Human Nature Explored in Henry

Human Nature Explored in Henry James' Daisy Miller

People are interesting, but predictable, creatures. One story that illustrates this point is Henry James' novel, Daisy Miller. Daisy and Winterbourne become excellent case studies because of their personalities and how they choose to adapt to the society around them. Daisy is innocent but her actions seem to suggest otherwise. She does not conform as one might think she does; in fact, she seems to do just the opposite and draw attention to herself for all the wrong reasons. Winterbourne has completely conformed and learned how to live a double life by appearing one way in Vevey and behaving another way in Geneva. When we look at these characters, we see how vulnerable an individual can be. In addition, Daisy and Winterbourne become the characters through which James explores the theme of the American abroad. Winterbourne is the expatriate living abroad, representing an atmosphere and attitude common to Americans shortly after the war. In addition to this, he also represents the aristocratic aspects of society abroad. Through Winterbourne, James instills all of the snobbery and hypocrisy of high society. The two characters become symbols for the types of society (and people) they represent. Daisy symbolizes the uncultured, plain Americans while Winterbourne symbolizes the arrogance of a more "cultured" society. Through detailed characterization, "Daisy Miller" James explores the delicate nature of the individual and the constant forces that are working against it.

What we must understand about Daisy is that she is being true to her nature. James has crafted her to be beautiful and charming but rough around the edges. She is irresistible but she has no manners. Daisy is unique in that she does not wish to bend to the whims of others and this will eventually lead to her death. While it is true that she does not want to do anything indecent, she does not go out of her way to learn about the society in Vevey. In the context of the novel, Daisy becomes a symbol of a more common and unsophisticated type of person. She is attractive and charming and this carries her a long way, especially with men. She is also talkative and outgoing and does not see to notice others as much as they notice her. The interesting thing about Daisy is that there is nothing actually wrong with her. Her biggest problem is that she does not follow the acceptable norms of the society in which she finds herself. The predominant theme that emerges from the story is the conflict of societies that occurs as a result of Daisy's inability to adopt the different social codes. It is a clash of cultures because Daisy is like a fish out of water. However, it should be noted that she is a happy fish out of water and expresses no desire to conform to any standards. Andrew Scheiber asserts, "Daisy's insistence on being 'natural' (as opposed to 'artificial') is precisely what offends the arbiters of culture from whom Winterbourne takes his cues" (Scheiber). Daisy becomes a victim of society in that they shun her because she is so crude. She does not suffer from it and this is the character James wanted to bring to our attention. From this perspective, we can see how James reinforces the issue of the individual vs. societal codes with Daisy.

Daisy is a nonconformist and, as a result, Winterbourne's opposite. She does net feel compelled to conform and seems to be completely comfortable with that notion. Her attitude emphasizes the individual at odds with society. She is most definitely outnumbered but this does not seem to trouble her. As a result, her nonconformity becomes the impetus for the prejudice we find in the novel. Those around have conformed or at least, appeared to have conformed to meet the high standards of the aristocratic community. She inspects her "flounces and smoothed her ribbons" (94) without much care of how she looked to others and while her actions were embarrassing to Winterbourne on the outset, he relaxes a bit and ceases to be embarrassed "for he had begun to perceive that she was not in the least bit embarrassed" (James 94). Daisy has difficulty fitting in and that stems from her notion that she does not need to fit in. She does not see the society around her as one that she should aspire to. She tells Winterbourne, "There isn't any society . . . I suppose there's some society somewhere, but I haven't seen anything of it. I'm very fond of society and I've always had plenty of it . . ." (97). Here we see that Daisy is completely unaware of what it sounds like she is saying. She admits that she does not want to do anything "improper" (120-1); the only problem is that no one will tell her what exactly is proper. Instead, they would rather talk about her behind her back. Later in the story, as Winterbourne escorts her out the hotel, he wonders "what on earth had been in Daisy's mind when she proposed to expose herself, unattached" (121) to the Roman crowd that cannot help but notice her.

Winterbourne is an interesting case study because he allows himself to be shaped far too much by society. He is the epitome of snobbery and hypocrisy. Along with his snobbery, he also carries a healthy does of self-absorption that causes him to see things clearly. His snobbery is fueled by his aunt, who proves to be an excellent teacher in the field of snobbery and arrogance. The interesting aspect of their relationship is that Winterbourne is not nearly innocent as his aunt believes him to be and he is quite happy to let her keep this opinion of him. We know that Winterbourne has his secrets and he is an even bigger snob for not owning up to those secrets in the society that longs to be accepted. While his aunt believes him to be studying in Geneva, his real motivation for traveling there was an extreme devotion to a "very clever foreign lady" (144) who lived there. Winterbourne does conform and at the end of the novel, he realizes just how much he has conformed to a society that hardly looks beneath the surface. He feels remorse at the loss of Daisy, remembering her and her "mystifying manners" (144). His conclusion that he has lived "too long in foreign parts" (144) indicates that he might have one last redeeming quality but as it turns out, he simply returns to Geneva and returns to his former way of life.

One of Winterbourne's problems stems from the fact that he allows himself to be influenced by the opinions of others. It is the entire society in which he lives that shapes him. Fred McEwen asserts, "the complexity of the moral nuances of the story is revealed when one remembers that Winterbourne . . . has a mistress back in Geneva" (McEwen). While winterbourne is accepted in the best society, McEwen points out that best in this case is "not virtue (Daisy is quite guiltless of any actual wrongdoing) but the appearance of it -- Winterbourne may not be virtuous, but he is discreet" (McEwen). "Later, when he asks his aunt -- a wealthy widow of high station -- whether she has noticed the Millers at the hotel, she replies, "Oh yes, I have observed them. Seen them, heard them and kept out of their way. Calling them "horribly common" (James 100), she says they are the kind of Americans to be ignored. Daisy herself is "of the last crudity" (100). Scheiber maintains that "Mrs. Costello and Mrs. Walker gravely distinguish between the intuitive 'natural' morality practiced by Daisy and the social codes . . . Of the more highly evolved" (Scheiber). Scheiber asserts that this vulgarity places Daisy in a lower class of individuals that are less "civilized" (Scheiber). This attitude is passed down to Winterbourne. At one point, Winterbourne realizes his aunt's place and would not mind sacrificing her "conversationally; to admit that she was a proud, rude woman, and to declare that they needn't mind her" (105). Winterbourne never seems to relax enough to accept Daisy for how she is. After he returns from Rome, he is still heavily influenced by what others are thinking and saying about Daisy. His aunt tells him that Daisy "flirting with any man she could pick up; sitting in corners with mysterious Italians; dancing all the evening with the same partners; receiving visits at eleven o'clock at night" (127). While Winterbourne does attempt to defend Daisy, it is a weak defense that falls on deaf ears.

Hypocrisy is another theme that James explores in Daisy Miller. Winterbourne becomes the greatest example of this as he constantly judges Daisy and conveniently decides not to hold himself to the same standards to which he holds her and almost every other woman he encounters. He wants to be seen as a respectable man but yet he wants to behave in a way that is not respectable. Winterbourne is no doubt attracted to Daisy and is proud to be seen with her on the way to the Chillon. He simply cannot allow himself to be with her because he is too concerned with what others might be thinking. For example, he considers what others are thinking as they look at her "hard" (111) but is overcome with "satisfaction in his pretty companion's distinguished air" (111). However, Winterbourne cannot completely escape his social training, which is illustrated in his concern over the prospect that Daisy might "talk loud" (111) or "laugh overmuch" (111). Here we see that Winterbourne cannot relax and enjoy the company of this girl that seems to attract so much undesired attention. Winterbourne also has outside influences working against him in the area of snobbery. His aunt wastes no time telling him that she disapproves of Daisy, believing her to be "dreadful" (124) and that her behavior is "crazy" (124) because allows her self to walk with two men at the same time. She snubs Daisy later, an act that even Winterbourne finds "cruel" (132). These circumstances lead to Winterbourne's hypocrisy. He cannot make up his mind about Daisy and that turns out to be his downfall. He wants to believe in her goodness because he is attracted to her but he cannot escape the trappings of what society says about her. He does not listen to his gut feelings when it comes to Daisy and this is precisely because he allows himself to be persuaded by others. His first impression of Daisy is that she is "uncultivated . . . But she is wonderfully pretty, and, in short, very nice" (James 102). He also wonders if she is the epitome of all pretty girls from New York with a "good deal of gentlemen's society? Or was she also a designing, as audacious, an unscrupulous young person? (James 97). By the end of the novel, as he hears her in the Coliseum, he comes to the conclusion that Daisy is "a young lady whom a gentleman need no longer be at pains to respect" (140). This estimation is significant because it allows Winterbourne to finally give in to what society has been teaching him all of his life. This final analysis allows Winterbourne to place Daisy in a group of women that is not respectable. One can almost see him sighing with relief as he has finally decided that Daisy does not deserve his attention and he has finally found the evidence he needs to write her off as a lost cause.