Henry James' Daisy Miller and Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence

Both Daisy Miller by Henry James and The Age of Innocence, based on the novel by Edith Wharton are either social commentaries or love stories set in corrupt society. The male leads, Newland Archer and Winterbourne, help to show, assuming the goal is commentary, the dishonest and frivolous nature of society. Newland and Winterbourne’s stories and characters run on corresponding motives, as they are the offspring of that society.

Each character has an affair. Winterbourne’s is subtle, presented more as his single interest, but it is told that his presence in Geneva (at both the beginning and end of the novel) is for the purpose of “’studying,’” but “when certain persons spoke of him they affirmed that the reason of his spending so much time at Geneva was that he was extremely devoted to a lady who lived there—a foreign lady—a person older than himself (Part I.)” As Winterbourne is “extremely devoted,” then his time with Daisy must be considered an affair, whether or not it amounted to anything more than flirtation. Newland’s affair is more obvious, as both May, his wife, and Ellen, his secret love, play major roles in the story.

However, it is difficult to assign blame to either man for his affair, for each is a paragon gentleman who cares deeply about the honor of the women in his life. Winterbourne is bound by his gentleman’s manners to preserve the societal position of Daisy. In Part II, when Daisy is walking on the streets of Rome with two gentlemen, Winterbourne shows that he does care for Daisy’s honor:

“’Does Mr. Winterbourne think,’ she asked slowly, smiling, throwing back her head, and glancing at him from head to foot, ‘that, to save my reputation, I ought to get into the carriage?’

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...e were safe with you, and always would be. Because once, when she asked you to, you gave up the thing you wanted most.’” However, though both men’s affairs are known, they are never openly criticized.

Both Newland and Winterbourne are rich, proud men who have been involved in affairs. But yet, we perceive them both in a positive light. We see Winterbourne as a man carried along for an exciting journey through his affection for Daisy, and Archer as the finest gentlemen torn between two women. The attitude that is allowed by the authors suggests that men are permitted affairs, while women require the protection of the men that might betray them. High society, at the time, was polite, charming, and secret. No one spoke ill of another publicly, though each and every member of society was allowed, and seemingly encouraged, to make their own assumptions.