Abstract
As he shifted from the manufacturing of studies on philosophy to the conception of a dialectic on economy, Karl Marx triggered a vast array of reflections upon the issue of class – and upon how both subject and society shape and are shaped by such issue. The reason why it is so difficult for distinct possibilities of class organization to be envisaged is because this logic of capital accumulation has become the master narrative of social functioning. Nevertheless, truth is there is still time to transform capitalism as for a more egalitarian social order to be established. Therefore, the relevance of understanding how The Turn of the Screw (James, 1898) is inserted within the spatial and temporal context of Victorian England seems, at least to me, not amenable to question. A Marxist literary approach towards productions like James’s one does not look for slotting in literature a discussion which is not there – on the contrary, it might give one an opportunity to rediscover what has always been present, but also neglected. There is no ahistorical literature; there is no ahistorical anything – hence the need for moving beyond such problematic understanding of the literary environment.
Highlights
You really shouldn’t expect the oppressed to believe in misery, such as you shouldn’t expect the starving to believe in hunger. (Christopher Hampton, Savages, 1973, p. 27). As he shifted from the manufacturing of studies on philosophy to the conception of a dialectic on economy, Karl Marx triggered a vast array of reflections upon the issue of class – and upon how both subject and society shape and are shaped by such issue
As a matter of fact, in Economic & philosophic manuscripts of 1844 (Marx, 1844), readers are reminded that it would be a mistake for one to postulate ‘society’ as if it were an abstraction vis-àvis the individual. This is so because Marx understands the individual as a social being: Maringá, v. 38, n. 2, p. 241-252, July-Dec., 2016
The contributions of Marxist literary criticism, as hopefully evinced in the analysis proposed by this article, go way beyond the transcendent values imposed by the notion of capital accumulation and class boundaries; its main axiom moves towards the opposite direction, questioning everything seemingly transcendental as to bring the common person back to the materiality of life
Summary
How class-relations are experienced and perpetuated seems a rather pertinent matter for James’ novella; and, as the literary evidence brought previously suggests, the class relations established in The turn of the screw (James, 1898) give readers a chance to realise how “[...] men are not free to choose their social relations; they are constrained into them by material necessity—by the nature and stage of development of their mode of economic production”
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
