Chapter 8

Summary

The governess keeps thinking about the queer happenings at Bly. At times she talks about it to Mrs. Grose. Even though she had not personally met Peter Quint or Jessel, she is sure that she has seen only their ghosts. She is happy that the housekeeper tends to agree with her. As for her work, she attends to it with discipline. She interacts with the children but at the same time, she observes them carefully to see whether they know anything about the ghosts. However, the children behave normally and belie her suspicions and this leaves the governess very confused. To ascertain her view, she questions Mrs. Grose about the friendship between Quint and Miles. When she hears that Miles had been close to Quint and had knowledge of his affair with Jessel, the governess jumps to the conclusion that Miles has acquired evil characteristics. She decides to wait and observe.

The governess is impulsive and impatient. Even before ascertaining whether Flora had seen the vision of Jessel, she suggests that the little girl has knowledge of the apparition, but is pretending ignorance. Similarly, when she hears about the friendship between Miles and Quint, she concludes that Miles is evil. When the housekeeper reminds her that the boyÂ’s present behavior was faultless, the governess reluctantly agrees to wait and observe.

The governess finds answers to some of the questions that have been troubling her for quite some time. From the time the letter had arrived from the headmaster of MilesÂ’ school, she had been disturbed. She had been suspicious of the boyÂ’s behavior but his attitude towards her had been irreproachable. She was therefore very confused. Now, when Mrs. Grose tells her about the familiarity between Quint and Miles, she starts justifying his dismissal from school. However, still there is nothing in the manner of the boy that can be held against him. James thus lures the readers towards the latter pages of the book to unravel the character of Miles.

The governess starts looking at the children with a biased eye, after she learns about their association with the disreputable former employees of the house. Even though the children are courteous and cheerfully participate in the activities, the lady tries to pick out lapses in their behavior. Thus, instead of having a positive attitude towards her students, she exhibits a negative attitude towards them.

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