Theme/Issue

A common theme in Turn of the Screw is the corruption of innocence. As soon as the governess sees what she assumes to be the ghosts of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel, she immediately thinks that they are out to corrupt her charges, Miles and Flora. The governess goes about protecting them from the ghosts influences by continually questioning them on what they supposedly know. Throughout the story it almost seems as if the governess is projecting her own fears if the ghosts onto the children and it eventually wears on them. Flora ends up sick and leaving the estate saying she never wants to talk to the governess again, while Miles actually dies, though how exactly is unclear. The ending is ambiguous but it also leads the reader to believe that perhaps the governess paranoia is what led to the events.