Daisy Miller - Henry James

Henry James' Daisy Miller introduces us to the titular character's life and how it changes over the course of time.

It comments on the traditional view point of the society and how it thwarts the mind of a progressive young woman who wanted nothing more than to live life on her own terms.

As usual, I present my few cents on the novella (not digging deeper into the plot).

Daisy Miller begins with Winterbourne meeting a young boy Randolph, his sister Daisy Miller and their Mother. Winterbourne is smitten by Daisy.

As a character Daisy has the most influence in taking the story forward. She was a young girl who wanted nothing else from life other than to live it on her own terms. She was born in an era when women had negligible freedom. They were not even supposed to talk to young men without a chaperone. But Daisy wished to defy the boundaries and live freely. She agrees to go to the Castle of Chillon with Winterbourne, knowing very well that such an act will be frowned upon.

However, she couldn’t care less. Later in the novel when Mrs Walker asks Daisy to drive her car instead of going on a walk with Mr Giovanelli, she rejects the offer. She did not want to go with Mrs Walker just for the sake of shutting down the rumours. It was her way of claiming independence. Also, she believed that all those rumours were a way of passing times as no one really cared for her. She tells Winterbourne, ‘They are only pretending to care. They don’t really care a straw what I do.’

Winterbourne on the other hand, wanted the best of both worlds. He was head over heels for a girl who walked freely in such a world and at the same time he called her ‘uncultivated’ which meant that she needed to be ‘taught manners’. He was jealous when she goes with Giovanelli but he did not have the courage to defy Mrs Walker.

Winterbourne wanted to be with Daisy but he also wanted the so called ‘cultured world’ to accept her. This brought him to dangerous waters.

Two other characters closely linked to Daisy were her mother and the Italian man Mr Giovanelli.

Mrs Miller knew the world and its ways and yet she lets Daisy live her life with freedom. As a mother, she wanted the best for her daughter – she allows Daisy to chose what she wanted to do or whom she wanted to be with. As a mother, she sheltered her from the restrictions laid by the society. She wished for her daughter to have a full lived life, giving her the courage to laugh without being bothered about what the world thinks of her.

Mr Giovanelli wanted to be with Daisy for as long as he could. When she dies, he tells Winterbourne, ‘If she had lives, I would have got nothing. She would have never married me.’ And despite knowing that, he accompanied Daisy to wherever she went, at whatever time she wanted to. All he longed for was her company. He cared for no one’s opinion or acceptance.

Overall, I think Mrs Miller was the most courageous one for she raised her daughter to follow her dreams and never came in between them.

Every character in Daisy Miller had something or the other they wanted from life, however not everyone got dealt the best hand.

Daisy wished to live like a free spirit. Her desire was to enjoy life on her own terms. It led her to have good times with young men who were happy to flirt with her and roam around the city. The same desire also led her to be judged by others. Winterbourne’s aunt Mrs Costello refused to meet her whereas Mrs Miller stopped inviting her to the evening parties. But this ire seems to have little effect on Daisy. She couldn’t care less for what men and women of the circle thought of her and went on spending her time with Mr Giovenelli till her last breath.

Winterbourne fell for Daisy at first sight. Her unrestrained behaviour attracted him and he wished to spend more time with her but at the same time he wanted his aunt and Mrs miller and other people in his circle to accept Daisy as one of them. This led him to lose the girl he had fallen for. Daisy stopped seeing him. Whenever he went to her place, Mrs Miller told her that she was out with Mr Giovanelli. Though in the end Mrs Miller passed him the message from Daisy, telling him that she was never engaged to Mr Giovanelli, Winterbourne’s desire to get the best of both worlds made him lose the time he could have spent with the girl.

All Mr Giovanelli wanted was to spend his time with Daisy. He knew that a girl like her would never agree to marry him yet, he did all in his power to make Daisy happy. He never said no to her. His dedication towards Daisy at least gave him the chance to escort her all around the city and enjoy her company for as long as life allowed. It was him that she spent her last evening with.

Mrs Miller wanted the best for her daughter. She allowed her to move freely, flirt with young men, and have fun. Though she gets the satisfaction of seeing her daughter happy, she also had to see the death of her child which was a wound that will haunt her till the rest of her life. Another thing that we are informed of in the end was, Mrs Miller did not like Mr Giovanelli and she was relieved to know that the two were never engaged. That was the only breather she gets in the end.