The Character of Daisy Miller by Henry James Free Essay Example, 2500 words

According to James, Daisy Miller went with Giovanelli the way she did, not because she is defiant nor does she took pleasure in being involved in a scandal but because it is her nature to be so. She never really noticed the scandal she has brought or created because she was too ignorant, she is not the contemplative type and has no sense of proportion of things. In other words, she is not aware of her effect of society nor has she got the aptitude to plan revenge against society by defying it. The whole idea of the story is the little tragedy of a light, thin, natural, unsuspecting creature being sacrificed as it were to a social rumpus that went on quite over her head and to which she stood in no measurable relation. To deepen the effect, I have made it go over her mother s head as well. She never had a thought of scandalizing anybody the most she ever had was regret for Winterbourne (Helsinger, et al, 1983 p 185). What is striking about Daisy s situation is that she has a mother who seems not to notice anything that s going on with her daughter or if she does, does not give Daisy or anyone an inkling for that matter. We will write a custom essay sample on The Character of Daisy Miller by Henry James or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page And there s the malaria epidemic hounding Rome at that time. As a mother, she should have been cautious in allowing Daisy to go out at night where malaria mosquitoes may roam and infect her. Yet, she never figures anywhere in her daughter s life. Also, the story of Daisy Miller addressed a 19th-century issue that has something to do with gender and sexuality by creating an underpinning divergence between American individualism and masculinity, and between traditional society in Europe and femininity (Hong 2006 p. 13). To convey this issue, the author employed a third person limited omniscient narrator in the person of Winterbourne who is immediately attracted to the innocent beauty of Daisy Miller.