Notes on Henry James' Daisy Miller

Comparing Parts I and II

Who's American and Who's European?

(Hint: Who's Sick and Who's Not?)

James’ Assumptions About His Audience:

• Well-educated
• Heedful of implications
• Unhurried
• Like him

Some Possible Themes:

• International Theme -- Europe vs. America
• Arrogant disregard of society is lethal
• Association with the lowly brings ruin and death
• What happens when pure and free innocence is exposed to the old corruption and fetid environment of Europe -- i.e. death from malaria caught while with a European amid monuments of decayed European antiquity
• The dangerously naive young American girl . . . pays for her willful resistance to European social mores with her life

The Title:

• One title was “Daisy Miller: A Study”
• "A Study" -- like the title of a painting or a series of paintings (or like a "case study" of a patient)
• Henry’s brother William studied painting (and philosophy and psychology)
• Signifies crucial moments in the novella
• Series of pictorial scenes, easily visualized:
  • In the garden
  • At the castle
  • At Mrs. Walker’s
  • In Rome, at the Pincio
  • At the Church
  • At the Colosseum

Different Editions of the Novella:

• Originally published in London -- rejected by American publishers as offensive -- in 1878 in 2 parts.
• The 1909 edition had 4 parts, softened the portrait of Daisy, and placed greater emphasis on the flaws of Europeanized Americans.
• “Uncultivated” (1878) vs. “Uneducated” (1909).