Some Notes and Study Questions for Daisy Miller by Henry James
Daisy Milleris the story of Frederick Winterbourne's fascination with Daisy, a naive young American abroad who is victimized by her own innocence and brashness. The story is set first in Vevey, Switzerland and then in Rome, where Daisy meets Mr. Giovanelli, a handsome, young Italian gigolo who escorts her around Rome and ultimately causes her death. Implicit in the story is the conflict between American unrefined openness and the cultivated refinement of "society" abroad.
Characters:
Frederick Winterbourne--27 year old nephew of Mrs. Costello, who wisely tells him to avoid the Millers. The implication throughout is that Winterbourne himself is a kind of gigolo who preys upon bored, married women.
Mrs. Costello--Winterbourne's staid and conventional aunt who considers the Millers "common" and an affront to Americans abroad.
Mrs. Walker--Winterbourne's friend from Geneva who by implication has had a relationship with him and who tries to advise Daisy.
Mr. Giovanelli--He seems to be a gigolo who preys on Daisy and causes her death through his carelessness. Is he, however, really that different from Winterbourne?
Mrs. Miller--Stereotypical nouveau riche American abroad completely unaware of social conventions and unable to properly supervise her son, Roderick, or Daisy.
Randolph Miller--"an urchin of nine or ten," he is Daisy's brother, who precipitates the meeting of Daisy and Winterbourne.
Eugenio--The courier hired to guide the Millers through Europe. He, too, preys upon rich Americans; the "society" characters see through him immediately, or so it seems. They consider the Millers to be too "familiar" with their servant.
Daisy--About 18 years old, Daisy is either innocent of the effects of her behavior, or a manipulator and flirt. Her recklessness and failure to follow social conventions leads to her death by "Roman fever," which she contracts during a midnight meeting with Giovanelli at the Coliseum. Whether she is audacious or innocent is a central ambiguity in the story. She is constantly chattering and vainly primping, even in public.
Central Questions Raised by the Story:
- How in control of her behavior is Daisy?
- Is Winterbourne in fact himself a gigolo?
- Is Winterbourne's interest in Daisy "pure"? Don't her recklessness and its possibilities appeal to him more than anything else about her? Isn't Giovanelli--especially in the last few pages--revealed to be more pure in his motives than is Winterbourne.
- Is one set of values ultimately upheld here? [Do we sympathize with Daisy and the Millers or with Costello, Walker, and the "refined" society?]