Mommy Issues

When we were watching "Gingerbread" I kept thinking back to the role of the Governess in Turn of the Screw. Both evaluate what makes a good mother and when protection becomes over protection.

In "Gingerbread" we see Mrs. Summers, who, even before the children manipulate her, is trying too hard to get involved in every aspect of Buffy's life. We see her interfere in patrol, and then she shows up at school, and it seems invasive. However, Mrs. Summers only wants to protect her daughter, and so the smothering is with good intention. Mrs. Rosenburg, however, pays no attention to her daughter until Mrs. Summers serves as a model and forces Willow's mother to intervene in her life. Because Mrs. Rosenburg has never taken an interest in Willow before, she jumps right into criticizing and doesn't take the time to try and understand where Willow is coming from. Both girls are, in a not-so-supernatural sense, lashing out by playing with the forces of evil and such in response to this overbearing (and inattentive on Mrs. Rosenburg's part) mothering.

The governess is very overbearing, like Mrs. Summers. In the final scene, we might read the story as Miles is literally smothered to death by her love and affection. Similarly, Mrs. Summers tries to kill Buffy to help free her from the evils that follow her (not ghosts, but vampires are close enough). If we read Turn of the Screw to see the governess as well intentioned but overbearing, it makes sense that Miles would feel like no matter what he said to her, she wouldn't understand, and that she would be brainwashed in her own mothering, positively sure that she was doing what was best for her child. We can also tie her to Mrs. Rosenburg, in that she had so much attention to Flora in the beginning of the story (like Mrs. Rosenburg to her work) and once she became devoted to Miles (or Willow) everything was hyperbolized and she became too protective and loving for her or Miles' own good.