The Turn of the Screw
by Henry James

The Turn of the Screw: Foil 1 key example

Chapter 20
Explanation and Analysis—Grose vs. Governess:

The governess and Mrs. Grose are foils for each other. In many ways, they're similar and fairly companionable, but they come from different backgrounds, and their relationship ultimately brings out some of their contrasts. Mrs. Grose, for her part, respects and supports the governess for as long as she can, but she eventually comes to see her as misguided when it turns out that she (Mrs. Grose) can’t actually see the ghost of Miss Jessel:

"She isn't there, little lady, and nobody's there—and you never see nothing, my sweet! How can poor Miss Jessel—when poor Miss Jessel's dead and buried? We know, don't we, love?"—and she appealed, blundering in, to [Flora]. "It's all a mere mistake and a worry and a joke—and we'll go home as fast as we can!"