The Ambiguous Horror of Female Sexuality
/Much of the horror in The Innocents comes from the instability of Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr), the new governess to Flora (Pamela Franklin) and Miles (Martin Stephens).
Shortly after her arrival at Bly manor, Miss Giddens comes to believe that the estate is haunted by Peter Quint (Peter Wyngarde), the former valet, and Miss Jessel (Clytie Jessop), the former governess. The two were having a sordid affair until their deaths on the estate—Quint by a drunken fall on the steps in the winter, and Miss Jessel by drowning herself in the lake—which scarred the children deeply.
Throughout the course of The Innocents, Miss Giddens is the only one who claims to see or hear any ghosts; she believes that the Flora and Miles can see their dead caregivers, but they lie about it every step of the way. Her belief is reinforced by the children’s increasingly suspicious behaviour, something that Miss Giddens takes as proof of the existence of ghosts.
In the afternoon sun, Flora and Miss Giddens sit on the gazebo at the shore of the lake. In the reeds of the lake, Miss Jessel stands in a black dress, staring back at them. She and Flora seem to be looking at each other, but when Miss Giddens asks who the woman is, Flora is puzzled; she doesn’t see anyone.
The children’s behaviour could be attributed not to ghosts, but to the further breaking of Miss Giddens’ fragile psyche: perhaps she is seeing figures and faces that aren’t there, hearing voices that don’t call to her. But Miss Giddens is firm in her belief that there is something wrong at Bly.
Miss Giddens, eyes wide with horror, concludes that the children are being possessed by Quint and Miss Jessel: “I can’t pretend to understand what its purpose is. I only know that it is happening. Something secretive and whispery…and indecent.”
Secrets, corruption, and wickedness are recurring themes throughout The Innocents. Miss Giddens is the daughter of a preacher, and remarks that the home she grew up in was very unlike Bly manor. It was a small, modest house: “Much too small to keep secrets,” she tells Miles. Contrary to her young wards who tell secrets and whisper everywhere they go, Miss Giddens grew up in the open, with her secrets and desires laid out for all to see.
Though Miss Giddens has an inherent disgust for all things obscene and wicked, she still finds herself drawn to them. She presses housekeeper Mrs. Grose (Megs Jenkins) for as much information on Quint and Miss Jessel’s trysts as she can, captivated by the indecency of it all; Miss Giddens becomes a woman obsessed.
Her obsession manifests in the form of preserving the children’s innocence and freeing them from what she perceives to be Quint and Miss Jessel’s unholy influences.
In what is the most jarring and blatantly sexual sequence in the film, Miss Giddens is further tormented by disembodied voices.
Miss Giddens is alone, sitting by the fire and praying with her Bible when Miss Jessel’s giggle suddenly cuts through the silence. She tries to ignore it, but the giggles become whispers between Quint and Miss Jessel—almost as if Miss Giddens is overhearing a secret conversation between the departed lovers—so she begins investigating.
With only a candlestick to light her way, Miss Giddens walks down the halls of the manor, checking every doorknob and window as the wind howls outside. She seems intent on finding where the voices are coming from. As she does, the voices and noises around her intensify.
Look at the children, Quint whispers.
The children are watching, Miss Jessel says.
Knock before you enter! Quint demands.
The voices overlap into a symphony of lust and anger and desperation. Miss Giddens is overwhelmed in her anxious state, running through the manor until she reaches her room. When she closes the door, the voices come to a halt, and she’s finally safe again.
In the climax of the film, Miss Giddens confronts Miles. She believes that he will be free from Quint’s influence when he admits the possession says Quint’s name aloud. Miles tells Miss Giddens that she’s crazy, and no one will believe what she says because at her core, she’s wicked: “A damned hussy, a damned dirty-minded hag!”
Miles’ declaration seems to frighten Miss Giddens just as much as the ghosts that she had encountered at Bly.
Miss Giddens, more than anything, values being seen as pure. And while upon first glance, she and Miss Jessel are polar opposites, they are both controlled by their underlying desires. Where Miss Jessel was controlled by her lust, Miss Giddens is controlled by her purity.
By the end of the film, it remains unclear whether the ghosts at Bly were real or not. The only clear part is that the children are further traumatized by the presence of Miss Giddens and her obsession with upholding some sort of innocence. Perhaps it was Miss Giddens’ misplaced affection that was her undoing; or it was her repression and delusion, the belief that she was always doing the right thing. That unrelenting belief is Miss Giddens’ downfall, and it proves to be the most dangerous part of The Innocents.
With the screenplay being written in part by Truman Capote, who emphasized the psychosexual undertone of the haunting, the ambiguity of The Innocents is as blatant as it is frightening.
Frankie Quinn is the resident scaredy cat who takes a particular interest in the intersection of feminism and queer culture in horror media.
