2. Daisy Miller

Somehow, in a social setting, one’s repertoire of countries or cities that they have visited allows them to stand out as admirable and privileged. The longer the list, the worldlier and even more educated a person may seem. Why is it that we place so much emphasis on travel as a pathway to a high social standing?
 
In Henry James’ “Daisy Miller”, Mrs. Miller moves with her two children from America to Europe. This action was due to her belief that her daughter, Daisy, needed to see this other part of the world. Mrs. Miller left her husband behind in New York, thus proving her insistence on this experience for Daisy through her ability to make such an immense sacrifice. The reader is then led to wonder for what reason European travel is regarded with such heavy importance. Daisy’s actions throughout the story demonstrate her need for attention and her desire to become a member of the elite social circles. By travelling, not only to Europe itself but also to several locations within the continent, Daisy indicates her constant ambition to thrive in the upper class.
 
Ironically, Daisy never actually achieves the high social status for which she had hoped. Soon after her arrival, Daisy becomes known as the “American flirt” and is purposefully excluded by members of the European upper class, such as Mrs. Costello. Although Daisy seems to understand that she is not in the same social tier as such a woman as Mrs. Costello, she continues to believe that while her actions remain unchanging, she will eventually gain access into the society. Winterbourne attributes Daisy’s beliefs to her immaturity. He repeatedly refers to Daisy as a “young girl” and makes references to her innocence. In labeling Daisy this way, it is as if Winterbourne is justifying Daisy’s haphazard actions as she is seen all around Europe with different men. In contrast, Daisy seems to think that the constant company of men improves her image and makes her seem as if she belongs in Mrs. Costello or Mrs. Walker’s set. Evidence of this is Daisy’s insistence on bringing Mr. Giovanelli to Mrs. Walker’s party at the start of part III:
 
’He’s an Italian,’ Daisy pursued, with the prettiest sincerity. ‘He’s a great friend of mine- he’s the handsomest man in the world- except Mr. Winterbourne! He knows plenty of Italians, but he wants to know some Americans. He thinks ever so much of Americans. He’s tremendously clever. He’s perfectly lovely!’ (James, 37)
 
In this extract, Daisy speaks of Mr. Giovanelli as if he were extremely chic and that by bringing him to the party, she intends to impress the partygoers. Furthermore, Daisy’s outlandish attitude stands in stark contrast to her mother’s lack of knowledge:
 
Her explanation of Daisy's delayed arrival at Mrs. Walker's party is similarly unsophisticated: the impracticality of Daisy's dressing so early obscures for Mrs. Miller the impropriety of her remaining alone with her Italian suitor. (Barnett, http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CH1420025346&v=2.1&u=&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w)
 
Overall, Daisy and her mother attempt to gain status and social stature by travelling to Europe. They fall short in the eyes of the established people in the Old World and are seen as uneducated and ignorant; in the mind of the Millers, however, they are en route to becoming a part of the upper class because of their travels.

According to Pico Iyer, "We travel, initially to lose ourselves; and we travel next, to find ourselves." One can only wonder if Daisy died in the process of losing herself or finding herself. Daisy appears to be on a quest to lose herself in high society with Winterbourne at Chillon Castle, but when Winterbourne leaves for Geneva and her newly moneyed family's "vulgarity" proves to be too much for Mrs. Costello, she heads to Rome to try again.

In Rome, she seems to abandon all ambitions of associating with Mrs. Walker and Roman high society when she becomes involved with Giovanelli, a gentlemanly Italian lawyer who is not seen by Winterbourne as worthy of her class even though his aunt thinks that she is not worthy of his own. She continues to lose herself in a series of romantic escapades with Giovanelli, first strolling through Pincio Gardens, then taking in the Villa Borghese from a park bench, and finally walking through St. Peter’s while flirting in public.

Her mannerisms, which seem modern and agreeable today, were not taken that way by Roman high society or the American expatriates who gossip about seeing her and Giovanelli sequestered in a small room at the Doria Palace, which leads to a confrontation in which Daisy accuses Winterbourne of not defending her honor against the gossip of high society, which could be one of the first time that Daisy finds within herself the agency to lash out against the dated social mores of Roman society. Winterbourne of course cares about Daisy's well being and may even care about her in a romantic way, but he is always too restrained to express his feelings for Daisy, even if they are for the most part repressed. On the fateful night when Daisy and Giovanelli go to the Coliseum, a known mosquito breeding ground where a deadly strain of malaria is known to exist, Winterbourne, after convincing himself that he is officially over Daisy, feels obligated to warn her of the dangers of Roman Fever.

If only she had been with Winterbourne instead of the lowly Giovanelli! However patronizing that may sound, Daisy is portrayed as an "uncultivated" and for the most part feckless character with no real sense of purpose, just the sort of tourist who would fall prey to the danger of the unknown. Ironically enough she is fatally bitten at one of the most well known tourist sites in the world as she sits beneath a cross, so one cannot help but wonder if she is a martyr, but a martyr for what? In the letter she wrote from her deathbed, it appeared that she really did care about Winterbourne, who was unnecessarily cold and callous towards her due to the social customs of Roman high society, so it appears that she was a martyr for the same dated social mores mentioned earlier and the way that they can be dehumanizing and unnecessarily cruel towards those who refuse to abide by them.

In Henry James’ Daisy Miller, we encounter someone who almost perfectly embodies the ideas expressed in the Iyer essay we read last week.  Our protagonist is constantly being “carried away” (p. 35) by Rome and by life in general.  But perhaps that is just an inherent part of her character.  Daisy is basically a child, living her life in a perpetual state of travel, at least the type of travel described by Iyer.  But it’s dangerous to live life always in the mode of travel.  One can’t be a child forever and Daisy learns that the hard way. 

Daisy’s nature is similar to that of a whirling dervish.  The reader never knows what’s going to come out of her mouth next.  When characters in the novel speak of “Roman Fever”, the modern reader is at first amused by it, thinking of it as some seductive symptom of being in Rome involving hunky men, leggy women, and overtly sexy stares across restaurants.  At first, “Roman Fever” seems like what Iyer is describing when he explains our reasons for travelling and how travelling can make us feel: “to become young fools again—to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more,” (Iyer, p. 1).  Let’s just call it “Travel Fever”.  It’s a seduction of sorts that a place performs on the visitor.  But Daisy has been travelling for too long.  She has taken advantage of the gifts Iyer says travel gives, and that’s why the story ends on a tragic note.  Her existence constantly seemed fluffy and lighter than air at least in her eyes.  She rarely, truly faced conflict. 

Edith Wharton wrote similar stories about young women attempting to navigate societal dilemmas and dramas.  In her story, fittingly titled “Roman Fever”, a friendship is torn apart after past Roman indiscretions are revealed years later.  I’m also reminded of her novel The House of Mirth which though set in New York, conveys a similarly ruthless society of critical people.  Mirth ends tragically as well for its female lead.
In the long run, Daisy had no future really.  She would have just socialized until the end of time, travelling into oblivion. 

The tourist, as described by Aldous Huxley, plans a trip around being able to brag afterwards about everything that was seen and done. Though published later than Henry James’ Daisy Miller, Huxley’s essay about the tourist directly mirrors the actions and intentions of tourists from earlier times. This said, the society that sets the background for Daisy Miller’s travels throughout Europe is strikingly similar to that of Huxley: a world where traveling for the sake of seeing other places and cultures does not exist and instead lies a constant battle to outdo one’s neighbors and to fit in with society. For Miss Daisy Miller, seeking to fit in proves detrimental. A young woman, she yearns to see the world, but unfortunately for her, her flirtatious attitude and chattery personality give her the wrong reputation among the other Americans abroad.
 
As done by many, Daisy Miller travels to Europe with wide eyes and ambition. I completely understand where she comes from because the idea of traveling all around Europe with the nicest hotels and food is exciting to me. Though I sincerely believe that Daisy had good intentions and that she wanted to see the world, her actions, like courting with multiple gentlemen in public and showing up to countless parties in order to move higher up in the social ranks, mimic those of the tourists Huxley describes. Unfortunately, her personality leads her to her death; in seeking status, she courted for the sake of courting and not for love, causing her to be viewed negatively by society.
 
I personally felt that Daisy’s death had no place. It was obvious that she was naïve and that she wanted to appear as grand as possible, but her being taken advantage of by Mr. Giovanelli went too far; there are other ways to prove one’s point and I don’t believe death to be one of them.
 
Despite Daisy dying, I really enjoyed reading this book; I would definitely read it again. 

Henry James’ Daisy Miller takes place in two fascinating cities—Vevey and Rome. As I was reading the book I kept expecting to read detailed descriptions of Italy’s lively lifestyle or beautiful culture. However as the story progresses all the narrator and characters seem to be interested in is the activities of other Americans. Gossip seems to be the most entertaining activity the American women can find while they are abroad. Even Winterbourne who has spent so much time in Europe, becomes overly concerned with Daisy. Daisy is the only character who actually goes out and explores what Italy has to offer.
 
The theme of interest in people’s activities as opposed to the setting is set first and foremost by the narrator of the story. The narrator him/herself repeatedly describes American tourists’ affairs instead of describing beautiful places like “the Chateau de Chillon” (19) or “the Pincio” (37). Readers automatically become sucked into the lives of the Americans and forget that the story takes place in another country. I only realized how little the book was actually about Rome when I was almost three quarters of the way through. This is why I believe that it is necessary to, for at least some time, experience a foreign country without any familiar company. People that believe in the same customs as you and/or speak the same language as you only serve as distractions from the place you are visiting.
 
Other characters also help lend a superficial air to the story. When Mrs. Costello is in Vevey she stays “shut up in her room” because she “almost always [has] a headache” (4) and in Rome she gets together with “a dozen of the American colonists.” (54) When she is with her American friends all they do is gossip about Daisy. Mrs. Walker “[makes] a point…of studying European society” (47) but never of actually joining it. Her few Italian acquaintances serve as “text-books” (47) instead of real friends. Even Mr. Winterbourne, who seems like a respectable character, gets involved in the rumors about Daisy. He is continuously trying to figure out whether or not she is “a nice girl” (41) and/or “innocent.” (42) Only at the end of the story does Mr. Winterbourne “[feel] angry with himself that he [has] bothered so much about the right way of regarding Miss Daisy Miller.” (60)
 
Although Daisy is endlessly criticized by the other characters she is the only one that that actually experiences Rome. She meets real Italians (not “text-books”), goes for walks on the Pincio and sees the Coliseum by moonlight. She explores what Italy is really about. Mrs. Costello complains that “the girl [Daisy] goes about alone with her foreigners,” (32) but this seems like what one is meant to do when they are abroad. Characters like Mrs. Walker and Mr. Winterbourne try to tell Daisy that “she must go by the custom of a place [Rome],” (50) but how do they know what the “custom” is if they never experience the true culture for themselves?
 
It is unfortunate that in such a beautiful city as Rome, an American girl’s flirtatiousness is what grabs everyone’s attention. George Monteiro’s article, “American Literary Realism,” describes that Daisy’s personality “prompted controversy” even in 1879 America when the book was published. Early readers themselves fell into the trap of questioning Daisy, instead of questioning what Rome had to offer.
 
At first I couldn’t understand why Henry James chose to make the book so much about Daisy and how people's attitude toward her. After reading Monteiro’s article however, I understood that James’ novel made an interesting commentary on society which then proved to be true when readers became so concerned with Daisy. Readers themselves proved society’s obsession with gossip and rumors instead of setting and culture.  

 
In his novella, Henry James paints an elaborate portrait of Miss Daisy Miller, a young and perpetually naïve American girl touring Europe with her family. He decidedly chooses to describe his work by saying “The whole idea of the story is the little tragedy of a light, thin, natural, unsuspecting creature, being sacrificed, as it were, to a social rumpus that went on quite over her head and to which she took in no measurable relation” (James, 71). 

           The actions of Daisy Miller were driven by the fact that she was in a new environment – she was an ocean away from home, and there was a good chance that the people in which she encountered would never hear from her again. She had heard so many wonderful things about Europe from her friends, and now that she was finally there, she was keen on enjoying every moment there was to spare (71).  The knowledge that she would only be traveling for a sanctioned amount of time allowed Daisy to live purely out of her own free will. She became blind to the cultural adequacies that surrounded her and instead felt it perfectly acceptable that she allow her American tendencies to shine, most notably, her habit of being an unlawful flirt.

          As a flower attracts bees, Daisy Miller had the ability to effortlessly lure in men. We first see her catch the eye, thought, and heart of Mr. Winterbourne, and later, holds company with the “beautiful Italian,” Mr. Giovanelli. Because she was so used to being in good company back home, Daisy felt that being on the arm of a different man at any given moment of the day was nothing to speak about. Naturally though, people can always find things to criticize. In chapter four, James brings up the topic of the Golden Age, a time when society was more virtuous and idealistic. In the novella, Daisy seems to be living on a constant high, while being caught between America’s advanced lifestyle and Europe’s old-world constraints. Society now shuns the idea of living frivolously, instead trading the value of innocent fun for gossip and a phony sense of normality. Although Mr. Giovanelli, the subject of one of Daisy’s affairs, seems to be a gentleman to a naïve young woman, he is in fact the product of an urbane society, a “third-rate artist” (40).

         When Winterbourne notifies Daisy that her actions are being frowned upon, “she was wounded; she became conscious that she was accused of something of which her very comprehension was vague” (71).  As she was seemingly living by her own rules, she attempted to avert the stares of onlookers, although knowing that Winterbourne thought wrongly of her appeared to leave the biggest impression.

         Daisy’s relationship with Winterbourne was inadvertently one of the most important in the story, though it never seemed to flourish in the way either of the characters would have liked. While Daisy was a doer, Winterbourne was a thinker. He spent more time analyzing Daisy’s character than actually getting to know her. Because of this, Daisy never believed that Winterbourne was truly interested in her. It appears to me though, that Winterbourne unconsciously stimulated many of Daisy’s actions. Although Daisy and Winterbourne had not been acquainted for too long, she was clearly upset when she found out he was leaving, and although he followed through with word on traveling to Rome to see her, she was upset that he had not come sooner. At the time, Daisy was involved with Mr. Giovanelli, and it can appear that she just wanted the attention from Winterbourne; I believe that she still cared about him.  For a young girl, as cliché as it may seem, traveling to a new place and falling in love is an ultimate pleasure. There is a thrill of not knowing where the relationship will go within the amount of time it has to flourish, and because of Daisy’s innocence and free will their relationship remained only an inner idea in both individual’s minds. This became evident after Daisy’s untimely death when Giovanelli reveals to Winterbourne that he knew Daisy would never had been his wife, for she was too innocent, and it seemed as though her heart lied elsewhere (63).

            Daisy’s lived by her own whim from her first introduction to the time of her death. She chooses to interact with Winterbourne upon their first meeting, just as she chooses to go to the Coliseum at night with Giovanelli. Though Daisy’s naiveties drove her to her demise, they allowed a young girl in a far away land to take an exhilarating journey along the way. 

As Henry James’ eloquent novella unfolds, I noticed that the main elements of travel are concentrated within the first chapter, as each key character contrasts their home life with their present life, exploring a curiosity for the destination they have decided to venture to.
 
The first character to exemplify a need for the comforts of his hometown is Randolph, Daisy’s ruthless and insomniac brother. When Winterbourne inquires about his future journey to Italy, Randolph exclaims “I don’t want to go to Italy, I want to go to America!”(6). Although his reasoning falls short (Italy’s presumed lack of sweets), it’s enough rationale for child. Winterbourne also accounts differences between Vevey and Geneva, one of his hometowns.
 
Upon his first meeting with Daisy, Winterbourne remarks on the ease at which he can speak to single women. In Geneva, Switzerland , his previous place of residence and the last place he visited, he notes the stark differences from town to town. In Geneva “a young man was not at liberty to speak to a young unmarried lady except under certain rarely occurring conditions” (7). But as he relocates to a different city in Switzerland, Vevey, chance encounters and modest flirtations became more socially acceptable. 
 
Daisy’s brashness is revealed within the first few pages of the book, when she asks Winterbourne if he is a “real American” (9) This brought to my attention a topic we briefly touched upon in class.  What is authentic? How should certain cultures act relative to one another? Since this novella was written more than 100 years prior to technology’s widespread advance in society, we have to look at this with a discerning eye. Cultures were more isolated than they are now. What Daisy took as “American” could very well have been mannerisms that Winterbourne could’ve only picked up in the West, thus making her generalization more accurate.
 
Unlike today, where Europe is regarded as a place of class, elegance and style, Daisy finds herself scoffing at Vevey’s lack of society in comparison to Schenectady. She feels Europe is a place dominated by hotel chains and tourism. Daisy’s reluctance to experience “authenticity” represents a sense of immaturity and narrow-mindedness.  And although Daisy thinks that her hometown and state have a reputation of refinement, where “gentlemen” take “ladies” out to dinner, Winterbourne sees through her flirtations right away: “This young girl was not a coquette in that sense; she was very unsophisticated; she was only a pretty American flirt” (12)

"For what we all too often ignore when we go abroad is that we are objects of scrutiny as much as the people we scrutinize," claims Pico Iyer from his essay Why We Travel. This idea rings true in the novella Daisy Miller. As Daisy outrageously flirts with Mr. Giovanelli and banters back and forth with Winterbourne, word of her behavior does not go by unnoticed. Her audacious ways bring attention to her American background and as an already disliked nation, she is not helping them in anyway. "'But don't they all do these things- the young girls in America?' Winterbourne inquired" to his aunt. He then realizes that his American cousins are flirtatious as well thus giving him evidence that Daisy was no different. (19, James) Still, her background drew attention to herself and provided others with pre-conceived notions. Having never met her, Mrs. Costello makes the bold statement that "'they are very common, and they are the sort of Americans that one does one's duty by not-- not accepting.'"(17, James) Later, Daisy informs them that she "always had a great deal of gentlemen's society," so in Europe it is only natural that this continues. (11, James) It's odd that Daisy scrutinizes very little even though she is the one touring this new society though as Winterbourne mentioned, she is "uncultivated" and would not find interest in monuments are museums other than castles.   

Even if Daisy was aware of the judgement being placed on her, "Winterbourne wondered how she felt about all the cold shoulders that were turned towards her, and sometimes it annoyed him to suspect that she did not feel at all. He said to himself that she was too light and childish, too uncultivated and unreasoning, too provincial, to have reflected upon her ostracism or even to have perceived it." (56, Miller) But Daisy's social awareness is so primitive as scarcely to exist. (Daisy Miller: A Study of Changing Intentions http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE%7CH1420025342&v=2.1&u=new64731&markList=true&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&authCount=1) She does not go out of her way to seek the opinions that others cast on her, but when prompted, she does wish to know although she does not take Winterbourne's words seriously. She believes that the natives are "only pretending to be shocked." She is egotistical to think that they care enough to put effort into faking emotion. If those around her actually did not care, they would ignore her. However, her antics made her the topic of conversation and when she asked Mrs. Walker whether there would be anyone she knows at the party, Walker replies "I think everyone knows you!"


Why do the other Americans like Mrs. Walter and Mrs. Costello find Daisy to cause them a great deal of frustration? They are not natives either, but perhaps because they have been in Europe for longer, they look down on Daisy's unruly behavior like it is giving them a bad name. Aldous Huxley points out in his essay, Why Not Stay at Home, that people travel because, "the best people do it." Are Walter and Costello worried that Daisy is in their same tier and that they are in fact no better?

Sadly, Daisy's untimely death leaves us with no more time to get to know the young protagonist in Henry James's novella for just as her namesake shrivels up from the cold, Daisy too moves on to a different world. 

Among the “extremely numerous” American travelers in the “upstart neighbours […] of luxury and of maturity” in Vevey are our protagonist Daisy Miller, her mother Mrs. Miller, and her nine-year-old brother Randolph(3). The new riches from America travel, supported by their father back home in Schenectady, across Europe where customs are vastly different from those back home.
 
The manner in which they “travel” offers various insights into the way we view travelling. All three are evidently not travelling for the sake of travelling. Mrs. Miller “suffers dreadfully from dyspepsia” and mostly stays in the hotel room while young Randolph only longs to return home. Daisy may be the only one “not a bit disappointed,” “declar[ing] that the hotels were very good, when once you got used to their ways, and that Europe was perfectly sweet” (11). Daisy is at least superficially engaged in tourist activities and claims  she “want[s] to go [see Chateau de Chillon] dreadfully [and] wouldn’t go away from here without having seen that old castle” (13). The obnoxious young brother “doesn’t think much of old castles [and is]not interested in ancient monuments” (13). Mrs. Miller also states she “should think [they]’d want to wait til [they] got to Italy [and] see [only] the principal ones” (24). The Millers are portrayed not as genuine travelers, but just some wealthy luxuriously killing time abroad.
 
In Daisy Miller is a sense of irony that it is not the subject- the “travelers” getting cultural shocks abroad, but the object –the natives and American-Europeans –who get much shock, through the American travelers. As they “go around” different destinations as the subject of travelling, they also become the object as the natives and locals constantly observe, study, and scrutinize them through their own spectacles. Winterbourne, an American who spent most of his life abroad in Europe, for instance, perhaps gets more of what one may experience while travelling through studying and spending time with the pretty American girl Daisy: “To the young man himself their little excursion was so much of an escapade – an adventure – that, even allowing for her habitual sense of freedom, he had some expectation of seeing her regard it in the same way” (27).
 
Daisy Miller refuses to respect the vastly differing customs and moral codes of Europe while abroad and end up becoming the talk of the society. The episode when Daisy goes out to meet a man without a chaperone when “afternoon was drawing to a close” (37) points out the differences between what is proper in one culture as opposed to another. The hostess of the Millers in Italy, Mrs. Walker, advises the young Miller should return home on the carriage to save her reputation since walking around with men at night “is not the custom here” (42).  Daisy, slightly offended, claims she doesn’t “want to do anything improper” (38) and that  “[she doesn’t] see why [she] should change [her] habits for them” (49).
 
Winterbourne tries to explain to her new friend that “[w]hen you deal with natives you must go by the custom of the place” (50). Like such, the book raises a question about whether travelers should be excused from not following the ways of where they are visiting or whether they should always follow and respect the foreign cultures for the duration of their stay. As a rich tourist, Daisy Miller refuses to give up her habits and the American ways that are inappropriate in the country she is visiting and ends up getting a bad reputation abroad. However, the protagonist is bound to return home, across the ocean, so may feel there is no need to heed to the European ways even if she “is to be talked about” (43).
 
Daisy Miller raises the questions of how a traveler is to behave in places with vastly different values through the tensions between the unsophisticated, ignorant American flirt and the high-class, snobbish locals in Europe. When I travel abroad, I am careful not to offend the culture in any way and try to learn as much about it to have a full immersion experience. After having written this blog, though, I wonder maybe while the Millers should have respected the moral codes little more, the people observing and judging the American travelers should have tried to keep a more open mind.
 

Society is a social group defined as having a distinctive cultural and economic organization. While the traditional concept of society is associated with the differences between social groups, that same definition can be applied to a social atmosphere that varies depending on location. Though Miss Daisy Miller claims that she is “very fond of society”[1] she is accustomed to that of New York State where dinner parties are frequent and gentlemen companions are as common and accepted as carriage rides with lady friends. Because this is Daisy’s conception of cultural reality, she does not recognize the societal elements in the small town of Vevey, which leads her to the quick assertion that, “There isn’t any society; or if there is, I don’t know where it keeps itself. Do you?”[2]

After spotting Daisy’s poised frame on the arms of multiple male suitors, listening to the hushed gossip of hotel maids, and witnessing Mrs. Walker’s condemnation of the elegant creature at a small evening affair, I can say that I have found it. Europe’s society is buttoned within women’s modest attire and hidden behind their draped carriages; it is what causes the town to whisper when Daisy is seen on evening strolls and what prevents Mrs. Costello from making Daisy’s acquaintance. It is not merely a sense, but an understanding of restraint. It is a society that locks itself away and speaks in manners of eloquence in order to conceal any immodest motives, though I’m not certain any underlying ones actually do exist. For Daisy, this is not society, but that is simply because her concept of society is confined to what she is surrounded with in New York State and Schenectady. Interestingly enough she fits into several of the molds that are defined for this society, which is perhaps why she is initially able to exist in it. Her dress is the image of perfection and her speech is always in the upmost fashion of formality, but her tongue is not restrained. While she is formal, she is also gregarious and her mannerisms, while charming are often taken to be provocative or obscure.

Being that I am myself deeply immersed in American culture, I found these reactions to Daisy’s innocent behavior quite fascinating. While I did not initially find her actions to be impolite or improper, “set against the quiet formality and restraint of the Europeans” it was clear that they were as so. This realization lead me to an even greater understanding of the disparity of these two societies and the idea that the principle conflict in the work is not that of Daisy and Winterbourne but “between Geneva and Schenectady”. It is a complete “collision between the artificial and the natural, the restrained and the free.” Thinking about the primary chapter of the work set within “a particularly comfortable hotel”[3], we begin with the initial understanding that the individuals we will encounter are both, for better or for worse, tourists.  While Winterbourne has adapted his manners a great deal, Daisy is still her free spirited self. She is an image of American culture traveling by car to a series of places that are not familiar with those freedoms and her refusal to conform to their standards causes her to continuously turn heads. Her story is one of the disparities of place and the cultural differences that natives in both countries take for granted. Daisy does not alter her behavior for the same reason that the Europeans are quick to classify her, because both are looking through their own culturally distinct lens.  

 
 
Henry James’s Daisy Miller is a fascinating look of the behaviors of Americans abroad. The protagonist, Winterbourne, meets a pretty American girl, the titular character, who quickly catches his interest. He is intrigued by her disdain for European customs and manners, and is quickly enamored with her. Daisy Miller is an interesting example of the clash between two counties’ customs. It shows the (mostly social) dangers of flouting traditions. However, it is not as though Daisy Miller is an unsympathetic character. In fact, she is rather likeable. The reader, at the very least, can well understand Winterbourne’s attraction to her. The novella provides multiple insights how American’s view themselves abroad and how they themselves are viewed.
 
Daisy Miller is a fascinating character to look at for many reasons. She is likeable, she is coy, and she is independent. To the modern reader, she may have her faults, but there is no justification for any stigmatization. In the context of the novella, though, she is viewed as loose, disrespectful, and “vulgar” (James, 33). The reader is, of course, influenced by Winterbourne’s interaction with her. When, at the beginning, he is in awe of her, we are also in awe of her. Towards the end, when he becomes disillusioned, so does the reader. But James does not necessarily condemn her. She may be flighty, but there is something charming and fiercely independent about her.  There is a sense that James understands that the foreigner, or tourist, may not wish to assimilate themselves to their new land. I believe he sympathizes with it, as our introduction to Daisy Miller is a positive one. Furthermore, her interaction with Giovanelli, the native Italian, shows that there can be connection between the foreign and the native that can be exciting and, perhaps, natural.
 
I believe that Randolph also plays a crucial role in understanding how Americans are viewed abroad. While it is obvious that Daisy Miller is unable to assimilate fully to Italian culture, her actions need not be viewed as boorish or uncultured. To one reader she may be crass, while another may see her as an innovator who cannot be bothered with society’s constricting rules. The reader cannot, however, give Randolph this benefit of the doubt. He is rude and stubborn, and aimlessly nationalistic. From the moment the reader is introduced to him, they realize that the child cannot appreciate the abroad experience. He talks ceaselessly about his hometown, which he says is “a better place than Europe” (James, 9). He is the personification of the uncultured American, stereotype. James’s characterization of him suggests that the author is not sympathetic to blind nationalism or a complete unwillingness to assimilate. Daisy Miller embraces her surroundings, while her brother does not. Similarly, though James’s presents Daisy Miller in a mostly positive way—until the end—her death and Winterbourne’s distaste for her, suggests that even though there are benefits of choosing how to live one’s life, there are also grave consequences for going against tradition.
 
Thus, while James’s characterization of Daisy Miller often glorifies her, the final outcome somewhat undermines that concept. Therefore, while it is easy to understand why tourists continue to practice their own moral and social codes, the consequences abroad can be devastating.

“American candy is the best,” “American men are the best,” “American girls are the best,” and for some, the best part of Vevey and Rome are the Americans (pp. 6, Daisy Miller).  Henry James’ novel follows the travels of an ‘archetypical’ American young woman, Daisy Miller, as she participates in the travel trend of her time: in the latter half of the nineteenth century wealthy Americans went on tours of Europe to attain social status by dabbling in the refined society of that continent (http://filer.case.edu/~cjh18/james.html).  However, James’ novel illuminates how some Americans, rather than spending their time abroad to experience non-American cultures, invented their own societies within foreign countries that solely focused on the lives of other visiting Americans.
 
The main characters in Daisy Miller who use there time abroad in this way are Mrs. Costello and Mrs. Walker.  This is because these two women are thoroughly Europeanized, which affords them the ability to look down upon their countrymen who struggle to fit into these European societies.  It is clear that this is what these two women are most concerned about throughout the novel. For example, in Vevey, Mrs. Costello, only emerges from her room to voice her disapproval of Miss Miller and upon Winterbourne’s arrival in Rome, she knows exactly where to find the American tourists.
 
The same is true, if not worse, of Mrs. Walker.  In a dramatic scene, Mrs. Walker hurries through the busy streets of Rome to catch Daisy, and upon her catching up she says to Mr. Winterbourne, “After you had all left me, just now, I could not sit still for thinking of it.  It seemed too pitiful, not even to attempt to save her.  I ordered the carriage and put on my bonnet, and came here as quickly as possible” (pp. 42, Daisy Miller).  These two women are obsessed with their American subjects, and they are not the only ones: Mrs. Costello hosted a meeting in which a “dozen of the American colonists in Rome came to talk [about Daisy]” (pp. 54, Daisy Miller).  Importantly, this meeting was held at St. Peter’s Church in Rome, and the juxtaposition of this meeting with the ornately beautiful services of St. Peter’s illuminates what these women are giving up in order to gossip about their American prey: “The vespor-service was going forward in splendid chants and organ-tones in the adjacent choir, and meanwhile, between Mrs. Costello and her friends, there was a great deal said about poor Miss Miller’s going really ‘ too far’” (pp. 54, Daisy Miller).
 
The best part of Europe for these Europeanized women is concerning themselves with, gossiping about and looking down upon Daisy as she tests her American practices in Vevey and Rome.  These women focus on and live for Daisy’s life, so much so that they neglect their own time abroad.  Although these women seem like extreme cases, they show how living abroad never really erases one’s connection and interest in home.  Furthermore, these women show that unless travelers vigilantly avoid it, their experience abroad may develop into one that exclusively includes people of the same nationality  -- as James’ novel reflects, people with common identities, in this case wealthy Americans in the late 19th century, tend to flock together even when (perhaps especially when) abroad.