Daisy Miller

Daisy Miller is a 1878 novella by Henry James. It portrays the confused courtship of the eponymous American girl by Winterbourne, a compatriot of hers with much more sophistication. His pursuit of her is hampered by her own flirtatiousishness, a trait that is frowned upon by the other expatriates they meet in Switzerland and Italy. Her lack of understanding of the social mores of the society she so desperately wishes to enter ultimately leads to tragedy.

The pair first meet in Vevey, Switzerland, where Winterbourne is vacationing from his studies. They are brought together by young Randolph Miller, Daisy's irrepressible brother. Randolph considers his hometown of Schenectady, New York to be far superior to all of Europe, particularly in the quality of candy available. Daisy, though, is absolutely delighted with the Continent, especially the high fashion and high society, of which she considers herself a part because she is so exclusive that no one will talk to her. Winterbourne is at first confused by her attitude, but determines that she is nothing more than a young American flirt. He continues his pursuit of the fair Daisy in spite of the disapproval of his imperial aunt Mrs. Costello, who spurns any family with so close a relationship to their courier as the Millers have with their Eugenio, and furthermore thinks Daisy a shameless coquette for agreeing to go site-seeing with Winterbourne after a mere half hour's acquaintance. The two have a fine time touring the old castles in the area, then Winterbourne informs Daisy that he must go to Geneva the next day, so she extracts a promise from him to meet her in Rome, and they part.

Winterbourne and Daisy do meet in Rome, unexpectedly in the parlor of Mrs. Walker, a fellow American. Daisy shocks the local society by walking out with Mr. Giovanelli, a handsome young Italian of no status. Daisy is undeterred by the open disaprobation of the other Americans in Rome, and her ineffectual mother seems quite oblivious to underlying tensions. Winterbourne attempts to extricate Daisy from her situation, but she refuses to take any of it seriously.

One night, Winterbourne takes a walk through the Coliseum and finds the couple sitting there. He concludes that Daisy is too common for him to love, and lets her know it. Daisy is heart-broken, and so takes no precautions with her health in spite of Winterbourne's warnings about the deadly "Roman fever" (malaria) that is caught by wandering in the unhealthy night air. Daisy falls ill and dies a few days later. Winterbourne finally realizes that she did reciprocate his feelings for her, in spite of her playful denials, and that she was just an innocent flirt and not a shameless harlot. He goes back to Geneva and resumes his studies and his affair with a clever foreign lady.

External links