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Definition of Idiom
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the words in the phrase. For... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on... read full definition
Preface
Explanation and Analysis—The Turn of the Screw:
In The Turn of the Screw, the title itself makes use of an idiom that, in most cases, is used metaphorically to refer to something excruciating or horrible. In this case, it's used to describe a story about ghosts haunting children. It's also used as a way of expressing a certain escalation of the stakes, as Douglas listens to a story about the haunting of a child and then says he has an even worse story:
"But it's not the first occurrence of its charming kind that I know to have involved a child. If the child gives the effect another turn of the screw, what do you say to two children—?"
The idea here is that a story about ghosts haunting two children (instead of one) is almost inexpressibly horrible, adding yet another "turn of the screw."
Furthermore, at the end of the novella, the governess uses the idiom when pontificating about her duty to face the “unnatural” situation at Bly. She sees it as her responsibility to protect the children from the ghosts, and to make herself feel better about the circumstances, she reasons that, if this whole ordeal with the ghosts is “unnatural,” it’s “only another turn of the screw of ordinary human virtue.” In other words, she tells herself that facing things that are wicked and “unnatural” merely requires people to embrace the ugliest parts of human nature itself. Dealing with such depraved situations is, according to the governess, just one more "turn of the screw."
There's also some pretty gruesome connotations to the idiom, since "turn of the screw" is sometimes understood to have come from the language of medieval torture. Many of these old torture methods relied on the torturer cranking or screwing something up a notch and, in doing so, causing various torture implements to tighten or more intensely pierce the victim. There is, then, a ruthlessness to the expression, and this infuses the narrative with a sense of extreme discomfort.
Related Themes:
