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Henry James in his novel Daisy Miller: A Study follows the main character Daisy, a young American girl, as she travels with her family through Europe. James portrays Daisy as a representation of America slowly becoming corrupt through the expectations of society. Literary critics have analyzed the novel as a commentary on the class structure and the effects of society on Daisy as well as her personality and character. John Randall in his article “The Genteel Reader and Daisy Miller” looks at the way in which James depicts Daisy’s character in a paradoxical way. The question that Randall address in his articles leads him to two conclusions one being pro Daisy and the other being against Daisy who is “self-centered, headstrong, …show more content…
Dennis Phal in his article “Going Down with Henry James’s Uptown Girl: Genteel Anxiety and the Promicuous World of Daisy Miller” examines the way in which Daisy comes from a family who he defines with the term “nouveaux riche ” or people who have “new money”. Phal defines the term in his article as individuals or families who were “part of the new wealthy class, a veritable product of the “new money” made in the marketplace” (130). People with “new money” differ from those of the upper class whose money was not earned but inherited. It no surprise that Daisy while in Europe with her family would then try and become a part of the upper …show more content…
When we first meet Daisy it is in Switzerland where she is staying at a hotel situated by a beautiful lake. Viola Dunbar in her article “The revision of Diasy Miller” looks at the relationship between Daisy and Winterbourne and the words he uses to describe her as he uses words to compare her to nature. Dunbar points out in her article the various terms and descriptions that come from both Winterbourne and the narrator throughout the novel are used to create an image of innocence in Daisy. Dunbar concludes that, “By associating his heroine with nature imagery, James has not only increased the impression of her attractiveness, but also suggests the innocent naturalness of her behavior” (313). Dunbar goes on to explain that “ The romantic atmosphere in which the author is enveloping his heroine and the gentleness and innocent beauty he is attributing to her are revealed in revisions and such as these which associate her with white doves, flowers, cleanest water, and the Swiss lakeside” (313). This “innocent naturalness” of Daisy’s behavior creates for her a paradoxical situation in the novel for her as she must choose between being the innocent girl Winterbourne meets at the beginning of the novel, or by choosing to ignore the society rules and expectations and instead fulfill her desire to become an independent
Henry James in his novel Daisy Miller: A Study follows the main character Daisy, a young American girl, as she travels with her family through Europe. James portrays Daisy as a representation of America slowly becoming corrupt through the expectations of society. Literary critics have analyzed the novel as a commentary on the class structure and the effects of society on Daisy as well as her personality and character. John Randall in his article “The Genteel Reader and Daisy Miller” looks at the way in which James depicts Daisy’s character in a paradoxical way. The question that Randall address in his articles leads him to two conclusions one being pro Daisy and the other being against Daisy who is “self-centered, headstrong, …show more content…
Dennis Phal in his article “Going Down with Henry James’s Uptown Girl: Genteel Anxiety and the Promicuous World of Daisy Miller” examines the way in which Daisy comes from a family who he defines with the term “nouveaux riche ” or people who have “new money”. Phal defines the term in his article as individuals or families who were “part of the new wealthy class, a veritable product of the “new money” made in the marketplace” (130). People with “new money” differ from those of the upper class whose money was not earned but inherited. It no surprise that Daisy while in Europe with her family would then try and become a part of the upper …show more content…
When we first meet Daisy it is in Switzerland where she is staying at a hotel situated by a beautiful lake. Viola Dunbar in her article “The revision of Diasy Miller” looks at the relationship between Daisy and Winterbourne and the words he uses to describe her as he uses words to compare her to nature. Dunbar points out in her article the various terms and descriptions that come from both Winterbourne and the narrator throughout the novel are used to create an image of innocence in Daisy. Dunbar concludes that, “By associating his heroine with nature imagery, James has not only increased the impression of her attractiveness, but also suggests the innocent naturalness of her behavior” (313). Dunbar goes on to explain that “ The romantic atmosphere in which the author is enveloping his heroine and the gentleness and innocent beauty he is attributing to her are revealed in revisions and such as these which associate her with white doves, flowers, cleanest water, and the Swiss lakeside” (313). This “innocent naturalness” of Daisy’s behavior creates for her a paradoxical situation in the novel for her as she must choose between being the innocent girl Winterbourne meets at the beginning of the novel, or by choosing to ignore the society rules and expectations and instead fulfill her desire to become an independent