Similarities Between Twilight And The Turn Of The Screw

English Essay – Catherine Cooper
“Texts on their own are interesting, but when compared to other texts they become illuminating”
Discuss in relation to ‘Twilight’ and ‘The Turn of the Screw’
Essay
Texts on their own are thought-provoking, motivating, fascinating and stimulating. With a background context, audiences may learn about the values of the time. Although when studying more than one text, if the contexts are understood, the two texts can be analysed, interpreted, compared, contrasted, it becomes informative and audiences may learn more about the values held in the texts. The texts are illuminating when compared to each other because we are able to see what values are being challenged through the gothic genre in regard to the context.
Through studying Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw, it is evident in the England 19th century sexuality was a taboo and was expected to be conservative. Although in the gothic novel sexuality is not spoken of directly, there are connotations of sexuality throughout the text. The governess is sexually frustrated and repressed, she is not given her desires so is preoccupied by the ghosts, “he is handsome…remarkably”. As James had a strong background in Freud’s theory, his father being a keen reader of Sigmund Freud’s work, his brother a Freudian psychologist and philosopher, the likely reason why the governess really sees the ghosts is a result of her sexual repression, the Freudian theory being “when the pleasure principle cannot express itself, it must bury (repress) or transfer (sublimate) its desire”. Whereas in 21st century postmodern society active sexuality is acceptable, it is openly discussed and advertised in many places. In Catherine Hardwicke’s gothic film Twilight set in the 21st century, sexuality is openly discussed although the protagonists Bella and Edward represent abstinence and. Hardwicke has done this to challenge the idea of active sexuality. The phone scene represents Bella’s mother as society’s assumptions to be sexually active when she says to Bella “we’ve got to talk boys, are you being safe?”. Although in the bedroom scene when Bella and Edward
In The Turn of The Screw the idea of breaking inter-class barriers in relationships is explored. In Victorian England in the late 19th century almost all people married within the same class, there were many double standards; marrying someone of a different class was frowned upon and classes were based on family name and blood. In Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw the governess is intrigued by the class difference between Miss Jessel and Peter quint who were together, “she was a lady…and he so dreadfully below”. Similarly the governess and the master are of different classes, the love is unrequited and unquestionably forbidden. In Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight the idea of breaking inter-species barriers is explored. In 21st century America, this is something unheard of and most definitely frowned upon. In Twilight the relationship between Bella and Edward, a vampire of different species is very much not supported and forbidden, Bella’s friends says “You with Edward now…I don’t like it…he looks at you as if you’re something to eat”. Both texts represent the value of breaking social barriers, which is breaking inter-class and interspecies barriers and pursuing forbidden relationships despite the fact they are in different contexts. Through juxtaposing the value of breaking social barriers in both texts it becomes