Blogs
Coliseum-Facts and Fictions
Roman Coliseum
Towards the end of reading Henry James’s Daisy Miller, there is a scene in which Winterbourne is taking an evening walk around the city of Rome. He decides he simply cannot resist seeing the famous Coliseum. Winterbourne makes this visit by moonlight. The Coliseum is a beautiful and extremely well known landmark located just east of the Roman Forum. Today, this picturesque landmark is visited by almost four million tourists each year.
The Roman Coliseum was originally named the Flavian Amphitheatre. It is believed that the structure is now called the Coliseum because it was built near the massive statue of Colossus. The Romans began to build this structure around 70 AD. It took them about ten years to complete the Coliseum. The amphitheatre is said to seat about fifty thousand spectators. This structure, although it is in ruins today, is an excellent example of the advancement in architecture and engineering techniques during that time period.
There are many identifying traits that the Roman Coliseum possesses. There are columns all around the outer part of the structure. The outer portion of the stadium has three levels. Each level of the external part of the Coliseum is fashioned with arches supported by three different types of half columns. These columns represent the three predominant arch types of Ancient Rome—Corinthian, Doric, and Ionic. Although the arena is made in the shape of a giant circle, the arena section of the Coliseum is in the shape of an oval.
In the novella, Daisy Miller, the reader gets a glimpse of the inside of the stadium. In the book, the narrator describes the Coliseum as picturesque, and one can absolutely appreciate the view that Winterbourne sees on his midnight stroll. The reader can see the massive inner portion of the Roman Coliseum, half cast in darkness because of the size while the other half is thrown into relief by the bright moonlight.
This interpretation of the Coliseum could possibly be a reflection of the conflict that Winterbourne has with Daisy’s character. The fact of the matter is that Daisy is portrayed in two ways. He thinks of her at first as an innocent American girl, very intelligent and very quick to speak her mind. At this point, she still seems naïve. This can be described as the cloudy, less visible side to Daisy Miller. The second way in which the stadium is described is illuminated by the intense moonlight. This can be described as the deeper and more detailed Daisy that the reader is exposed to as the story develops. The reader hears more of the ways in which other Americans talk about Daisy and a bit about her family as well. The gossips claim that Daisy is a massive flirt. She is described as having many male companions, and the reader—along with Winterbourne’s character—wonder if these gentlemen are really just friends or if they have a deeper relationship with Daisy.
The addition of the Roman Coliseum to the storyline gives a familiarity along with a case of possible symbolism. It is nice for James to bring in an extremely well known landmark into a story in which one can find catch oneself focusing on the characters instead of the surroundings. It is also a good brief glimpse of symbolism and contradiction to Daisy’s character. All in all, would it even be possible to mention Rome without thinking briefly of the Coliseum?
Having seen the Coliseum in
Having seen the Coliseum in the moonlight, I can attest to its beauty! I really like your examination of James' use of light and the structure itself. Perhaps the fact that the Coliseum represents something grand and ancient, foreign to Daisy, is also important to note. What is the relationship Daisy has with the Coliseum itself? Has she visited it in the daytime, when perhaps she can really see its full beauty? Perhaps James purposely places them there at night also to emphasize Daisy's lack of interest in the actual places she travels to, although she has made the aquaintences of locals. Does this mean that she knows Rome well, because she knows Romans, or is he suggesting that she should she perhaps pay attention to the historical and physical setting she has entered?
I found it interesting that
I found it interesting that the Coliseum comes to represent the end of Daisy Miller in the same way slaves and gladitators met there end in ancient times. Miss Miller is an outsider in the old European world in the same ways that those who died there in ancient times were. Furthermore, Daisy throughout the story served as a type of intellectual "entertainment" for Winterbourne as he tried to unravel her in his mind, thus the Coliseum serves its initial purpose.