The Turn of the Screw

The Symbolic Color of Black in The Turn of the Screw In The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, black clothing worn by the ghosts of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel foreshadows evil and darkness throughout the novel. Throughout the novel, James creates a character that is "in the dark." The phrase "in the dark" means to be without knowledge. The character "in the dark," Mrs. Grose, is the only character throughout the novel …

…her unutterable woe…The entire scene is the very epitome of Gothic melodrama…" (124-125). Henry James consistently uses a symbolic color, black, throughout one of his famous works, The Turn of the Screw. The ghosts are unable to be seen by Mrs. Grose because she is without knowledge and imagination. The clothes worn by Peter Quint and Miss Jessel are also symbolic because they let the reader know that the characters are dark and evil.