The Innocence of Daisy Miller Essay

Daisy knows that she is marginalized. When her daughter was born, she claimed that, “the best thing a girl can be in this world [is] a beautiful little fool” (17). It can be argued that this statement is actively perpetuating the substandard roles of women in the 1920s. However, Daisy is limited in her power, and she knows this. She wants her daughter to be protected. Daisy is not happy in her marriage. She is surrounded by wealth and affluence, but her husband is cheating on her and she does not want to be in the marriage. But, she has to act the fool. She cannot cause a

who live and judge other people based on the common value of the rigid morals systems at that

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

Daisy puts up with her husband’s infidelity because of the benefits he provides, his background, his “old money”, and his reputation. When I talk to Daisy she’s always quite cheerful and peppy, but there are moments when I see how sad and lonely she is, “'All right,' I said, 'I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool – that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool… you see I think everything’s terrible anyhow… I’ve been everywhere and seen everything.” (17) In a society corrupted by greed and scandal, the best thing that one can hope for is to be too stupid to realize what’s actually going on and therefore not get hurt.

During the nineteenth and twentieth century there was a number of changes made in America. Woman were looked at as less than back then and to a certain degree they still are today. There was a number of women that died or went insane because of the standards that they had to meet in order to be considered good women. In this research paper I will talk about the experience of the narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper and Blanche DuBois from the story A Streetcar Named Desire. It will be shown within these pages how the moral and societal standards for women were far different than they were for men, and how the standards changed over the years. Furthermore it will be shown how this effected the women of those two stories.

Daisy displays a distorted mentality towards women by stating that being ignorant, in a sense, is the only way a girl can maintain her social status. She also tells Nick Carraway, her cousin, that she is glad Pammy, her daughter, is a girl. “I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool — that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool (Pg  20).” This expression implies that Daisy reflects on her own experiences and believes that the world is no place for a woman. She understands that beauty is valued more than intelligence and how first impressions determine a person’s social standing in society. The best she can do is hope to survive by following the crowd and conforming to the perspectives of the upper class. Daisy later on decides 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

Daisy illustrates the typical women of high social standing; her life is moulded by society’s expectations. She is dependent and subservient to her husband. She is powerless in her marriage.

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.

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)

Besides the visual blazon he writes on Daisy as a traditional weapon of subjugation (and which permits him, momentarily, to "mentally accuse" her face "of a want of finish" [7]), Winterbourne tries something equally dominating‹to usurp Daisy's own power of sight by judging her eyes only on aesthetic terms. In their meeting, Daisy is at first ostensibly pinned by Winterbourne's evaluative gaze of superlatives and particularization, but her eyes tell another story: "She sat there with her extremely pretty hands, ornamented with very brilliant rings, folded in her lap, and with her pretty eyes now resting upon those of

As Daisy becomes older, society pressures her to think a certain way. Eventually the pressure to become perfect makes her fickle and uncaring for everything but money and status. When Daisy and Gatsby reunite, it is awkward up until he shows her everything he owns now. When Gatsby shows her his expensive English shirts, Daisy begins to cry. She

No one is perfect. For Daisy Miller is all start after she and Winterbourne separated from the castle. Winterbourne heard many bad things about the Daisy Miller in the Mrs. Costello’s latter. When he went to Rome, he decided not to meet her anymore. So he went to visit Mrs. Walker and surprisingly he meet her again. Daisy didn’t hear Winterbourne’s explanation at all and she decided censured him in public. This whole thing made Winterbourne really embarrassed. The other thing is when Daisy left Mrs. Walker’s house, she went to have walk with Mr. Giovanelli Mrs. But Mrs. Walker caught her with Mr. Giovanelli and wanted to till her not to do that. At begging she said a lot to Daisy till her that the girl should go home as soon as possible

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 is breaking these social norms by constantly associating with different men, drawing the attention of many others and Connie expresses her sexuality by abandoning her friends to spend time with a boy in his car; this ultimately leads to society’s metaphorical murder of these women.