Masculinity In Henry James Daisy Miller: A Study

Gender and sexuality – Gender plays a large role in the story of Daisy Miller. In the beginning and at the end, Winterbourne is known to be “studying” in Geneva. What this really means is that he is spending time with older, foreign coquettes. On the other hand, Daisy Miller is heavily looked down upon especially when she is in Rome. When Winterbourne arrives in Rome, his aunt tells him “When she comes to a party she brings with her a gentleman with a good deal of manner and a wonderful mustache.” Also, people continue to question her actions throughout the novella. For example, when Daisy Miller explains that she is going to the Pincio, Mrs. Walker replies with, “Alone, my dear—at this hour?” The carriage scene is another example of this happening. Both Mrs. Walker and Winterbourne tell her that she should go home because they are worried about her reputation being ruined by her walking the streets of Rome. In conclusion, Winterbourne is never confronted about what he does with older foreign ladies whether it is in the beginning or in the end of the novella. However, Daisy Miller’s actions are criticized. Both gender and the attraction between Winterbourne and Daisy Miller play a large theme. Winterbourne’s ultimate desire is to have Daisy Miller to himself to ultimately marry

Consequently, in “Daisy Miller”, it is clear to see that the author, Henry James, uses the

There is an absence of men in the novel. James is one of the few men seen throughout the story and because of this, the story suggests that he holds a lot of power. He is a difficult character to understand because his true intentions and feelings are hidden beneath what is being portrayed on the outside. James begins as someone who is displayed as positive, respectful and loving of women, but as the story progresses, it is revealed that he views women more as a sexual object or a slave to men. He tricks the reader into believing that he values and considers women as equals to

In Henry James’s “Daisy Miller” and Edith Wharton’s “The Other Two,” the narrators each disclose the complications of their party’s social formalities during circumstances within their own society. In both short stories, Winterbourne and Waythorn try to figure out their adored ones character and motives but for different reasons. In “Daisy Miller,” it’s noticeable that Mr. Winterbourne ends up longing for Daisy Miller as he tries to fully categorize the character she’s carelessly ruining. While in “The Other Two,” the narrator examines a society of how a married couple, Waythorn and Alice, adjust to an awkward

Taking Daisy with appreciation and without alarm, we also re-read her character and re-evaluate her moral status. We (the readers) seem to meet James’ sophistication with out own, by agreeing on a mixed interpretation of Daisy: she is literally innocent, but she is also ignorant and incautious. (1)

This can be seen in his socially immoral cross-class relations with Miss Jessel, the previous governess. Miss Jessel who’s unmarried, as well as living in Bly with Peter is inferred to have become involved with him becoming pregnant which was quite taboo for the Victorians and disrupted the semblance of self-control and self-discipline that Victorian society functioned off of. Henry James having both of them disappear and later reappear as ghosts in the story reflects the consequences of their actions in partaking in what was considered an immoral cross-class

Unlike normal gothic novels, there is not much comparison between femininity and masculinity in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. All the main characters are male, and Stevenson presents masculinity of different types in the Victorian era vividly. Conventional Victorian gentlemen refer to those who are rich, moral and dignified. They have the belief that reputation is the most important things, and they claim that respectability can only be obtained by obeying to the social rules. However, this essay will argue that there are some unacceptable ideas of masculinity portrayed as monstrous in the novel.

A large number of gender stereotypes stem from the time period in which they are alive (Faye. A Gender-Based Look at the Turn of the Screw by Henry James). Correspondingly, the female characters in The Turn of the Screw are the fictional reflection of the truth on the treatment of women in the Victorian Era. However, the male characters opposed the traditional Victorian men (Sherman. Victorian Gender Roles in Henry James).

When thinking of masculinity in literature, one author has who has become synonymous with manliness comes to mind, Ernest Hemingway. Critics have spent countless hours studying his writing in order to gain insight into his world of manly delights, including his views on sex, war, and sport. His views can be seen through his characters, his themes and even his style of writing.

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Daisy Miller is Henry James reputation at home and the whole world. It also heled to make of the American girl in a famous culture types. Daisy Miller traveled with her mother to Europe from America. They were newly rich family by have a success in business, and they going to Europe to learn more different culture to enrich their culture, but in Europe they found that the society behaves by different standers. It was not right for a young women to go out with a lot different men, and especially not to go out by themselves or alone at night. Daisy Miller broke the social conventions, and it turned out that she had some kind of influenza by going out in the night of Rome and died, as a punished for breaking the conventions of European society.

James' manipulation of appearances in Daisy Miller as well as other character's notions of these appearances provides us with a novella of enigmatic and fascinating characters. Daisy, the most complicated of these ambiguities, is as mysterious as she is flirtatious. James gives her a carefully constructed enigmatic quality that leaves the reader wondering what her motivations were and who she truly was. He structures the novella in such a way as to stress the insights that the supporting characters provide into Daisy's character, weather accurate or erroneous. Despite their questionable reliability, they allow James to make commentary on both European and American cultures and social class.

Daisy Miller" by Henry James, is a study of a young American girl's rebuttal of all things "proper" and refusal to conform to social standards. One can see that realism is apparent throughout the text. The characters utilize free will throughout, are affected by their environment and familial relationships, and ultimately make their own choices. These choices eventually affect the outcome in an unhappy ending. Jame's creates characters that encompass both sides of the social sphere in this work. Winterbourne, Mrs. Costello and Mrs. Walker are all individuals that come from old money, a higher societal background, and expectations of what is deemed right and proper. In contrast, Daisy Miller, Mrs. Miller, Randolph and Eugenio are the opposite in many ways coming from an average societal realm and more realistic, modest lifestyle. Winterbourne has a rather telling conversation with Mrs. Walker and her statement to him upon asking what exactly it is that Daisy does that pushes "too far" sums up the overall reputation Daisy is establishing for herself. "(she does) Everything that is not done here. Flirting with any man she could pick up; sitting in corners with mysterious Italians; dancing all the evening with the same partners; receiving visits at eleven o'clock at night"(James, p. 1537). Daisy's ability to make her own choices and follow her free will are aspects of realism which writers began to utilize. Again, her environment and family most definitely affect her behavior.

Daisy Miller: A Study is a short story that focuses on the various dramatic encounters between the American woman Daisy Miller and Fredrick Winterbourne, an American born but European raised gentleman. The narrative drives us to enter Winterbourne’s view of the vivacious Daisy and how at first he is seeking to understand her flirtatious behavior then try to control her to better assist her in fitting in high society. Daisy being a young socialite herself is not keen on people telling her how to live life and prefers to be in the company of gentlemen to satisfy her loneliness. This behavior is viewed by her social peers like Winterbourne as taboos for women and remarked upon several times. However, no one quite notices the

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 “a pretty American flirt” or a misunderstood, modern young woman. By probing into the complexities and contradictions of Daisy’s character, it is obvious that Ms. Miller is merely a misunderstood young woman.