The story of Daisy Miller, by Henry James, is told by a male narrator. This male figure serves to reveal the deep seated stasis in much social interaction which existed in the Nineteenth Century.
Winterbourne is the protagonist and 'filters' through his impressions of the heroine Daisy Miller so that we never see Daisy except through the qualifying prose of Winterbourne himself. Thus by the end of the tale, we feel we have not met Daisy at all. We have only caught glimpses of this transient 'flower' almost in spite of the suffocating prevarications of Winterbourne's 'frozen' eye! We feel thwarted by the elusiveness of this heroine!
"Poor Winterbourne was amused, perplexed, and decidedly charmed. He had never yet heard a young girl express herself in just this fashion; never, at least, save in cases where to say such things seemed a kind of demonstrative evidence of a certain laxity of deportment. And yet was he to accuse Miss Daisy Miller of actual or potential inconduite, as they said at Geneva? He felt that he had lived at Geneva so long that he had lost a good deal; he had become dishabituated to the American tone. Never, indeed, since he had grown old enough to appreciate things, had he encountered a young American girl of so pronounced a type as this. Certainly she was very charming; but how deucedly sociable! Was she simply a pretty girl from New York State- were they all like that, the pretty girls who had a good deal of gentlemen's society? Or was she also a designing, an audacious, an unscrupulous young person? Winterbourne had lost his instinct in this matter, and his reason could not help him. Miss Daisy Miller looked extremely innocent. Some people had told him that, after all, American girls were exceedingly innocent; and others had told him that, after all, they were not. He was inclined to think Miss Daisy Miller was a flirt- a pretty American flirt. He had never, as yet, had any relations with young ladies of this category. He had known, here in Europe, two or three women- persons older than Miss Daisy Miller, and provided, for respectability's sake, with husbands- who were great coquettes- dangerous, terrible women, with whom one's relations were liable to take a serious turn. But this young girl was not a coquette in that sense; she was very unsophisticated; she was only a pretty American flirt.
As he slouches in bed, a description of the bare trees and an old woman gathering coal are given to convey to the reader an idea of the times and the author's situation. "All groves are bare," and "unmarried women (are) sorting slate from arthracite." This image operates to tell the reader that it is a time of poverty, or a "yellow-bearded winter of depression." No one in the town has much to live for during this time. "Cold trees" along with deadness, through the image of "graves," help illustrate the author's impression of winter. Wright seems to be hibernating from this hard time of winter, "dreaming of green butterflies searching for diamonds in coal seams." This conveys a more colorful and happy image showing what he wishes was happening; however he knows that diamonds are not in coal seams and is brought back to the reality of winter. He talks of "hills of fresh graves" while dreaming, relating back to the reality of what is "beyond the streaked trees of (his) window," a dreary, povern-strucken, and cold winter.
In the 18th century, reading novels served as a pass time and a diversion from household chores for the women. Though formal female education is not developed, the female characters are seen having a keen interest in books, something that was earlier frowned upon for the sentimental content of books might be destructive to societal values. At the time, books were meant to teach and reflect upon the socially acceptable ideas of romance, courtship, and marriage. We find Miss Wharton asking for books to read from her friend Mrs. Lucy Sumner, “Send me some new books; not such, however, as will require much attention. Let them be plays or novels, or anything else that will amuse and extort a smile.” (Foster, 192) Mrs. Sumner sends her novels which she considers “chaste and of a lighter reading” (Foster, 196). We can thus construe that books and novels in The Coquette though meant for reading pleasure, also play form part of the female
The central concern in Daisy Miller is of the "analogies and differences" between people. In this story, a young American man, Winterbourne, is confused and intrigued by the behavior of a young American woman, Daisy Miller. Winterbourne had wondered about all of the cold shoulders that had been 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. Then at other moments he believed that she carried about in her an elegant and perfectly observant consciousness from the impression she produced. He asked himself whether Daisy's defiance came from the consciousness of innocence or from her being, essentially, a young person of the "common" class. After getting to know Daisy, he was confused about getting to know his and her emotions. It is far evident that Winterbourne does not come to conclusions about people easily. He was very much influenced by the biases of his upbringing in culture, and he questioned them occasionally.
The contrast between how She sees herself and how the rest of the world sees Her can create extreme emotional strain; add on the fact that She hails from the early 1900s and it becomes evident that, though her mental construct is not necessarily prepared to understand the full breach against Her, She is still capable of some iota of realization. The discrimination encountered by a female during this time period is great and unceasing.
If there were one word to tell what the theme of the book was it would be innocence. How we are all innocent at some point, how to try to keep our innocence, and how no one can keep their innocence forever. We all fall from our innocence. Adam and Eve fell from grace and innocence and set the tone for all of our lives. Throughout the whole book Holden is trying to make people keep their innocence and he wants to hold onto it himself. What he needs to learn and does learn through the course of the book is that no one can keep his or her innocence. We all fall at some point, but what we have control over is how hard we fall.
...ccording to Perkins, although French and Russian realists and naturalists influenced James style, “in Contrast to the European naturalists whose tutelage he acknowledged, he rebelled against the materialistic interpretation of human destiny, and struggled with the problem of undeniable evil as desperately as Hawthorne, whom, among earlier Americans he most admired” (Perkins 1055). This shows that James was greatly influenced by Europeans, but he also has his added his own unique American style. One of James’ stories, “Daisy Miller," takes place in Switzerland. Throughout this story Europeans see America as being hostile and somewhat harsh. During the decade between 1870 and 1880 , the United States was once again beginning to rebuild the nation. This rebuilding or reconstruction not only affected attitudes, but it affected art and literature throughout the world.
Fitzgerald elegantly describes Daisy as an innocent yet charming young woman who is married to a wealthy man, Tom. “her face was sad and lovely with things bring in”this suggests that Daisy is not as simple as she wants us to think, like a absurd and shining girl. For instance, in the text before she uses the word “witty” to describe her graphic and humorous manner. She tries to cover her sadness by putting on a passionate mask.
by F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the extremely active nightlife of the "Roaring 20's." Daisy Buchanan, a fragile, flirtatious women with a past that no one would ever guess is one of the main characters. Her marriage seems to be perfect, until her husband has an affair with another women. She has a daughter whom she does not care for, and she feels like she has no love from anyone whatsoever, but then Jay Gatsby, her "life", he is her long lost love that tries to make everything like it was in the past. A past where only they existed, and no one else, but the circumstances of the present affect them from doing so.
... perfect exemplars of how an ideal innocent women, can face undoubtedly tragic fates. Despite much strength in their characters, both Daisy and Desdemona exhibit the vulnerability of their innocence, the ability for others to take advantage of them, and glaring weaknesses. They are unaware of their surroundings, which lead to questionable actions. Their inevitable tragedies occur because of how each character dealt with these situations placed in front of them. All in all, Daisy and Desdemona are responsible for their tragedies because they are women placed in unfamiliar positions and are unable to deal with situations placed in front of them.
Throughout “The Great Gatsby,” corruption is evident through the people within it. However, we discover with Daisy, initially believed to be a victim of her husband’s corruption—we find she is the eye of the storm. In the story, the reader feels sorry for Daisy, the victim in an arranged marriage, wanting her to find the happiness she seemingly longed for with Gatsby. Ultimately we see Daisy for what she is, a truly corrupt soul; her languish and materialistic lifestyle, allowing Gatsby to take the blame for her foolish action of killing Myrtle, and feigning the ultimate victim as she “allows” Tom to take her away from the unsavory business she has created. Daisy, the definitive picture of seeming innocence is the most unforeseen, therefore, effective image of corruption—leading to a good man’s downfall of the American Dream.
Fitzgerald’s life is quite proportional to the story he creates. He shows the obstacles in his life that deal with love affairs, while trying to climb the social ladder to enhance his image. The overall moral in this story shows that materialistic possessions can not buy someone’s love in a deep and affectionate way. After all, Daisy is just a dainty, exquisite flower, lacking depth of human character, and is a trophy for Gatsby and Tom’s conquest.
In Anatomy of Criticism, author Northrop Frye writes of the low mimetic tragic hero and the society in which this hero is a victim. He introduces the concept of pathos saying it “is the study of the isolated mind, the story of how someone recognizably like ourselves is broken by a conflict between the inner and outer world, between imaginative reality and the sort of reality that is established by a social consensus” (Frye 39). The hero of Hannah W. Foster’s novel, The Coquette undoubtedly suffers the fate of these afore mentioned opposing ideals. In her inability to confine her imagination to the acceptable definitions of early American female social behavior, Eliza Wharton falls victim to the ambiguity of her society’s sentiments of women’s roles. Because she attempts to claim the freedom her society superficially advocates, she is condemned as a coquette and suffers the consequences of exercising an independent mind. Yet, Eliza does not stand alone in her position as a pathetic figure. Her lover, Major Sanford -- who is often considered the villain of the novel -- also is constrained by societal expectations and definitions of American men and their ambition. Though Sanford conveys an honest desire to make Eliza his wife, society encourages marriage as a connection in order to advance socially and to secure a fortune. Sanford, in contrast to Eliza, suffers as a result of adhering to social expectations of a male’s role. While Eliza suffers because she lives her life outside of her social categorization and Sanford falls because he attempts to maneuver and manipulate the system in which he lives, both are victims of an imperfect, developing, American society.
Edith Wharton’s Roman Fever shows the perception of women in the 1930s. Women had just gained the right to vote, but in society the role of the woman had not changed much since the late eighteen hundreds. Women were still expected to be proper and remain pure and innocent. Roman Fever portrays these feminine qualities. Roman Fever has many of the same qualities as Henry James’ short story, "Daisy Miller." Both are written about women who ignore the rules that society has placed on them. It seems Edith Wharton was commenting on women who sinned and the consequences that they will face. In the nineteen thirties, women were to be proper and stay away from such dangers.
fault of gatsby. relates to daisy to try and get him.Some women were independent and had
The story of Daisy Miller starts off in Vevey, Switzerland with Winterbourne and Daisy meeting through Daisy's brother Randolph. Winterbourne is immediately attracted to her stating, "she was strikingly, admirably pretty" (James 470). The story continues with Winterbourne giving Daisy a tour of the Chateau de Chillon, and Winterbourne returning to Geneva, where he had an older women waiting for him. Daisy ends up meeting an Italian man, Giovanelli, which eventually leads to her death of malaria. Although the characters seem simple enough, they symbolize much more than themselves. In Henry James's Daisy Miller, Daisy symbolizes all American women who travel abroad to Europe, while Winterbourne symbolizes the European mentality of American tourists.