A morally ambiguous character can be thought of as one who attempts to do good, but at times shows hints of being more towards the antagonist’s side of the story. One who confuses the intended audience of a work to think more two-sided, allowing for twists and changes in the path of the story. In Henry James’s The Turn of The Screw, the Governess’s crucial role as an ambiguous character to act as both good and evil provides an effective backbone for the story’s plot, and the critical elements to successfully hook, or capture the audience’s attention. Through connected plot twists, destruction of the mind, and the Governess’s frequent desires to protect the children, her intent changes often, allowing for both moral and malicious intentions…show more content… Evidence of such actions can be seen in chapter 17, where the Governess states "Dear little Miles, dear little Miles, if you KNEW how I want to help you! It's only that, it's nothing but that, and I'd rather die than give you a pain or do you a wrong—I'd rather die than hurt a hair of you.” (James 108). Not all her intentions are bad, she does truly care for the little Miles and Flora as shown through her frantic motives to protect them from the supposed “ghosts” in the household. And as her mind is slowly decayed by the unfulfillment of her sexual desires, she becomes less and less trustworthy. Not all her actions should be seen as ill-intended. As Marion Davis states, “Considering the setting in which the story is told, the narrator’s own confessions, and pieces of the unconscious’ effect emerging, the governess can be identified as an unreliable narrator.” (Davis). This is one of the key reasons why an antagonist character plays such a large deciding role in the plot of the story, allowing for question after question to be unanswered even after the book is finished. However, not every intention of the Governess is meant to be…show more content… The idea of a morally ambiguous character is that the character in focus can be seen either way, and there is no complete proof of one idea compared to another. However, such evidence like “With the stroke of the loss I was so proud of he uttered the cry of a creature hurled over an abyss…We were alone with the quiet day, and his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped.” (James 149), this quote shows us how it is very likely that the Governess herself killed Miles as the story ends. While this is a popular theory, it is worth noting how, assuming the ghosts were not a figment of her imagination, Miles may have died due to fright from a heart condition, only leading to more questions and adding to the idea of a morally ambiguous character. Whatever the reader’s opinion, the Governess can easily be thought of as either a good or bad character. As Leithauser states, “James is trafficking in openness; readers can shift, at whim, from ghostly tale to character study.” (Leithauser) allowing for the readers to decide for themselves on her state of mind. This idea of a character that “switches sides” creates the whole mystery in the story, allowing for the reader to get more involved and start to question why things
