These tales leave a lot to the imagination with all of the unanswered questions, and I admit that this was extremely frustrating for me to read initially, but I grew appreciation for this style because it was actually more interesting to look at the facts from different angles and develop multiple interpretations for what is left unsaid.
The idea of ghosts does not seem to bother the characters in either of the stories however, in Beloved the ghosts are frequently seen by all of the characters making it more believable to the reader, unlike how the governess in “A Turn of the Screw” seems to be the only person that can see the spirits and this makes her seem like an unreliable narrator that probably has a psychological disorder. The fact that these characters are having a very nonchalant conversation comparing ghost sightings, making the extraordinary something that is ordinary, leaves you with a very uneasy feeling for what is about to happen. In Beloved, when Denver first meets Paul D., she bluntly explains to him that there is a ghost in the house and he responds with his memory of a “headless bride” that was often seen behind Sweet Home. There is never a moment where she questions what she sees or even seems alarmed. When the governess discovers that the people she has been seeing are the ghosts of the previous caretakers, she is only concerned with keeping them away from the children. In both stories, it seems as though the characters instantly accept these ghost sightings and interactions as reasonable occurrences in their lives, no one reacts in disbelief or shock. Both tales incorporate three main elements that are recognized in this genre the unity of two opposite realms (the living co-existing with the dead), the intentional lack of information that leaves unanswered questions, and a gradual build-up of supernatural interactions becoming more intense as the story continues.
The natural settings and realistic characters interacting with mystical elements encourage the reader to contemplate between rational and irrational explanations are the paranormal events actually happening or is this all one big illusion caused by the character’s mental instability?Īs I read through Toni Morrison’s use of magical realism in Beloved, I keep finding many aspects that remind me of “The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James. This has a profound effect on readers because it provokes many different possibilities when interpreting the meaning behind the events.
Magic Realism is a method many authors use in Gothic literature to incorporate supernatural elements into an ordinary, realistic environment.
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