On the Run from the Housekeeper in The Turn of the Screw At the end of The Turn of the Screw, there is great ambiguity surrounding Miles' death because serious doubts remain about the credibility of the housekeeper who was the original author of the story. The ambiguity lies in the question of who Miles was saved by at the end of the novel: the Governess or Quint. At the end of the novel the housekeeper holds Miles' corpse in her arms and says: "...he has lost you forever... We were alone with the quiet day, and his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped" ( ** *). The "he" in "has lost you forever" could refer to Quint or the Governess. Additionally, the phrase "dispossessed heart" implies that some lost possession of Mile's heart upon his death. Thus, someone was attempting to possess or had possessed Mile's heart during his lifetime. At the end of the novel, only two beings besides Miles are present: the Governess and perhaps Quint. The Governess wants to believe that Quint is real and that she is a mother figure trying to save Miles from the clutches of Quint, who may have introduced Miles to sexual information. The truth, however, is that Quint exists only in the mind of the sexually deprived housekeeper who creates Quint to help herself cope with her desires for a relationship with the master, who may be represented by Miles. Furthermore, since the Governess's social position forces her to live far from all men, her maternal feelings towards Miles become confused with her desires for her master. After critical examination it can be concluded that at his death Miles is not saved by Quint, but by the erotic desires of the Governess. The Governess characterizes Quint, who is just her hallucin... middle of paper.... ...and. As a result of the housekeeper's social position, she is isolated from all males except Miles. Therefore, when Miles dies, he loses the object he uses for his sexual fantasies. The ambiguity about who the "he" refers to is an essential part of the story. The story could never have been told without ambiguity. The original author of the story is the governess who denies that her maternal feelings for Miles have become confused with her sexual desires which the social position of a governess prevents her from satisfying. He truly believes that his hallucination, Quint, is real. For this reason the truth about the Governess is not immediately apparent through reading her story, but, upon critical examination, one must take the further step and critically examine her story if one wants to find the truth hidden in her denial..