A Response to Wayne C. Booth
In his essay, “‘He began to read to our hushed little circle’: Are We
Blessed or Cursed by Our Life with The
Turn of the Screw?,” William C. Booth makes a compelling and well-executed
examination of reader response criticism regarding Henry James’s
The Turn of the Screw by utilizing
classic reader-response methodology.
Instead of the essay joining the ranks as yet another critique of James’s story,
Booth takes a different approach to his criticism: he questions the value of
reading and analyzing the story itself as well as the pertaining criticism
(289). Booth emphasizes that the use of “ethical criticism” (289) is troublesome
when paired with the responses evoked from individual readers by
The Turn of the Screw, which leads to
various individual interpretations (290-92). Booth acknowledges three distinct
ways of interpreting The Turn of the
Screw: straight, ironic, and “mazed” (292). He gives specific examples of
each by explaining the different interpretations applied: the straight
interpretation is literal reading and does not question the facts as they are
presented; the ironic approach is highly skeptical and focuses on discrepancies
in the text; and the “mazed” interpretation approaches the story with the
anticipation of confusion and failures in understanding because of the
indeterminate truth of literature (Booth 292-97).
These different interpretations and the prospect of a “non-truth,” as
upheld by “mazed” readers, only reinforce Booth’s proposal that the reading of
the text and criticism must provide some value for the reader, for without
value, there would be no purpose to the many debates and analyses based on
James’s story (298-99). This value does not lie only in critical debate alone,
for debate can solely provide educational value to the reader (Booth 299-300).
Values such as emotional engagement, thought provocation, and a greater sympathy
for people are derived from the private action of reading the text and its
criticism and the public action of debating the text (Booth 299-301).
Structurally and methodologically, Booth’s essay is a strong argument. He
utilizes well-executed transitions throughout and has three distinct sections
that present a clear theme and expound upon main question. In the presentation
of new material or terminology, Booth gives specific examples of how the
information works within the literary frame of reader-response criticism and
emphasizes how it reflects his main points. For example, the differentiation of
reader interpretations—straight, ironc, and “mazed” (Booth 292)—are clearly
defined and provide a basis for the presentation of his conclusion.
Booth’s conclusion, though a bit dramatic with the statement that reading and
discussing criticism could help one “read” his friends (301), is convincing.
Booth’s interweaving of small exclamations and their relevance to a value found
in reading and discussing gives the conclusion a compelling and engaging manner.
Booth’s essay supports the general principle of reader-response criticism as he
emphasizes the importance of the reader in giving purpose and interpretation to
James’s text. His argument follows the writings of I. A. Richards on
reader-response criticism, for in his conclusion Booth admits that there are
better and worse interpretations (Booth 299; Bressler 71). By including the
three types of reader interpretation, Booth is also reflecting Louise
Rosenblatt’s belief in the legitimacy of different reader responses (Bressler
72). In regard to methodology, Booth’s essay aligns with the reader-response
two-step methodology of engaging the reader in a task and the task reflecting
the reader’s response (Bressler 81), for he argues that the text adds
educational value to the reader as a text and also attributes more defining
values such as emotional depth and thought (Booth 301).
Works Cited
Booth, Wayne C. “‘He began to read to our hushed little circle’: Are We Blessed
or Cursed by Our Life
with The Turn of the Screw?” The Turn of
the Screw. By Henry James. Ed.
Peter G. Beidler. 3rd ed. Boston U.a.: Bedford / St. Martin, 2010. 287-301.
Print.
Bressler, Charles E. "Reader-Oriented Criticism." Literary Criticism: An
Introduction to Theory
and Practice (A Second Printing). 5th ed. Boston: Pearson Colleg, 2011.
65-84. Print.