Ghost Stories

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the strange occurrences of scepters throughout Edith Wharton's short stories "Afterward" and "The Lady Maid's Bell," and Henry James' short stories "The Turn of the Screw" and "The Jolly Corner". It discusses how ghosts prove to be elusive in all four short stories: some characters can see them while others cannot. The ghosts seem to make their appearance known to only a select few.

From the Paper:

"However, ghosts serve distinct purposes in each of these four stories. James' "The Jolly Corner" is the only story of the four in which the protagonist is haunted by his own ghost and for whom the ghost delivers a poignantly personal message. In all the other three stories, the ghosts' presence concerns characters other than the protagonist. For example, in James' "The Turn of the Screw," the ghosts of Miss Jessel and Peter Quint alarm the current governess of her charges' coming-of-age. The ghosts' presence pertains directly to the children's lives and not that of the new governess, even though the narrator becomes profoundly affected and frightened. Similarly, in "The Lady Maid's Bell," Emma Saxon's ghost frightens Hartley but warns her not of her own doom but that of Mrs. Brympton. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• James, Henry. "The Turn of the Screw." Ghost Stories of Henry James.
• James, Henry. "The Jolly Corner." Ghost Stories of Henry James.
• Wharton, Edith. "The Lady Maid's Bell." Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton.
• Wharton, Edith. "Afterward." Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton.

More papers on Ghost Stories:

• Analytical Essay # 63112 : "A Ghost Story"
• Analytical Essay # 49401 : "King Leopold's Ghost" and Historical Merit"
• Analytical Essay # 4841 : "The Use of Nature in Michael Ondaatje's Novel, "Anil's Ghost"

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