“An action occurs which proceeds from the supernatural (the pseudo-supernatural); this action then provokes a reaction in the implied reader (and generally in the hero of the story). It is this reaction that we call “hesitation” and the texts that generate it fantastic” (Todorov, 195). The fantastic is the moment of hesitation experienced by the reader who is confronted with a supernatural event in the story or novel and thus understands that the laws of nature are being called into question. Todorov uses three conditions that constitute the fantastic. In the first, the reader enters the character's world and considers it as a natural world. The reader therefore hesitates between determining whether there is a natural or supernatural explanation for the events that occur in the story. The second condition is when the reader identifies with the character in the novel and, in doing so, interprets the events of the characters in the novel. Finally, the reader must acquire an attitude towards the text, and decide what levels or modes of reading they will adopt. Fantasy can be divided into two genres, the strange and the wonderful. The wondrous occurs when a reader must create new laws of nature for a particular event to occur, while the uncanny occurs when reality remains intact and there is an explanation for the event. Todorov argues that the ambiguity persists even after the reader has finished The Turn of the Screw, which is interesting but there are stronger textual clues that support that the governess was in a state of hysteria. From a Freudian psychoanalysis of the governess, we understand that there is much more going on than just a haunted estate. The reader knows what is happening... middle of paper ... due to inconsistencies with the laws of nature described in the novel. According to Sussman, the governess is “a textbook case of hysteria” (230). The symptoms of hysteria were outlined in a book by Freud and Breuer published just three years before The Turn of the Screw was published. As Sussman elucidates the highly suggested conditions of the governess as set forth in Freud's textbook, it seems acceptable to determine that the governess and the story she tells are direct illusions of hysteria (231). The governess's actions are an exaggerated emotional reaction caused by multiple events in the past. Works Cited James, Henry. The turn of the screw and the Aspern papers. New York: Penguin, 1986. Print. Todorov, Tzvetan. “The Fantastic”. Class paper.Sussman, Henry. “James: The Governess's Twists.” Class document.