# Miss Jessel — The Turn of the Screw character guide

> Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** woman

**First appearance:** 0004-iv

## Snapshot

The governess's predecessor at Bly, dead before the story opens, whose mourning-clad figure returns to the grounds with a look of furious intention.

## Who they are

Miss Jessel was a lady, hired to teach the children, who left Bly under a cloud and died soon after — of what, Mrs. Grose will not say. She is remembered as beautiful, proud, and fatally entangled with Peter Quint, a man far beneath her station. Her appearance at the pond, fixed on Flora, gives the governess her first proof that the past has not stayed buried.

## Relationships

### [Mrs. Grose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/characters/mrs_grose)

_professional_

Mrs. Grose knew Miss Jessel as the previous governess and speaks of her with pity, aware of her tragic affair with Quint.

### [Flora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/characters/flora)

_psychological_

The governess believes Flora is secretly in league with Miss Jessel's ghost, though Flora vehemently denies seeing her.

### [Luke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/characters/luke)

_professional_

Luke, as a servant, would have known Miss Jessel during her time at Bly, but their interactions are minimal in the narrative.

### [Miles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/characters/miles)

_psychological_

The governess suspects Miles has a secret, corrupting connection with Miss Jessel's ghost, though this is never confirmed.

### [Mrs. Grose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/characters/mrs_grose)

_professional_

Mrs. Grose knew Miss Jessel as the previous governess and speaks of her with pity, aware of her tragic affair with Quint.

### [Flora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/characters/flora)

_psychological_

The governess believes Flora is secretly in league with Miss Jessel's ghost, though Flora vehemently denies seeing her.

### [Luke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/characters/luke)

_professional_

Luke, as a servant, would have known Miss Jessel during her time at Bly, but their interactions are minimal in the narrative.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/chapters/ii)

The previous governess, who left Bly for a holiday and later died; her history is discussed.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/chapters/vii)

Described as a woman in black, pale and dreadful, with a fury of intention to get hold of Flora; her infamous relationship with Quint is revealed.

### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/chapters/viii)

Mentioned in connection with Flora and as having been approached by Mrs. Grose about Quint's relationship with Miles, responding with a strange manner.

### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/chapters/x)

Miss Jessel is the apparition Flora is secretly communicating with from the window. The governess also sees a woman on the staircase in an attitude of woe, identified as Miss Jessel.

### [Chapter XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/chapters/xii)

Mentioned as the other ghostly figure conspiring with Quint to corrupt the children.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/chapters/xiii)

The governess anticipates her appearance in sinister situations but has no encounter; she is part of the 'outsiders' the governess senses.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/chapters/xv)

Appears as a ghostly figure seated at the schoolroom table, embodying tragic despair and challenging the governess's sense of rightful presence.

### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/chapters/xvi)

The governess claims to have spoken with her in the schoolroom; Miss Jessel suffers torments of the lost and damned and wants Flora.

### [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/chapters/xviii)

Implied to be with Flora after her disappearance.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/chapters/xix)

Implied to be present; the governess asks Flora directly about her.

### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/chapters/xx)

Appears on the opposite bank, silent and menacing, serving as the focus of the governess's desperate proof.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/chapters/xxiv)

Mistakenly thought by Miles to be the ghost at the window, but the governess corrects him.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/characters/miss_jessel
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_turn_of_the_screw_se/characters