Jane Eyre « Novel Ideas

The Turn of the Screw

Posted on October 23, 2017

Time for a spoooooky Halloween double feature from Novel Ideas! This week we discussed The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, a classic ghost novel from the turn of the (20th) century. In this episode, we talk about 19th century framing devices, horror tropes, class, and classic versus modern audience expectations. We also cover literary conspiracy theories, strange employment conditions, modern misinterpretations of Victorian prose, and why Miles is kind of a dick.

The music bump is “Conspiracy Theory” by Mike Tomaro, as performed by the Capitol Bones.

Join us next time for The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

115 – The Turn of the Screw – Do You Have Anything to Say About Flora

Our recommendation:

We didn’t find this book to be scary. Or arguably all that entertaining. It will probably work best for you if you are into the history of the horror/ghost/haunting genre or a huge Henry James fan.

Ben: 4/10. I didn’t find it to be so bad that it was upsetting, I just didn’t really enjoy any part of reading it.

Gabs: 5/10. But only if you read into it more malevolently.

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged (not) haunted homes, 19th century framing devices, 3rd hand retellings, annoying literary boy children, atmosphere, class, classic v. modern horror, conspiracy, creepy children trope, dick in attitude, Dracula, expelled from school, extreme reactions, Frankenstein, ghosts in broad daylight, HALLOWEEN SPECIAL, haunted (blank) stories, Henry James, horror tropes, Jane Eyre, madness, meaningful deaths, modern misunderstandings of Victorian prose, murderous governess, nameless protagonist, not scary enough, other classic horror, pedophile theory, Peter Quint is (not?) a monster, possession, potty mouths, scary not scary, strange employment conditions, strange leaps of logic, superior interpretations, The Mezzotint, The Secret Garden, The Turn of the Screw, unreliable narrator, WE GET POLITICAL.

Jane Eyre

Posted on February 12, 2013

Welcome back to Novel Ideas for a classically oriented episode. This week we’re featuring Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, a Romantic romantic proto-feminist semi-gothic coming of age story about finding one’s place in the world. I believe that even to this day, this book remains the best known work in that genre. In this episode, we discuss the elements of that genre, as well as mental illness, feminism, religion vs. morality, sexual mores, and the search for love. We also discuss several types of Janes, St. John the vampire hunter, and why people live in environments guaranteed to kill them.

The music bump is “Jane” by Ben Folds, after the title character of this book, who is also arguably the protagonist.

37 – Jane Eyre – Unclose Your Mind

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged Bronte-sauri, Charlotte Bronte, deadly environments, feminism, finding love, Jane Austen, Jane Error, Jane Eyre, Jane Who?, man brain redux, marriage values, mental illness, multi-genre, old school trolling, past tense of suicide, physiognomy, Pilot the newfoundland, Plain Jane, poor survival skills, proto-feminism, religion v. morality, sexual mores, St. John Vampire Hunter, unclose.