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In 1878, Henry James wrote, Daisy Miller, a novella about a young American girl and her travels in Europe. Daisy Miller is a complex short story with many underlying themes such as appearance versus reality, knowledge versus innocence, outward action versus inward meditation, and Nature versus urbanity. In this short story, one is left to judge whether Daisy Miller, the main character of the story, is la pretty American flirti or a misunderstood, modern young woman. By probing into the complexities and contradictions of Daisyis character, it is obvious that Ms. Miller is merely a misunderstood young woman.
Through his novel, Henry James shows his readers that the gap between what people believe to be true and the actual truth can be large, hence the theme of appearance versus reality. To the Europeanized Americans in the novella, Daisyls independence causes her to appear immoral. She is innocent and uncultured and incautious but the circle sees only the surface of her character and the actions that character takes. “ Have been using her for a while and please believe when I tell you, she never fail. Thanks Writer Lyla you are indeed awesome ”
She rebels not by having a great knowledge of the rules which bind the society and consciously deciding to throw them out the window, but by being limited in her scope of experience and by refusing to change her natural ways in order to please a culture to which she does not belong.
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The great theme of the disparity between reality and appearance is at its greatest strength in the relationship between Winterbourne and Daisy because of the conflict which roars inside of Winterbourne regarding the appearance he cannot overcome and the reality he cannot accept. Daisy's lack of knowledge and experience deceives Winterbourne who is incapable of seeing life through the lens of inexperience after leaving America. He thus fails to understand her inexperience as innocence. Winterbourne attempts to apply the conventional rules he has accepted since leaving America to Daisy without realizing that she is not dissecting the world with the same meditating process that he undertakes.
In Europe, Daisy behaves just as she had back in America. She even goes as far as to say Olim a fearful, frightful flirt! Did you ever hear of a nice girl that was not?! (44). It is through this quote that one can see that Daisy does not realize in Europe, nice girls are most definitely not Oflirtsă. It is such behavior that scandalized the conservative Americans that she meets and which puzzles Winterbourne. Winterbourne wonders if Ishe is a coquette or flirti(10). She is constantly being thrown from one category to another based on Winterbourne's perceptions of her and his feelings toward her. He decides a "pretty American flirt" would be acceptable for him to know. Mainly he wants an excuse to spend time with her. His desire for her to be innocent and undesigning reflects not only on her true personality but also on his lust for her.
Mrs. Costello's character symbolizes old money and culture, even though she is American, and thus sets up a stark contrast to Daisy Miller, a character devoid of much ritual or formality. Mrs. Costello had lived much of her life in Europe and had kept a society so intentionally exclusive in America that she has separated herself from any of the qualities associated with the innocence and natural spontaneity of an American. She believes the Milleris to be Icommonl and tells Winterbourne to stay away from them. However, Daisy represents to Winterbourne what he lacks, standing as a metaphor of what all of Europe lacks, as long as Daisy does not go too far with her social freedom.
Winterbourne is largely blinded to the honesty and innocence that Daisy imparts because he has trouble recognizing a manner that has become foreign to him. Thus when Daisy walks calmly along with both Giovanelli and Winterbourne in the Pincio and does not seem anxious to get rid of Winterbourne, Winterbourne is perplexed (36-37). He does not realize that she does not know better and she will ruin herself because of it. Daisy defies the conventions of the culture readily and without fear, determined to act as she pleases and live life to its fullest, as seen in the Pincio and later the Colosseum. However, she realizes that Mrs. Walker may mean something not completely innocent when she tells Daisy that Daisy is being talked about (39-40). Daisy decides that she wishes to not know what Mrs. Walker means because she wishes to stay innocent and without knowledge of the rules she has been caught between. This is symbolic of Daisy's true innocence and lack of culture.
Daisy's innocence comes to a bad end not because she knowingly disregards convention but because she steps too far beyond rules of physical safety and caution. She is reckless not only with her morals but also with her health and well being. Daisy desired to live life to its fullest but is unable to realize that physical restraints may come into play. At one point, Winterbourne tells Daisy that it did not matter whether he thought she was engaged or not. This so upsets Daisy that she cries, "I don't care...whether I have Roman fever or not!" (56). Winterbourne's ultimate rejection of Daisy, his decision to side with the American circle in Daisy's condemnation, hits Daisy so cruelly that she no longer cares to live. He refuses to believe in Daisy's innocence and she quickly fades away. Her resiliency and natural spontaneity have died.
Winterbourne does not realize his mistake until Mrs. Miller relays Daisy's message to him and Giovanelli speaks to him at the funeral. Giovanelli looks to Winterbourne and states, She was the most beautiful young lady I ever saw, and the most amiable...and she was the most innocenti (58). It was through this conversation that Daisy's innocence triumphs. The lasting message of this novella is Daisy's innocence and the cruelty of the society, which condemned her to death.
An Analysis of Daisy Miller, a Novella by Henry James. (2022, Feb 06). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/an-analysis-of-daisy-miller-a-novella-by-henry-james-essay
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