Henry James: biografia e Il giro di vite

HENRY JAMES: BIOGRAFIA E IL GIRO DI VITE

Henry James.

Henry James was born in 1834 in New York. He attended schools in London, Paris and Geneva and after attending Harvard law school for a short time he decided to devote himself entirely to writing and his short stories made him famous when he was only 25. In 1869 he came to Europe, he visited England, France and Italy where he met famous writers such as Zola, Flaubert and George Eliot. In 1876 he settled in London and wrote The American, Daisy Miller and The Portait of a Lady which present the word of America and the world of England in contrast with each other. Instead Washington Square and The Bostonians present only American life. After a short visit to America he spent the rest of his life in Europe in contact with writers, critics and painters. There he wrote What Maisie Knew, The Turn of the Screw, The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl. World War I aroused in James a strong feeling of love for England and so he took the British citizenship. He died in 1916 and his body was taken to the United States and buried in the family plot.

Il giro di vite di Henry James: recensione

HENRY JAMES GIRO DI VITE: TRAMA

THE TURN OF THE SCREW: 1.TRAMA: The story is about a young girl who is employed as a governess to 2 orphan children by their rich uncle. The man is bachelor (celibe) and the governess falls in love with him. He offers a very generous salary but there is one condition: she must never trouble him nor write about anything, but she accepts. The 2 children, Flora and Miles, are absolutely charming and the governess is delighted with them but soon she learns that Miles has been expelled from school for mysterious reasons, which are not mentioned. The governess likes walking in the garden of Bly and she always thinks about the uncle of the 2 children. One day, while she is fancying how charming it would be if he appeared and smiled to her, she sees a man at the very top of one of the 2 towers of the house. She is shocked and for a moment she thinks that her dream has become reality but she realises that the man is not the uncle. After some time there is a second apparition. When she is in the dining-room she sees the man at the window looking inside the house and probably looking for someone else. She decides to tell Mrs Grose about the 2 apparitions and she recognise the man, Peter Quint. Later on, while the governess is near the lake with Flora, she sees a woman, the previous governess of the 2 children, Miss Jessel and she is sure that Flora has seen the ghost too but pretends she has not. She tells this episode to Mrs Grose too and she can recognise this ghost too. More apparitions and events follow and the governess is sure that, if she gets Flora and Miles to confess that they are in contact whit the ghosts, they will be saved, but the children continue to deny this. The governess does not give up and she tries to get Miles to confess why he was turned out from school and the little boy admit having said things. She presses her questions more and more sternly and it is at this dramatic moment that she again sees Peter Quint. The governess engages in a tremendous fight with the evil spirit to free the soul of Miles and it is in this moment that Miles dies.

IL GIRO DI VITE OPERA DI HENRY JAMES: PERSONAGGI

2.PERSONAGGI: - The governess: she is young, she has no name and she has no experience, she accepts the job because she is attracted by the uncle of the children.
- Mrs Grose: she is the housekeeper, she is illitterate but kind to her and friendly, she provides informations and she knows more than the governess.
- Miles: he is 10, he is intelligent and very beautiful, he is expelled from school (probably he liked boys and did something to them, something he has learnt from Peter Quint).