a frame without a picture

vanessa774 · 03-11-2009, 01:44 PM

hello everyone,
To what extent is the turn of the screw by henry james a frame without a picture

I've got to answer this question for tomorrow,but i still don't get the meaning of the expression " a frame without a picture" !!
can please anyone tell me what it means??
thank you in advance

Cloelia · 03-11-2009, 04:56 PM

Hello Vanessa,
I suppose you have read The Turn of the Screw in class and now your teacher wants you to give examples from this ghost story to show why it is "a frame without a picture". Well, that should be easy if you have the text in front of you. In my opinion "a frame without a picture" means that the story, i.e. the picture, can be interpreted in different ways. The interpretation depends on you, the reader. What you see depends partly upon what your previous visual-conceptual experience has taught you to see. Do you think the ghosts exist only in the governess's imagination or do you think they are real? The frame, i.e. the background, is there but what really happens, i.e. the picture, is up to you to decide. There cannot be a right or a wrong interpretation. Good literature allows you to use your own imagination.

vanessa774 · 03-11-2009, 07:01 PM

Oh thank you cloelia...it really helped me

thank you very much

03-11-2009, 01:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
vanessa774 Safae Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 523 vanessa774 is a glorious beacon of light vanessa774 is a glorious beacon of light	a frame without a picture hello everyone, To what extent is the turn of the screw by henry james a frame without a picture I've got to answer this question for tomorrow,but i still don't get the meaning of the expression " a frame without a picture" !! can please anyone tell me what it means?? thank you in advance __________________ "The story of life is quicker than the wink of the eye.The story of life is hello and goodbye,until we meet again" jimi hendrix
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03-11-2009, 04:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
Cloelia International Forum Great Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,129 Cloelia is a name known to all Cloelia is a name known to all Cloelia is a name known to all	Hello Vanessa, I suppose you have read The Turn of the Screw in class and now your teacher wants you to give examples from this ghost story to show why it is "a frame without a picture". Well, that should be easy if you have the text in front of you. In my opinion "a frame without a picture" means that the story, i.e. the picture, can be interpreted in different ways. The interpretation depends on you, the reader. What you see depends partly upon what your previous visual-conceptual experience has taught you to see. Do you think the ghosts exist only in the governess's imagination or do you think they are real? The frame, i.e. the background, is there but what really happens, i.e. the picture, is up to you to decide. There cannot be a right or a wrong interpretation. Good literature allows you to use your own imagination.
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03-11-2009, 07:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
vanessa774 Safae Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 523 vanessa774 is a glorious beacon of light vanessa774 is a glorious beacon of light	Oh thank you cloelia...it really helped me thank you very much __________________ "The story of life is quicker than the wink of the eye.The story of life is hello and goodbye,until we meet again" jimi hendrix
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