Summary: Chapter VI
The governess and Mrs. Grose discuss the governess’s encounter
with what they assume to be the ghost of Peter Quint. With a feeling
of sudden clarity, the governess exclaims that Quint had been looking
for Miles. She wonders why neither child has ever mentioned the
man. Mrs. Grose reveals that Quint had been “too free” with Miles.
Still haunted by the image of Peter Quint, the governess sleeps
fitfully, if at all, and remains convinced Mrs. Grose has left out
some important detail.
The governess begins to view the situation as an occasion
for heroism and zealously takes up the role as protector of Miles
and Flora. Later, with Miles inside, the governess watches Flora
play on the bank of the lake when she becomes aware of a third presence.
The governess turns her eyes to Flora, who is attempting to build
a small wooden boat and seems oblivious to any sort of irregularity.
The governess then shifts her eyes in the direction of their visitor.
Summary: Chapter VII
The narrative moves forward to later that afternoon, when
the governess informs Mrs. Grose of the encounter. She claims that
the children “know” and are keeping things to themselves, explaining
that Flora saw a woman at the lake but said nothing. The governess
describes the vision as dressed in black, with a dreadful face,
and says the woman appeared out of nowhere. Responding to Mrs. Grose’s
questions, the governess claims the woman is Miss Jessel, her predecessor,
and that she is certain Flora will lie about it. Mrs. Grose defends
Flora as innocent, then inquires further. The governess says Miss
Jessel “fixed” Flora with determined eyes and remarks on Miss Jessel’s
beauty. At this, Mrs. Grose speaks of Miss Jessel as “infamous”
and reveals that Miss Jessel had an inappropriate relationship with
Quint. Clinging to Mrs. Grose in distress, the governess laments
that the children are lost beyond her control.
Summary: Chapter VIII
Meeting again later, the governess and Mrs. Grose determine
to keep their wits about them. That night they talk in the governess’s
room until the governess is convinced that Mrs. Grose believes her.
The governess returns to her pupils and feels ashamed at having
thought Flora capable of cunning. Later, she asks Mrs. Grose about
the occasions on which Miles had been bad. It takes prying, but
Mrs. Grose finally tells her that her previous reference had regarded
the time Miles had spent with Quint. Mrs. Grose defends Miles, pointing out
that Miss Jessel had not disapproved of his and Quint’s relationship.
Getting fed up with the governess’s relentless questioning, Mrs.
Grose fires back some retorts. The governess pieces together her
colleague’s revelations and presumes that Mrs. Grose’s silence signifies
her agreement. Mrs. Grose confirms that whenever Miles had been
with Quint, Flora had been with Miss Jessel. As Mrs. Grose again
defends Miles, the governess reassures her that without more evidence,
she can accuse no one and will simply wait.
Analysis
In these chapters, as the governess learns about Quint
and Jessel and their relationship with the children, her views toward
them evolve from the idea that the ghosts are trying to get at the
children and that she can shield them to suspecting that the children
are already under the ghosts’ influence and are corrupted, and thus
need to be even more vigorously watched and more aggressively rescued.
From this point on, everything the children say or do may be duplicitous
and ironic. Even if we believe that the ghosts are real, we don’t
know whether the governess is right about the children. Her assertions
that the children are aware of the ghosts are based on subjective
impressions and intuitions, not on clear visual evidence. Moreover,
the governess’s interpretation of events at Bly is opportunistic,
even self-serving. She sees the problem of the ghosts and
the chance to save the children as a “magnificent opportunity,”
a chance to fulfill her fantasy of winning the master’s approval
through an act of heroism.
The nature of the children’s relationship with Quint and
Jessel is only hinted at, and it can be interpreted in different
ways. We know from Mrs. Grose that Miles spent a lot of time with
Quint, despite Mrs. Grose’s disapproval of a servant and master
being so friendly. We also gather that Quint was “too free” with
Miles and everyone else, that Quint and Jessel had an affair, and
that Quint did what he liked with people. All of these statements
are vague and ambiguous. Seen in the most positive light, Mrs. Grose’s
account can be interpreted to mean merely that Quint was a bad influence
on Miles because of his lower-class manners. At worst, Mrs. Grose’s
words might imply that Quint exposed Miles to sexual knowledge by
telling him about sex, by letting Miles witness him having sex,
or even by having sex with Miles. Similarly, Mrs. Grose’s assertion
that Quint was “free” with everyone and did what he liked with people
could mean merely that he was rude and spoke to people however he
wanted, or it could mean that he seduced or sexually abused the
other servants. The governess is quick to interpret the situation
in a sexual way, insisting that Miles and Flora understood the true nature
of Quint and Jessel’s relationship and that they helped to cover
it up. She sees the situation as much worse than does Mrs. Grose,
perceiving herself as bolder and more willing to face the truth
than Mrs. Grose. We don’t know the truth for certain, and our sense
that there are no limits to how bad the situation might be creates
a feeling of vertigo and terror in us.
