Love between classes: an analysis of the violation of social status in the turn of the screwA Marxist reading of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw highlights how differences in social status and especially how the violation of these distinctions affects history. The relationship between the governess and Miles is a clear example of this kind of transgression. As an anonymous character, the governess has an undefined social status. She is neither a lady of high society nor a simple servant. Furthermore, in the Victorian context of the story, she is, as Millicent Bell writes, a “taboo woman” (“Class” 95). Her role is to raise and care for children without allowing herself to be a sexually active woman. As for Miles, he represents the idealized absent Master of high society, towards whom the governess feels attracted in Harley Street. However, the child is also associated with the socially and sexually transgressive Peter Quint and comes to symbolize the governess's forbidden desire to marry her employer. The relationship between the governess and Miles demonstrates the tension between the duty of a professional, honorable governess and the desire to become an upper-class woman with a sexually active life. As the analysis of the scenes in which the governess and Miles are alone shows, this tension results in the governess's violation of differences in social status when she engages in a sexual relationship with Miles. A Victorian governess was faced with conflicting demands. Bell argues that a governess “had to be a woman to fulfill her role, but she was certainly not a lady in her work for a living and was not the social equal of well-to-do women” (“Class” 94 ). In The Turn of the Screw, the governess clearly explains...... middle of paper ......rn of the Screw "clearly resists historical interpretation, which would fill in [the] blanks with knowledge of the group social" (335). However, the present analysis of the relationship between Miles and the governess shows precisely the relevance of a historical and social reading of the story. Placing the governess's story in a socio-historical context reveals the conflict between her own desires and the demands she faces in her job. This also provides context for understanding Miles' ambivalent character, as he both represents the upper-class Master and is associated with Peter Quint's social and sexual transgressions. Finally, knowledge of Victorian practices of sexual initiation allows readers to trace the evolving relationship between Miles and the governess as their roles transform from student and teacher to lover and mistress..