Miles and Peter Quint’s Ambiguous Connection

The Turn of the Screw

This flow follows the accounts of Miles’s former closeness to Peter Quint and the uncertain evidence of their continued relationship after Quint’s death.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Quint’s Special Attention Quint’s Special Attention from "The Turn of the Screw". A Close Association Unusual Companionship Mrs. Grose recalls that Peter Quint and Miles spent extensive time together at Bly.

Quint’s Special Attention from "The Turn of the Screw". A Close Association Unusual Companionship Mrs. Grose recalls that Peter Quint and Miles spent extensive time together at Bly.

A Close Association Unusual Companionship Mrs. Grose recalls that Peter Quint and Miles spent extensive time together at Bly. Concern About Boundaries She questioned the propriety of their closeness and spoke to the boy about remembering his station. The relationship is troublingly suggestive, but the account never supplies a complete description of what passed between them.

A Denial Remembered A Denial Remembered from "The Turn of the Screw". The Past Recalled Mrs. Grose’s Memory Mrs. Grose remembers Miles denying occasions when he had gone off with Quint for hours.

A Denial Remembered from "The Turn of the Screw". The Past Recalled Mrs. Grose’s Memory Mrs. Grose remembers Miles denying occasions when he had gone off with Quint for hours.

The Past Recalled Mrs. Grose’s Memory Mrs. Grose remembers Miles denying occasions when he had gone off with Quint for hours. A Question of Honesty The Governess interprets the denial as proof that the boy concealed an improper relationship. The recollection offers evidence of secrecy but does not establish whether the child’s account was a lie or what he understood.

The Boy at the Window The Boy at the Window from "The Turn of the Screw". A Look Toward the Tower The Governess’s Discovery Miles stands on the lawn and looks upward while Flora watches from a bedroom window.

The Boy at the Window from "The Turn of the Screw". A Look Toward the Tower The Governess’s Discovery Miles stands on the lawn and looks upward while Flora watches from a bedroom window.

A Look Toward the Tower The Governess’s Discovery Miles stands on the lawn and looks upward while Flora watches from a bedroom window. A Supernatural Reading The Governess believes he is facing Peter Quint, although the boy gives no account of the figure he may have seen. The sight makes their past association seem active in the present without confirming the ghost’s role.

A Name Long Withheld A Name Long Withheld from "The Turn of the Screw". Quint Named at Last Recognition in Crisis As the Governess points toward the window, Miles asks whether the figure is Peter Quint.

A Name Long Withheld from "The Turn of the Screw". Quint Named at Last Recognition in Crisis As the Governess points toward the window, Miles asks whether the figure is Peter Quint.

Quint Named at Last Recognition in Crisis As the Governess points toward the window, Miles asks whether the figure is Peter Quint. An Uncertain Breakthrough The Governess takes the name as proof that he recognizes the apparition, but Miles sees nothing after turning toward the glass. The moment offers a final connection between the boy and the dead servant while leaving their relationship’s nature unresolved.

The Connection Ends The Connection Ends from "The Turn of the Screw". A Final Separation No Apparition for Miles The room appears quiet to the boy, even as the Governess believes Peter Quint has just vanished.

The Connection Ends from "The Turn of the Screw". A Final Separation No Apparition for Miles The room appears quiet to the boy, even as the Governess believes Peter Quint has just vanished.

A Final Separation No Apparition for Miles The room appears quiet to the boy, even as the Governess believes Peter Quint has just vanished. Death in the Governess’s Arms Miles’s heart stops before the meaning of his recognition can be clarified. His death makes the possibility of Quint’s influence inseparable from the Governess’s own intervention.

Months before the Governess arrives

After Miles returns from school

During the moonlit night at Bly

During the final confrontation

Immediately after Miles names Quint