Going too Far

Mary Kate Ryser-Oatman

Journal #13

Henry James, "Daisy Miller: A Study"

February 19, 2009

"'Everyone thinks so-if you care to know,' said Winterbourne. 'Of course I care to know!' Daisy exclaimed seriously. 'But I don't believe it. They are only pretending to be shocked. They don't really care a straw what I do. Besides, I don't go around so much'" (James 425).

Winterbourne confronts Daisy, who seems that she is unaware of what people are saying about her behind her back. She denies that she is doing anything wrong.

While I was reading this story, I became increasingly annoyed at Daisy Miller's character. She seemed so oblivious of her actions and the effect they had on people. In the nineteenth century, it was unheard of that young unmarried women would go off with strange men they had just met during all hours of the day. It was even frowned upon that they engage in conversation. I figured this was the norm back then, so I was surprised that James would write about such a promiscuous young girl who was upper class. Daisy Miller represents a modern day flirt, something that is very common now. It is not a big deal now as it was back then. She seemed to have no respect for the culture of the countries she visited, and only cared about putting herself out there for men to fantasize about. I wonder if Daisy had only recently become like this; if there were factors that played into her flirting and carelessness. Her mother seems to be suffering from nurasthenia or some other illness, for she is often zoned out and does not really try to stop her daughter from acting this way. Her father was not traveling with them, and it is uncertain to me how often she gets to see him. I think that she might be trying to get love and attention, and she has found that she can get it from men. To these men, she is important and beautiful, and I think she uses that to fill the gap that is missing her parent's love and attention.

For these reasons, she probably does not care that she goes around with different men. She is unaware that this kind of behavior does not occur in these cultures, and she is so used to the American way of life that she does not try to assimilate into the places she visits. It is not fair or correct of me to say that this is what every American woman was like, but Henry James used it to compare the rich Americans to the rich, well mannered Europeans he knew.

The idea of American society versus European society was apparent in most, if not all of his novels. According to Wikipedia, James centered most of his stories around this idea, "He is primarily known for a series of major novels in which he portrayed the encounter of America with Europe. His plots centered on personal relationships, the proper exercise of power in such relationships, and other moral questions." In this story, James shows the personal relationship with Winterbourne and Daisy, and how the roles of power are reversed, as Daisy seems to have all of the power and is in complete control in regards to Winterbourne's advancements.