| dc.description.abstract | The major research of this thesis will be the connection of psychoanalysis and history with regard to the issue of trauma. It deals with the modernist text of Henry James, The Turn of the Screw, which relates to the crisis of the history, the loss of innocence and the questioning of the limits of the psyche. This is the starting point of my probe into the foundation both of psychoanalysis and the texts in question.
Chapter one introduces an array of interpretations of The Turn of the Screw. In addition, historical background at the turn of “the modern age” is examined since it is the seed of the modernist works, especially for James. In chapter two, the issue of reality and representation are teased out in the context of modernism. It is unavoidable for a modernist such as James to wish to wrestle with these concerns within his works. Then, the problems of reality and representation are discussed and complicated further by the main character, the governess, for her enigmatic experience of seeing the ghost. The third chapter analyses the historical and psychological uncanniness in relation to the writer, James and the character, the governess, he translates into literary terms. It argues that the relevance of the ghosts is the consequence of the traumatic mental conditions both for James and the governess. Moreover, the second and third chapter interpret The Turn of the Screw respectively from the angles of phanatasy and trauma. Finally, the conclusion reiterates the purpose of this thesis: Only a reading of The Turn of the Screw which tries to bring together the conflicts between psychoanalysis and history can give them an opportunity to enter into a dialogue.
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