsessive

D obsessing

8

A out

B up

C off

D in

9

A atmospheric B environment

C climate

D atm osphere

A from

C since

D after

10

98

B from

A

C

T

T

V

E

S

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T

Young W riters

Conference

The Turn o f the S crew is one of the m ost fam ous ghost stories in literature in English. Try and find som e more by other fam ous novelists. W hich would you like to read? Use the Internet or an encyclopaedia to help you. Are there any fam ous supernatural stories in the literature of your language? Does the area where you live have any ghost stories (haunted houses etc.)? Try and w rite a short sum m ary of one of them in English.

99

T

E

S

L o oking ahead Q

Some dram atic events take place in P art IX. One is when the governess asks Flora this question: ‘W here, my dear, is Miss Jessel?’ W hat do you think Flora’s reaction to this question will be? Which of these reactions do you exp ect? Discuss your ideas with your partner. Go back and check when you read P art IX. a. b. c. d.

Q

□ □ □ □

Flora pretends not to understand. Flora laughs and goes off to play. Flora starts to cry and tells the governess about Miss Jessel. Flora starts to cry and tells the governess that she never wants to see her again.

Listen to this e x tra ct from the beginning of Part IX. For questions a-f complete the sentence with a word or short phrase. a. When the governess wondered where Flora was, Miles was b. Mrs Grose didn’t k n o w ........................ c. The governess believed that Flora was w i t h ........................ d. The governess thought Miles was w i t h ......................... e. The governess will ask Luke t o ........................ f.

The governess didn’t want to wait while Mrs Grose put on

IX he n e x t day Miles and Flora w ere brilliant a t th eir lessons. It w as as if th e y w an te d to c o m f o r t and c o m p e n s a te me. Later, Miles asked m e if I would like to h e a r him play th e piano. W e w e n t to th e music room, and he began to play. I s a t th e re , under his influence, fo r a long tim e. I did not know how m uch tim e had passed. Then, suddenly, I s a t up straig ht. I felt as if I had slept, but in f a c t I had simply f o r g o tte n . W h ere w as Flora all this tim e ? I asked Miles this qu estion. He continu ed to play for a m inute, th e n replied, ‘How should I know, my d e a r ? ’ I looked in m y ro o m , but Flora w a s n o t th e r e . I th o u g h t sh e m igh t be w ith Mrs G ro se, so I w e n t to her ro o m , but Mrs G ro se had n o t s e e n Flora. ‘S h e ’s n o t in th e h ouse. S h e ’s g o n e o u t ,’ I said. ‘W ith o u t a h a t ? ’ a sk ed Mrs G ro se. ‘Miss J e s s e l n e v e r w e a r s o n e , ’ I said. ‘S h e ’s w ith h e r ? ’ a sk ed Mrs G ro se. ‘And w h e re is M a s te r M iles?’ ‘Oh, he's w ith Quint. T h e y ’re in th e sch o o l ro o m . Miles played th e piano to d is t r a c t m e while Flora w e n t o u t ,’ I said.

101

‘So long with Q uint? Y e s — I d o n ’t mind t h a t n o w .’ ‘B e c a u s e o f y ou r le t t e r ? Have you w r it te n i t ? ’ sh e ask ed. I to o k th e le t t e r out o f my p o c k e t and put it on th e ta b le by th e f r o n t door. ‘Luke will p o s t it ,’ I said. Luke w as on e o f th e s e r v a n ts . I open ed th e door and w e n t out. Mrs G ro se h e s ita t e d . ‘I t’s cold o u t s id e ,’ sh e said. ‘W e should w e a r our h a ts and c o a t s . ’ ‘I have no tim e f o r t h a t , ’ I said. ‘If you in sist on g e ttin g y ou r h a t and c o a t , I will go w ith o u t y o u .’ ‘I w o n ’t s t a y in th e h o u se alo n e with t h e m ,’ said Mrs G ro se, hurrying down th e ste p s. W e w e n t s t r a ig h t to th e lake. ‘Ever since we sa w Miss J e s s e l by th e la k e ,’ I said, ‘Flora h as alw ays w a n te d to go t h e r e on our w a lk s.

I t h i n k s h e h a s g o n e t h e r e t o d a y , and h e r b r o t h e r

d is t r a c t e d m e so t h a t Flora could go a lo n e .’ ‘Do you th in k th e children really t a lk a b o u t t h e m ? ’ a sk ed Mrs G ro se. ‘I’m c e r ta in o f it.’ W h e n we re a c h e d th e lake, we did n o t s e e Flora. ‘She h as ta k e n th e b o a t ! ’ I said, see in g t h a t th e b o a t w a s g o n e f ro m its usual place. ‘Sh e h as used it to go to th e o th e r sid e .’ Mrs Grose looked a t th e o th e r side o f th e lake. ‘Then w here is it ? ’ ‘S h e h as hidden it .’ ‘On h er o w n ? T h a t ch ild ?’ *She’s n o t on h er own, and a t such ti m e s sh e is n o t a child; she is an old w o m a n .’ W e w alked aro und t h e lake to th e o t h e r side. A f te r te n m in u te s, we found th e b o a t hidden behind s o m e tall g ra ss. P assin g th e b o a t, we suddenly sa w Flora. Mrs G ro se ran up and

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P a r t IX e m b r a c e d her. I w ished t h a t m y re la tio n to th e children w as as simple as hers. ‘W h e r e is y ou r h a t ? ’ a sk ed Flora. ‘W h e r e is y o u r s , m y d e a r ? ’ I replied. ‘And w h e re is M iles?’ said Flora. ‘I’ll tell you if y o u ’ll tell m e —’ ‘W h a t ? ’ ‘W h e r e , my dear, is Miss J e s s e l ? ’ Mrs G ro se cried o ut in pain a t my w ords. I looked up a t her, th e n I to o k h er hand in m ine. ‘S h e ’s t h e r e ! ’ I cried. Miss J e s s e l sto o d on th e o th e r side o f th e lake. I f e lt jo y t h a t finally I had ev id en ce. ‘Mrs G ro se can s e e h e r !’ I th o u g h t. ‘At last, my d ea r old friend will know t h a t I am n o t cruel or m a d !’ I looked a t th e pale d em o n w ith g ra titu d e in m y ey es, and I th in k sh e saw it. Sh e s to o d in th e s a m e place t h a t Mrs G ro se and I had s to o d a fe w m in u te s earlier. Flora did n o t even look in th e d ire ctio n I ind icated . Sh e s t a r e d a t me. S h e s e e m e d to a c c u s e and ju d g e m e. I called o ut to her, ‘S h e ’s t h e r e , you unhap py little thing! T h e r e , and you s e e h er as well as you s e e m e ! ’ I had told Mrs G ro se t h a t , a t su ch tim e s , Flora w as n o t a child. Here w as m y proof. 1 Flora looked like an old, old w o m a n . Sh e s t a r e d a t m e with a look o f in t e n s e r e p ro b a tio n . 2 Suddenly I realised t h a t Mrs G r o s e ’s f a c e w a s red and sh e w as p r o t e s t in g in a loud voice: ‘W h a t do you see , M iss? I c a n ’t s e e a n y t h in g !’ I held h er arm and tu rn e d h er in th e d ire ctio n o f th e g h o st, pointing my fin g e r a t it. ‘D on’t you s e e h e r? L o o k ! T h e re sh e is! My d ea r w o m a n , look!'

1.

p ro o f : evidence.

2.

re p ro b a tio n : stro n g co n d em n atio n ; very negative ju d g em en t.

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She looked and said, ‘No. I s e e n o th in g !’ Her vo ice w as full o f c o m p a s s io n and also o f re lief t h a t sh e could n o t see . ‘T h e r e ’s n o th in g th e r e , Miss F lo ra ,’ said Mrs G ro se in a c o m f o r tin g voice. ‘How could Miss J e s s e l be t h e r e w h en we know t h a t sh e is d ead ? L e t’s go ho m e, my d e a r .’ F lora co n tin u e d to s t a r e a t m e w ith re p r o b a tio n . It s e e m e d to m e f o r a m o m e n t t h a t all h e r childish b e a u ty v a n is h e d . S h e w a s h ard; sh e w a s a lm o s t ugly. S h e tu rn e d to m e and said, ‘I d o n ’t k now w h a t you m e a n . I s e e no bo dy . I s e e n o th in g. I n e v e r h a v e . I th in k y o u ’re cruel. I d o n ’t like y o u !’ Flora e m b r a c e d Mrs G ro se and b u r s t into t e a r s . ‘T a k e m e a w a y !’ sh e cried. ‘Oh, t a k e m e aw a y f r o m h e r !’ ‘From m e ? ’ I ask ed , horrified. ‘From y o u !’ sh e cried. Mrs G ro se looked a t m e d ism ay ed . I could still s e e th e g h o s t on th e o th e r side o f th e lake. ‘Oh, Flora, I’ve lo st y o u !’ I said. ‘I have in te rfe r e d , and s h e h as sho w n you how to respo nd. G oodbye. T ak e h er aw ay, Mrs G r o s e .’ My d ea r old frien d hurried o f f w ith th e child. I c a n n o t r e m e m b e r w h a t hap p e n ed a f t e r t h a t . I th in k I lay down on th e g ra ss and cried fo r a long tim e, b e c a u s e a f te r w a r d s I f e lt cold and w et. W h en I g o t b a c k to th e house, Mrs G ro se and Flora had g on e to bed. Flora slep t in Mrs G r o s e ’s ro o m t h a t night. W h en th e maid b ro u g h t t e a to my ro o m , I did n o t a s k h er w h ere Miles w as. He had w a n te d to be f re e , and now he w as. But a t eight o ’clo ck he c a m e in and s a t by m e in silen ce. The n e x t m orning , Mrs G ro se c a m e to tell m e t h a t Flora w a s ill. ‘Sh e h as a fe v e r, Miss. And all night sh e w a s crying and w orrying

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P 7lc ,

c r e w

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a b o u t you. Sh e k e p t ask in g 1 if you w e re co m in g in. I’m afraid sh e n e v e r w a n ts to s e e you a g a in !’ ‘Y e s. I s e e . ’ ‘And sh e told m e t h a t th e r e really w a s no one, y e s te r d a y , by th e la k e .’ ‘Y es. And you believe her. N ature m a d e th e m clever, and th e ir d em o n ic frie n d s have m a d e th e m c le v e r e r still. So h ave you c o m e to a sk m e to leave Bly? I h ave a b e t t e r idea. Y ou should go and t a k e Flora w ith you. T a k e h er to h e r uncle. Leave m e h ere with Miles. I th in k he w a n ts to sp eak. P erh ap s I can still help him. L ast night he c a m e and s a t w ith m e by th e fire. I th o u g h t he w a n te d to s p e a k th e n . Flora ca n go to th e ir uncle, but I d o n ’t w a n t th e ir uncle to s e e Miles y e t. Miles n e e d s a little m o re t i m e . ’ My frien d s e e m e d d istu rb ed by this. ‘More t i m e ? ’ ‘Well, a day or tw o. Th en p e rh ap s he will sp ea k, and he will be on m y side. You s e e how im p o r ta n t t h a t is, d o n ’t y o u ? ’ Still sh e s e e m e d d istu rb ed and e m b a r r a s s e d . ‘D o n ’t you w a n t to l e a v e ? ’ I ask ed finally. ‘I’ll g o ,’ sh e said, and h er e x p r e s s io n ch an g ed . The a n x ie ty w as gone, and sh e sh o o k m y hand. ‘I’ll go th is m orning. I c a n ’t s t a y . ’ ‘Do you m e a n t h a t , since y e s te r d a y , you h a v e s e e n —? ’ ‘I’ve h e a r d l I’ve h eard Flora sa y th e m o s t horrible t h i n g s !’ Mrs G ro se s a t down and b u rst into te a r s . ‘Oh, th a n k G o d!’ I said. ‘W h a t do you m e a n , “t h a n k G o d ”? ’ ‘It j u s t if ie s m e . ’ ‘It c e rta in ly does, M iss!’

1.

106

k ep t ask in g : asked rep eated ly.

P a r t ix ‘W h a t did sh e s a y ? ’ ‘Oh, th e m o s t sh o ck in g t h i n g s .’ ‘A bout m e ? ’ ‘Y es. I d o n ’t know w h e re sh e le a r n t such la n g u a g e .’ ‘I d o !’ I said, laughing. ‘Y o u ’re right. I have h eard t h a t kind o f lan g uag e b e fo re ! I m u st go now. I m u s t g e t Miss Flora a w ay fr o m h ere! Far a w ay fro m th e m !’ ‘T h en you think, if you t a k e h er a w ay fr o m h ere, sh e can be d if f e r e n t — sh e can be f r e e ? And you believe m e, even th o u gh you sa w n o thin g y e s t e r d a y ? ’ ‘I b e lie v e !’ she replied. ‘Our e m p lo y er will h ave re ceiv ed m y le t t e r by n o w ,’ I said. ‘I’m afraid y ou r le t t e r w as n e v e r p o ste d , M iss,’ said Mrs G ro se. ‘W h a t h a p p e n e d ? ’ ‘I d o n ’t know. P erh ap s M a s te r Miles t o o k it. Y e s te r d a y , w hen I c a m e b a c k with Miss Flora I sa w t h a t th e l e t t e r had gone. It w as n o t on th e ta b le w h e re you put it. Later, I ask ed Luke if he had p o ste d it. He said he had n o t s e e n it.’ ‘If Miles to o k it, he pro b ab ly read it and d es tro y e d it.’ ‘T h a t m u s t be w h a t h ap p e n ed a t s c h o o l,’ sh e said. ‘He m u st h ave s to le n th in gs. M aybe he s to le l e t t e r s ! ’ ‘Well, in this l e t t e r I only a sk ed our e m p lo y er to c o m e here. P erh ap s t h a t is why Miles c a m e to m y ro o m la s t night. He w a n te d to c o n f e s s . You m u st go now. Leave m e with Miles. H e’ll c o n f e s s . If he c o n f e s s e s , h e ’s saved. And if h e ’s saved —’ ‘T h en y o u a r e ? ’ The d ea r w o m a n kissed m e and said g ood bye. ‘I’ll sav e y o u !’ sh e cried as sh e w en t. ‘I’ll tell th e m a s t e r t h a t you are h o n e s t ! ’

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a. Put these events from Part IX into their co rrect order. a. □ b. □

The governess finds the boat hidden behind long grass. The governess sees Miss Jessel.

c. □

The governess and Mrs Grose decide to look for Flora by the lake.

d. □

The governess decides th a t Mrs Grose and Flora should leave Bly, leaving her alone with Miles.

e. □

The governess is sure that Flora has taken the boat.

f. □

The governess asks Flora where Miss Jessel is.

g- □

The governess suspects that Miles has taken the letter she has written to his uncle.

h. □ i. □

Flora tells the governess th at she doesn’t like her.

j- □ k. □

I. □

The governess and Mrs Grose find Flora. Mrs Grose tells the governess that Flora has a fever. Mrs Grose tells the governess th at Flora has said ‘horrible things’. Mrs Grose tells the governess th a t she cann o t see Miss Jessel.

b. W orking in a small group choose the six even ts th a t you think are the m ost im portant; then three; then one. c. W hich even t have o th er groups in your class ch o sen ? Use this event as a basis for your title for Part IX. Q

'It justifies m e / (said the governess) a.

W hat does ‘it’ refer to ? Choose the co rrect answ er (1, 2 or 3) 1. 2. 3.

EH Flora’s saying horrible things.

EH Flora’s ability to imitate adult language. EH Flora’s saying that she never wants to see the governess again.

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b. W here do the governess and Mrs Grose think Flora ‘learn t such language’? c. Why does the governess feel justified? d. Mrs Grose m akes the governess a promise: ‘I’ll save you!’ Look at the following sen ten ces. Who is speaking? Who is being spoken to ? Reply making a promise (use will). 1.

‘I’ll be worried until I know you’ve arrived safely.’

2. Q

‘Going out again? Aren’t you going to help me tidy th e library?’

3. \JJ\ ‘Mary, you haven’t polished the silver y et.’ 4. \JJ\ ‘Yes, you can borrow my pen but I want it back.’ 5. \JJ\ ‘W e’re very happy with our present butcher. Why should we change to you?’ rC E ©

Read Mrs Grose’s letter to her sister. For questions 1-15, think of the word which best fits each space. Use only one word in each space. There is an example at the beginning (0).

My dearest sister, I have important (0) ..ae.WS... to tell / . Some weeks have passed ( 1 ) .............. I last wrote to / . I am leaving Blij. You will remember in mij last letter I mentioned the arrival o f a new governess for Miles and Flora and I told / she was a pleasant ( 2 ) ................ from the previous woman. l o u

l o u

l o u

S in ce then , terrib le thin gs hav e h a p p en ed h ere. The la d ij is is disturbing is convinced she has (3) ..............ghosts. (4) that she has described a man an d a woman. You rem em ber Quint an d M iss Jessel, who w orked here before ( 5 ) ................. deaths, don't L /O U ?

The governess believes th at the ghosts o f those two have a sp ecial evil relation ship (6 ) ............... the children. C ertainly Q uint an d M iss Je s s e ! were b a d p eop le but until a recent event / (7) ............... not fully believe her.

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O ne daif we were (8 ) ................fo r Flora bi) the la he. The governess saw n ot onhj the ch ild but sa id she saw the g h ost o f M iss Je s s e l ( 9 ) ..................... / saw nothing. The governess dem an ded Flora to tell her th a t sh e also co u ld see the g h ost. P oor F lora was terribhj sh o c k ed a n d h as s a id th a t sh e never ( 1 0 ) ................ to see th e governess again. The sam e night I was atone with the ch ild in mi) room when / h eard her sai) the (11) .............. horrible things abou t the governess, things so evil fo r such an an gel (12 ) ................Flora. Perhaps our governess (1 3 ) .............. right an d the evil influence o f Q uint an d Je s s e l is real. / am (1 4 ) .............. Flora to her uncle in London. H er brother M iles will ( 1 5 ) ..............a t Bit) fo r a couple o f daijs with the governess. S he believes he wilt confess w hat he knows. G o d p rotect us! Prai) fo r me mi) dearest sister. / w ill write from London. Your ever loving sister Q

Imagine someone who knows nothing about events at Bly reads Mrs Grose’s letter. Answer his/her questions. An example (0) has been done for you. (0) W hat is Bly? .It .is the .house.where.M rs.Grose J.ives,. with .Hora.and^ a.

Who are Flora and Miles?

b.

Who was ‘the previous w oman’? Who was Quint?

c.

Why did the governess demand Flora tell her th at she had also seen the ghost?

d.

Why is Mrs Grose taking Flora to her uncle and not her parents?

e.

What will Miles ‘con fess’?

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Lookin g ahead a.

The governess and Miles are the sole ch aracters of the closing part to the story. W hat do you think could happen? Which of the following events do you think is possible or improbable? Decide with your partner. Check your ideas after you have read Part X. ^ Miles’ uncle comes to Bly. | | Miles orders the governess to leave Bly. | | Miles dies. | | Mrs Grose and Flora return to Bly. | | Miles admits to seeing ghosts.

FCE

(A

b. Listen to this e x tra ct from the beginning of Part X and complete the sentences (1-5) with a word or short phrase. When Mrs Grose left Bly with Flora, the governess felt

(1)........................... The governess saw Miles ( 2 ) ................................. According to the governess Miles no longer thought she was (3) ................................. The governess told Miles that his sister left Bly because (4 ) ............................. While the governess and Miles had dinner, they didn’t (5) .................................

m

X s so o n as sh e left, I m issed her. I th o u g h t p e rh ap s I had m a d e a m is ta k e . Now I w a s alone. The s e r v a n t s s t a r e d a t m e stra n g e ly . T h ey did n o t ’know w h a t had h appened . I tried to be s t r o n g and dignified, but I f e l t a n x io u s and lonely. I did n o t s e e Miles all day until dinner tim e. The s e r v a n t s told m e t h a t he had g one f o r a w alk a f t e r b r e a k f a s t . W e had no le s s o n s t h a t day. Miles clearly u n d e rsto o d t h a t I w a s no lo n g er his te a c h e r . I f e lt relieved. For a long tim e, I had had n o th in g to t e a c h him. He had his f r e e d o m now. W h en he c a m e in to dinner, he looked as beau tifu l and s e r e n e as alw ays. W e had our d in ner alo n e in th e d in in g-ro o m , by th e w indow a t which I had s e e n Quint t h a t f ir s t Sunday. ‘Is Flora really v ery ill, m y d e a r ? ’ ask ed Miles. ‘S h e ’ll be b e t t e r soon . S h e ’ll g e t b e t t e r in L o nd o n ,’ I replied. ‘Sh e d o e s n ’t like Bly an y m o r e . ’

112

P a rt X ‘But w hy did sh e c h a n g e so su dd en ly ? Sh e used to like Bly.’ ‘It w a s n o t sudden. I n o tice d h er ch an g in g g rad u ally .’ I w a s w o nderful! ‘I s e e , ’ said Miles. He w a s w o n d erfu l to o . W h en w e had fin ished din ner, Miles s to o d up and looked out o f th e window. The maid c a m e in to t a k e th e p la te s aw ay. W e w ere silen t while sh e w as th e r e . I th o u g h t th e n t h a t w e w ere like a couple on th e ir w e d d in g - jo u r n e y ,1 feelin g tim id and e m b a r r a s s e d in th e p r e s e n c e o f th e s e r v a n t s a t th e hotel. W h en th e maid had le ft th e ro o m , Miles tu rn e d to m e and said, ‘Well — so w e ’re a lo n e !’ ‘More or le s s ,’ I said, smiling, but I am su re m y f a c e w a s pale. ‘Not a b so lu te ly alone. W e w o u ld n ’t like t h a t . ’ ‘No. Of c o u rse, we have th e o th e r s , b u t th e y d o n ’t m a t t e r m uch, do t h e y ? ’ He tu rn e d b a c k to th e w indow and looked out a t th e grey N o v e m b er day. I w e n t to th e s o f a and t o o k up my sew ing. I had o f t e n t a k e n up my sew in g to s e e m o ccupied w h en I k new t h a t th e children could s e e s o m e t h in g t h a t I could n o t see . W a tc h in g M iles’ back, I suddenly f e lt c e r ta in t h a t he w a s m issin g so m e th in g . He w as looking out o f th e w indow, hoping to s e e Quint, but all he saw w a s th e e m p ty lawn. I k new th e n t h a t he w a s anx io u s. He had b ee n a n x io u s all day. It had b e e n difficu lt f o r him to a c t n o rm a lly — to be his usual s e r e n e s e lf — a t dinner. ‘Well, / still like Bly,’ he said, tu rn ing to me. ‘I hope you en jo y e d y ou r w a lk .’

1.

w e d d i n g - j o u r n e y : h o n e y m o o n ; t h e holid ay a co uple t a k e s a f t e r t h e m arriage.

113

‘Oh, yes. I w alked f o r hours. I’ve n e v e r b e e n so f r e e . ’ ‘Do you like i t ? ’ He looked a t m e st r a n g e ly and said, ‘Do y o u ? 1 Th en, in c a s e I th o u g h t he w as being im p e rtin e n t, he said, ‘W e a re alone, but you are m o re alo n e th a n I am . I hope you d o n ’t m in d .’ ‘Of c o u rs e I d o n ’t mind. I e n jo y being w ith you. T h a t ’s w hy I am still h e r e . ’ ‘You s t a y h ere j u s t f o r m e ? ’ ‘Certainly. I s t a y h ere b e c a u s e I a m you r friend. D o n ’t you r e m e m b e r t h a t night w hen I s a t on you r bed and told you t h a t I w a n te d to help y o u ? ’ ‘Y es, y e s ! ’ He looked n ervou s. ‘But I th o u g h t you w a n te d m e to do s o m e t h in g f o r y o u .’ ‘But you didn’t do it.’ ‘You w a n te d m e to tell you s o m e t h in g .’ ‘Y e s . ’ ‘So a re you sta y in g h ere in th e hope t h a t I will tell you n o w ? ’ He laughed, but I th o u g h t he w a s really an gry with m e. I fe lt hopeful. W a s he going to tell m e ev e ry th in g a t la s t? ‘Well, y e s , ’ I replied. ‘Y o u ’re right. T h a t is w hy I am sta y in g h ere.’ He w a s silen t f o r a long tim e , th e n he said, ‘Do you m e a n now — here?’ ‘W hy n o t ? ’ For th e f ir s t tim e , he s e e m e d afraid o f me. I th o u g h t p e rh ap s t h a t w a s a good thing. ‘Do you w a n t to go o ut a g a i n ? ’ I ask ed gently. ‘V ery m u c h !’ he replied, sm iling a t m e bu t also blushing w ith em barrassm en t.

114

He p ick e d

up his h a t an d p la y e d w ith

it

P a r£ x nervously. Even th o u g h I w a s so n e a r s u c c e s s , I f e lt a p e rv e rs e h o rro r o f w h a t I w as doing. To g e t th e tr u t h o u t o f him w a s an a c t o f violen ce. I w a s ask ing t h a t s w e e t bea u tifu l helpless boy to ta lk a b o u t h orrible th in g s. He had alw ay s b e e n so s e r e n e , but I w as now m ak in g him an x io u s and e m b a r r a s s e d . Surely t h a t w as w rong. T il tell you e v e r y th in g ,’ said Miles. T il tell you ev e ry th in g you w a n t to know. But n o t n o w .’ ‘W h y n o t n o w ? ’ He looked out o f th e w indow again, th e n he said, ‘I have to s e e Luke.’ I w as so rry to have m a d e him tell such a vulgar lie. ‘Well th e n , go to Luke, and I’ll w a it f o r w h a t you pro m ise. But, b e f o r e you leave, j u s t tell m e one thing. Did you ta k e my le t t e r f ro m th e ta b le by th e d o o r ? ’ J u s t th e n I sa w P e t e r Quint o u tsid e th e window! He sto o d th e r e like a guard o u tsid e a prison. I le ap t up 1 and drew Miles clo se to me, keep ing his b a c k to th e window. I could s e e Quint, but th e boy could n o t. I f e lt I w a s fig h tin g w ith a d em o n fo r a h u m an soul. I looked down a t Miles and saw t h a t t h e r e w as s w e a t 2 on his lovely f o r e h e a d . His f a c e w a s as w h ite as th e f a c e o u tsid e th e window. ‘Y e s — I to o k th e l e t t e r , ’ said Miles. I e m b r a c e d him w ith a cry o f jo y. I could feel th e f e v e r o f his little body and th e b e a tin g o f his h e a r t. I k ep t s ta rin g a t Quint, who w alked b a c k and f o r th o u tsid e th e w indow like a hungry

1.

l e a p t up : p a s t t e n s e o f ‘t o leap up ’, m e a n i n g t o s t a n d up quickly.

2.

s w e a t : p e r s p i r a t io n .

115

*

b e a s t . I w a s c e r ta in t h a t Miles had n o t s e e n him. ‘W hy did you ta k e i t ? ’ I ask ed . ‘To s e e w h a t you said a b o u t m e . ’ ‘Did you read i t ? ’ ‘Y e s . ’ I looked a t M iles’ a n x io u s little fa c e . I f e lt a g r e a t s e n s e o f triu m ph. He k new t h a t s o m e t h in g s t r a n g e w as h appening, but he did n o t know w h a t. And he had no idea t h a t I knew . I looked b a c k a t th e w indow — and th e r e w a s n o th in g th e r e ! Quint w a s gone! I had won! ‘And you found n o th in g !’ I cried with jo y. ‘N o th in g.’ I kissed his fo r e h e a d . ‘So w h e re is th e l e t t e r n o w ? ’ ‘I b u rn t it.’ It w as now or n ever: ‘Is t h a t w h a t you did a t s c h o o l ? ’ ‘At s c h o o l ? ’ ‘Did you ta k e l e t t e r s — or o t h e r t h i n g s ? ’ ‘Did I s t e a l ? 1 I blushed. It w as e m b a r r a s s in g to a s k a young g e n tl e m a n such a q u estio n . But he did n o t s e e m sh o ck e d by it, and t h a t sh o w ed how f a r he had fallen. ‘Is t h a t why th e y expelled y o u ? ’ I asked . ‘Ah, you know t h a t th e y expelled m e , ’ he said in a tired voice. ‘I know e v e r y th in g .’ ‘E v e r y th in g ? ’ ‘Y es. So did y o u ? ’ ‘No,’ he said. ‘I didn’t s t e a l . ’ ‘W h a t did you d o ? ’ He looked aroun d th e ro o m and b r e a th e d deeply, as if with difficulty. ‘I said t h i n g s .’

116

P a rt X ‘To w h o m did you sa y t h e m ? ’ ‘I d o n ’t k n o w !’ he replied. I should h ave sto p p ed th e n , b u t I w as blind w ith v icto ry . ‘W a s it to e v e r y o n e ? ’ ‘No,’ he said. ‘Only to t h o s e I liked.’ His w o rd s w e re n o t m ak ing th in g s cle a r e r. On th e c o n tr a r y , I w as g e tt in g m o re co n fu se d . Suddenly I th o u g h t t h a t he m igh t be in n o c e n t. But, if so, w h a t w a s I? I let go o f him, and he tu rn e d to th e w indow again. ‘And did th e y r e p e a t w h a t you s a i d ? ’ I ask ed . He w as still b re a th in g hard. He s e e m e d to fe e l t h a t I w as k eep ing him a g a in s t his will. ‘Oh y e s , ’ he replied. ‘T h ey m u s t have re p e a t e d it to t h o s e t h e y liked.’ ‘And th e n th e h e a d m a s t e r h eard o f i t ? ’ ‘Y e s. But I’m su rprised t h a t he told y o u .’ ‘He didn’t tell me. T h a t ’s w hy I a sk ed y o u .’ He tu rn e d to m e again. ‘Y es. It w as to o bad to w rite in a l e t t e r . ’ ‘N o n s e n s e !’ I said. ‘Tell m e now. W h a t w e r e th e th in g s you s a i d ? ’ He tu rn e d to th e w indow again, and I l e a p t 1 to his side, b e c a u s e t h e r e , o u t s id e t h e w indow , w a s t h e w h it e f a c e o f d a m n a tio n ! I looked a t Miles and sa w t h a t he sa w n othin g. For him th e w indow w a s em p ty ; bu t he knew , f ro m m y a g ita tio n , t h a t I could s e e o ne o f our g h o stly v isito rs. W h e n he realised t h a t I could s e e but he could not, his e y e s filled with s a d n e s s . T h a t s a d n e s s w as th e p ro o f o f his liberatio n . I e m b r a c e d th e boy and cried to th e th ing o utsid e, ‘No m o re! No m o re! No m o r e !’

1.

l e a p t : m o v e d qu ickly.

117

‘Is Miss J e s s e l h e r e ? ’ a s k e d

Miles, b r e a t h in g h eavily. He

th o u g h t I w a s doing to him w h a t I had done to Flora th e day b e fo re ! I w as ho rrified by th is re a lisa tio n , but I said to him, ‘It’s n o t Miss Je s s e l! It’s a t th e w indow in f r o n t o f us. I t’s there, th e h o rro r, t h e r e f o r th e la s t t i m e ! ’ Miles m o ved his h ead like a dog tryin g to pick up a s c e n t . 1 Then he looked around , furious a t se e in g n oth in g. ‘It’s h e ? ’ ‘W h o m do you m e a n by “h e ”? ’ ‘P e t e r Quint — you devil!’ Again he looked around th e room , d e s p e r a t e ly trying to see . ‘W h e r e ? ’ I ca n still h e a r his w ords, w h en he finally said t h a t n a m e and th e n said t h a t to me! A fte r all m y devo tio n! ‘W h a t d o es he m a t t e r now, m y o w n ? 2 Now I h ave you, bu t he h as lo st you fo r e v e r ! T h ere, th ere!' I po in ted to th e thing. Miles looked round w ith o u t se e in g an yth in g . He cried o u t in pain and fell a g a in s t m e. I held him tightly, p a ssio n a te ly , but th e n I realised w h a t I held. W e w ere alo n e with th e qu iet day, and his little h e a r t, d isp o sse sse d , 3 had stopp ed .

1.

s c e n t : od ou r; sm ell.

2.

m y o w n : t h i s is a t e r m o f e n d e a r m e n t or a f f e c t i o n , a d d r e s s e d t o Miles, like ‘m y l o v e ’ or ‘m y d a r l in g ’; it m e a n s ‘you b e lo n g t o m e ’.

3.

d i s p o s s e s s e d : ‘p o s s e s s e d ’ is used t o m e a n ‘u n d e r t h e c o n t r o l o f a d e m o n ’. ‘D i s p o s s e s s e d ’ t h e r e f o r e could m e a n t h a t Miles is no lo n g er p o s s e s s e d by a d e m o n .

120

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a. The governess and Miles talk about four things in Part X. W hat are they? Use these four quotes from the te x t to help you. The first has been done for you.

Quote

They talk about:

1. 'Well — so, w e’re alone!’

Being alone at Bly.

2. ‘You’re right. That is why I am staying here.’ 3. ‘Yes — I took the letter.’ 4. ‘Is that why they expelled you?’

b. For each quote answ er the following questions: Miles says: ‘we have the others, but they don’t m atter much, do they?' Who could these ‘others' be? Why did the governess decide to stay at Bly? •

What did Miles do with the governess’s letter?

c. Do we know the reason why Miles w as expelled? W hat answ ers can we give to these questions? What ‘things' did he say? Who did he say them to? Did the headmaster explain in his letter what Miles had done?

d. W hat is the effect of the answ ers to these questions?

122

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We see Miles through the eyes of the governess in 3 im portant scenes in Part X th a t link w hat is happening inside with outside. a. Scene 1 Miles is looking out of the window ‘He turn ed b a c k to th e w indow a n d lo o k e d ou t a t th e g r e y N o v em b er day/ W hat does the governess compare Miles and herself to ? She uses a simile to do this. A simile is a phrase th at compares one thing to another using ‘like’ or ‘a s’. Imagine you are the governess. Read the paragraph beginning with th e s e n t e n c e above until ‘...at d in n e r / Miles’s b ack is turned to you. W hat are you thinking? Continue your thoughts as below: ‘He’s m issin g so m eth in g . He's lo ok in g ou t o f th e w in dow .../ Practice reading them out loud. b. Scene 2 Miles has his back to the window 7 le a p t up an d d rew Miles c lo se to m e, k e ep in g his b a c k to th e w in d ow / The governess sees Quint outside the window. To describe him, she uses the same figure of speech she used to describe herself and Miles in Scene 1. How d o e s s h e d e s c r i b e Q u i n t ? W h a t e f f e c t do t h e s e d es c rip tio n s h a v e? T h e re are th r e e in to t a l in th is s c e n e . Discuss your ideas with your partner. c. Scene 3 Miles is looking out of the window ‘He turn ed to th e w indow a g a in ../ Can Miles see Quint? Why does the governess think Miles is sad?

123

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T

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Feelings Complete the table with the missing form (noun or adjective) and then decide who has these feelings in P art X. An example has been done for you. Noun

Adjective

Miles

The governess

anxiety

anxious

/

/

loneliness relief em barrassed joyful triumphant sadness hope

At the beginning of P art X, Miles ‘looked as beautiful and seren e as always'. How does the governess describe him immediately before his death? W hat is the effect of this transform ation ? Discuss your ideas with other students.

‘Even death in The Turn o f the Screw is ambiguous.’ a. How did Miles die? W hat two possible interpretations are th ere? b. W hat title would you give the closing part of the story?

124

E

Q

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T

Complete the table for each p art of the story with your sum m ary titles and a sentence describing the main events in each part. The title and event for the Prologue have been done for you. Part

Your title

Prologue

Douglas begins his story/ The mystery o f Bly/ The governess

Main event Douglas introduces the story of the governess at Bly

o f Bly I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

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Imagine Jam es had decided to add a Part XI. W hat do you think happened after? W rite a short paragraph sum m arising the main events. Try and give your p art a title. Consider the ch aracters remaining after Miles’s death: Mrs Grose and Flora; Flora’s uncle; the governess. W here will Part XI take place, in London or at Bly?

W rite a short composition of not more than 180 words on ONE of the following titles: •

‘The attraction of The Turn o f th e S crew lies in what Jam es does not tell us and consequently the decisions th at we as readers must make.’ Discuss this on the basis of your reading of the story.

• Which event do you think is particularly important in the story? Describe it and explain the reasons why you have chosen it.

126

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‘The ghost story m ust be distinguished from science fiction and the horror story. The first requires scientific knowledge to describe the unknown implications of a known phenomenon. The horror story is purely sadistic; it depends entirely upon the power to shock... The ghost story, however, derives its power from w hat is deep and m ost perm anent. It is poetic.’ R obert Aickm an (adap ted ) in th e in tro d u ctio n to The F on tana Book o f Great Ghost Stories (1964). Bearing this definition in mind, w hat makes The Turn o f the Screw a ghost story?

F C E

O

A stately home: a large old house which usually has beautiful furniture, decorations and gardens. (C am bridge International Dictionary o f English) Many of these houses in Britain are open to the public. Imagine Bly has become a stately home and you visited it. You w ere not very happy. You have made a list of the things th at w ent wrong. car park miles away; impossible for wheelchairs west wing closed for repairs; no reduction in ticket price the guide spoke too quickly! no tea room or refreshments Use them in a suitable style to continue the letter of complaint on page 128 to the company th a t owns the stately home. Use around 180 words.

127

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Dear Sirs, My family recently visited Bly, one o f the properties owned by your company. Unfortunately, we were not satisfied by our visit.

Stadtbibliothek Berlin - Mitte N 1 1 < 0 6 1 9 9 2 9 4 4 5 6

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Philipp-Schaeffer-Bibliothek 456 M o st o f H en ry J a m e s ’s fic tio n is re a lis tic , b u t, in T h e T u rn o f t h e S crew , he u ses his brilliant p ow ers o f o b serv atio n to w rite a stra n g e a n d d is tu r b in g g h o s t s t o r y . A y o u n g w o m a n g o e s t o w o rk a s a g o v ern ess in a large co u n try house. She m u st ta k e full respon sib ility fo r tw o ch ildren — Miles and Flo ra — w h o se p a re n ts have died and w h o se uncle an d gu ard ian lives in London. In th is lonely situ a tio n , th e g o v ern ess s t a r t s to see th e g h o sts of th e fo rm e r g o v ern ess and a m a n se rv a n t, b oth of w hom died in m y sterio u s circu m sta n ce s... A ccessible ad ap ta tio n a t p re -in te rm e d ia te level Wide range of activities on th e fo u r skills FC E-style a ctiv ities T rin ity -sty le activ itie s (G rades 6 -7 ) D ossiers on G overn esses and u p p er-class children and P u ritan ism In te rn e t P ro je ct Exit t e s t S to ry reco rd ed in full

| elem entary

beginner Exam P r e p a r a t i o n : PET ( B l )

I interm ediate Exam:

FCE (82)

Exam:

|

pre-in term ed iate

PET (Bl)

Exam Preparation:

FCE (

upper-interm ediate Exam Preparation:

CAE (Cl)

ISBN13: 978-3-526-52214-0 ISBN10: 3-526-52214-6

9783526522140 is volume without the side coupon is to considered a sample copy not for sale.

9 783526 52214011 L a n g e n s c h e id t ELT