That Silly Italian

Daisy Miller reminds me of Tender is the Night. Each of these stories revolves around a group of Americans in France (and Italy and Switzerland). Daisy Miller reminds me somewhat of Rosemary, a young American actress living with her mother. In each of their respective stories, they become quite popular in Europe among their fellow American friends. Daisy Miller’s interactions with various gentlemen illustrate her “American flirt” persona much like Rosemary’s interactions illustrate her appeal as an “American actress”. Both of these girls gain popularity, most likely because of the small number of Americans in Europe at the time these stories take place.

Daisy is a somewhat mysterious character, though, and her character differs from Rosemary in that the reader’s perception of her character changes drastically over only a few pages. At first, she appears to be a very “common” or very plain American girl. Winterbourne has trouble determining whether or not she is a nice girl. But from the second chapter, Winterbourne’s conversation with Mrs. Costello foreshadows how the story will develop: ‘I haven’t the least idea what such young ladies expect a man to do. But I really think that you had better not meddle with little American girls that are uncultivated, as you call them. You have lived too long out of the country. You will be sure to make some great mistake.’

In the second half of the story, Winterbourne gets to know Daisy’s character a little better. As he is around her more, he begins to make judgments about Daisy saying that she is “uncultivated”. Many of Winterbourne’s judgments seem class-based, as is much of the conversation in the fourth chapter. The Millers are of the same class as Mr. Giovanelli, it seems, and the group comprised of Winterbourne, Mrs. Costello, and Mrs. Walker separate themselves as a social elite (much like a traveler vs. a tourist). Giovanelli becomes the catalyst for Daisy’s death, for it is because of him that Winterbourne seems to lose respect for Daisy. He tells Daisy that “flirting is a purely American custom” and that it “doesn’t exist” and Europe (49). It seems that Winterbourne does not like to see Daisy unaccompanied in public with Giovanelli, and he makes judgments about her because of it. At this point, when Daisy gets sick, we can see Winterbourne’s mistake. He has judged Daisy too quickly, and she becomes so upset that she falls ill. Giovanni even describes her as “the most innocent” (63). But in the end, it may have been Daisy’s behavior that determined her fate. Maybe she should have listened to Winterbourne when he tried to warn her of her flirty behavior and told her to act more like the natives. It could be that her “innocence” was her downfall.