Ships, Boats

Navy Blues

Nautical imagery usually has one of two functions: it's either there to symbolize a feeling a freedom and expectation or it's there to allude to a feeling of being adrift.

Given that we spend the majority of The Turn of the Screw cooped up in a haunted manor, guess which kind of nautical imagery rears its ugly head in this book?

This lost-at-sea feeling is first mentioned when the Governess arrives at Bly and comments on how strange it is that she should be metaphorically steering the household, which she compares to a "great drifting ship" (1.9) full of lost passengers.

But, interesting, nautical imagery is most associated with the character of Flora. First, the little girl attempts to build a little toy boat out of wood while the Governess, horrified, sees the ghost of Miss Jessel for the first time.  And then, when they return to the lake, Flora somehow manages to abscond with the rowboat that's usually docked at the lake and move it to a more hidden location...and there's never any explanation of how or why she does this by herself.

So how should we read these images of Captain Flora?

Our understanding of the recurring boat motif when it comes to Flora is that it is through Flora that the Governess begins to really feel out of her element and alone without a proverbial friendly port. Flora, after all, is a cute little girl: she should be relatively easy to control, and caring for her should give the Governess a sense of control and groundedness. 

Unfortunately, that's not exactly the case. And Flora's playing with boats on her own makes the Governess realize that she is not, in fact, the captain steering the household.