Daisy Miller: Shifting Identities
Dislocation and Exile Shape Identity
In Daisy Miller: A Study, the subject of identity is approached, both through the characters of Daisy, and that of Winterborne. They both present valid reactions to a world in which they do not belong, in which they feel themselves dislocated from society and what it stands for. The quick ascension in status of Americans who subsequently desired to integrate themselves into the European society – the vivid contrast between the novel mentality of the Americans and the old one of the Europeans – is what engenders this tension, and what eventually triggers the end of Daisy Miller. In this essay I will tackle the issue of identity, what determines its alteration, and how it affects the evolution of the characters.
The novella opens with a description of the scenery, of Vevey, a town in Switzerland composed out of motley architecture both 'of the newest fashion' and 'of an elderly day', painting the basis from which the conflict will stem (James 3). The theme of ambiguity is also introduced through the first person singular of the narrator and his …show more content…
He oscillates between the opinions of the Europeans (both that of his aunt and that of the society in Geneva) and the opinion of Americans, but he doesn't maintain an opinion long enough to identify himself with it. His loss of identity is largely attributed to his lack of intuition: 'his instinct has ceased to serve him and his reason could but mislead.' (James 15) This serves also to show that his obsession with rationalizing and reducing people to formulas does nothing but lead him astray, his perception of Daisy proving to be erroneous and misguided. This fixation with delving into innermost corners the characters of people to the point of him becoming susceptible to being considered impolite might suggest his unwillingness to search for his own
Dislocation and Exile Shape Identity
In Daisy Miller: A Study, the subject of identity is approached, both through the characters of Daisy, and that of Winterborne. They both present valid reactions to a world in which they do not belong, in which they feel themselves dislocated from society and what it stands for. The quick ascension in status of Americans who subsequently desired to integrate themselves into the European society – the vivid contrast between the novel mentality of the Americans and the old one of the Europeans – is what engenders this tension, and what eventually triggers the end of Daisy Miller. In this essay I will tackle the issue of identity, what determines its alteration, and how it affects the evolution of the characters.
The novella opens with a description of the scenery, of Vevey, a town in Switzerland composed out of motley architecture both 'of the newest fashion' and 'of an elderly day', painting the basis from which the conflict will stem (James 3). The theme of ambiguity is also introduced through the first person singular of the narrator and his …show more content…
He oscillates between the opinions of the Europeans (both that of his aunt and that of the society in Geneva) and the opinion of Americans, but he doesn't maintain an opinion long enough to identify himself with it. His loss of identity is largely attributed to his lack of intuition: 'his instinct has ceased to serve him and his reason could but mislead.' (James 15) This serves also to show that his obsession with rationalizing and reducing people to formulas does nothing but lead him astray, his perception of Daisy proving to be erroneous and misguided. This fixation with delving into innermost corners the characters of people to the point of him becoming susceptible to being considered impolite might suggest his unwillingness to search for his own