Thursday, February 11, 2010

Eng. 368 - Daisy Miller

Daisy Miller is, unquestionably, a story critiquing and contrasting the American and European senses of propriety in the late 19th century. My question is: which was he lambasting? Was it the Americans, who were either ineffectual or too bold and forward, unaware or uncaring of the social mores of the countries they were visiting? Or was is the musty and outdated traditions of the Europeans, who stiffly upheld traditions despite the changing age?
A daisy can symbolise youth and innocence, the freshness of a new year, as well as young romance (you know the game "he loves me, he loves me not"); but it is also a weed, a flower that can be found anywhere - common, as Winterbourne's aunt liked to put it. Likewise, Daisy is entrancing to Winterbourne; he finds her mannerisms refreshingly open and unfettered compared to the European women he is used to. He enjoys being able to speak to her openly without worrying about embarrassing her or himself. The other Americans, however, find her common and rude. Her youthful indescretion is embarrassing to them, even if she doesn't have the social grace to notice it herself.
While we can recognize that it is Daisy's stubbornness and determination to stick to her own manner of entertainment that ultimately leads to her death, Henry James does not treat her as though she is the butt of the story. Rather, it is the Americans who, in their desire to be European, snub the impetuous young girl and drive her away from their society, leading her to prefer the company of Giovanelli. Daisy is, more than anything, a foil to illustrate the folly of placing too much import on social tradition. While she is uncultured and distressingly flirtatious, she is ultimately a kind and innocent young woman. She treats her servants well - shocking in the classist European society - and thinks of her mother and brother before herself. While the direct cause of her untimely death is her foolishness in ignoring the danger of staying out late (alone with a man), indirectly it is the rich wannabe European Americans who, in rejecting her from their circle, essentially leave her to be ruined in one way or another.
As Henry James keeps stating, Daisy is innocent. This refers not only to her purity, but her sensibility. She is not knowledgeable about the world, and her mother is weak and ineffectual. Normally it should have fallen to her peers to help her navigate society, but they are so worried about trying to imitate stiff European culture that they turn on her and force her away. I think that in James, while gently mocking the youthfulness and foolishness of the Millers, is lambasting not the Europeans, neccessarily, but the Americans trying to emulate them.

2 comments:

  1. Fawn, the formatting is cutting off some of your words, so I can't respond to the content--sorry.

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