Background
Henry James builds the ghost story through a manuscript framed by another listener’s account. The reader must decide how much to trust a narrator who is both observant and emotionally involved.
Reading notes
- Separate what the governess sees from what she concludes.
- Notice how other characters’ silence can support more than one reading.
- Consider how the frame narrator influences your expectations.
Version note
Prepared from the English text supplied in the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press bilingual anthology. The site owner confirmed publication permission for this source edition on 21 October 2026. Publisher and edition details remain recorded in the rights audit.