17［原著論文］On Daisy Miller: A Study−From the Perspective of Modernity−
Chikako TSUTSUMI
Center for Liberal Arts and Sciences, Sanyo-Onoda City University「デイジー・ミラー」について−モダニティの観点から−
堤千佳子

山陽小野田市立山口東京理科大学

共通教育センター

Abstract「デイジー・ミラー」は、ヘンリー・ジェイムズの最も広く読まれ、研究された作品の 1 つといえるだろう。
この小説は、当時人気のあった旅行物語であると同時に、「国際テーマ」を取り上げた作品の嚆矢と見なされている。モダニティの観点から、この小説はさまざまな解釈の可能性を持って再読する価値があるといえる。いく
つか例を挙げると、登場人物は単純化されており、より深い解釈が必要である。ヒロインの弟は、ほぼすべてのもの、人物に対しアメリカがベストという発言を繰り返し、現在のアメリカ第一主義を髣髴とさせる。アメリカン・
マネーの経済力は Daisy が欲しいものを手に入れる手段として、物語の中で繰り返されているが、その源である
父親については息子や妻によって言及されるだけで、経済力としての存在としてしか扱われていない。アメリカ・
ドルの力は今でも世界中で支配的な力を持っていることを再考慮する必要がある。
ヒ ロ イ ン の Daisy は「ア メ リ カ の 浮 気 娘」と し て 単 純 化 さ れ て お り、彼 女 は 物 語 を 通 し て ヒ ー ロ ー のWinterbourne を当惑させている。Winterbourne は、女性の美しさを「観察および分析することに夢中になっている」ため、Daisy の闊達な自発性に不思議の念を感じずにいられない。この 2 人の人物造型や関係性は、従来とは異なる視点から解釈することが可能である。
この論文では、この古典的な物語に新たにアクセスし、モダニティの観点から解釈したいと考えている。ここでのモダニティの観点とは、男性と女性の主人公の関係、経済力、市場の拡大、商品化された文化などである。
さらに、都市小説 , 紀行小説としての側面についても言及していく。
KEYWORDS: modernity, the relationship between a male and a female protagonist, ﬁnancial power, novellastaged in four cities
キーワード：モダニティ，男女間の関係，経済力，都市小説

18

Chikako TSUTSUMIIntroduction
Henry James is an American author, who becomes a British citizen just two months before his death in1916. He is a son of Henry James Sr. and a brother of a famous philosopher and psychologist, William James.
According to his father s educational discipline, the James family travels a lot in Europe in the infancy ofthe children, James has his education mainly from the tutors and attends the local schools in the cities where
the family stays. James attends Harvard Law School just for a short time, for he realizes that his interest is in
literature rather than practical learning such as law or economy. He leaves the university and decides toconcentrate on writing novels.
James has made some short trips around Europe and lived mostly near London. Through his life, herarely settles in one place for a long time with the exception of Rye, Sussex, where he spends most of his ﬁnaldays. He is kind of cosmopolitan and his lifestyle is very suitable for producing his life-long international
theme.
One of his literary themes can be referred to as an international theme. It deals with some kinds ofconfrontation between Americans and Europeans. He emphasizes the innocence of Americans and theexperience and maturity of Europeans and Europeanized Americans who stay too long in Europe, and makethemselves stick to the European manners and conventions more than is needed. He is attracted to both ofthem. As for the innocence of Americans, he sympathizes with earnestness, spontaneity, and natural, notartiﬁcial character. Whereas he is dedicated to the European way of living, a sophisticated, educated, andcultural way of life, compared to which his compatriots seem rather unsophisticated, naïve, and provincial.
Between the conﬂicts of those parties, he creates some short novels, such as Four Meetings,

The

Europeans, and the most famous one, Daisy Miller.
After ﬁnishing this novella, James sent the story to Lippincott s magazine in Philadelphia. He likely
assumed that since he had success with his friend s journalthat being published in another

American literary magazine would not be diﬃcult. However, American editors saw the story as an attack on
American womanhood, in other words, a satiric attack on the heroine as a representative ill-mannered
American girl. It was quickly rejected. Instead of sending the novella on to his friend Howells, James gave hiswork to the editor of. It published the work in the June-July 1878 edition. This publication

brought James recognition in London but lost him the money he would have earned by publishing in America.
Once the story was acquired in the States, it was immediately published in a number of locations for freebecause of the absence of copyright laws. A book form was published by Harper s late in 1878 and, according
to Leon Edel, sold 20,000 copies in a matter of weeks. The book form came out in England by Macmillan in
1879.
Ironically, James felt that his lesser story was getting the credit thatshould havereceived, but the test of time has shown Daisy Miller to be one of James s classics, whereas
acclaimed. The novella became incredibly popular.

is less

By the early 1900s, the novella had been reprinted manytimes due to the revisions James made for a New York edition. An unsuccessful play version was evenpublished, ﬁrst privately in England in 1882 and then in in

in 1883. In 1909, James

conscientiously attempted to supply for the deﬁnitive edition the psychological depth and nuances which hefelt were lacking in the 1878 version. Yet editors since, such as Geoﬀrey Moore, have felt that the 1909 edition
clouds over the ﬁne work of the original and tend today to print the version of 1878.

Ⅰ
Daisy Miller is divided in two parts, and the former two chapters are in Vevey in Switzerland and theOn Daisy Miller: A Study −From the Perspective of Modernity−

19

latter two chapters in Rome. In addition, New York and Schenectady in America and Geneva in Switzerland
are referred to as symbols of what each city literally includes.
James symbolically takes up Vevey as an international tourist site, where the traditional European
tourists and the burgeoning American tourists are mixed. In addition, snobbish Europeanized Americans
enjoy their self-satisﬁed high life and criticize the newly-arrived Americans. The protagonist, Frederick
Winterbourne meets an American girl, by whom he is bothered about his viewpoints of his compatriots. He
has lived too long in Europe, especially in Geneva and has lost his natural instincts toward American
characters. He is fascinated by Daisy and bewildered by her behavior.
Schenectady, New York, is referred to as an industrial city, where Daisy s father, Mr. Ezra Miller is a
wealthy businessman and seems not to devote his time for his family and allows them to travel freely inEurope. The society in Schenectady and New York City is repeatedly described by Daisy. The New York
City society is her favorite one, in which a lot of welcome parties are held for her and many young men often
ﬂatter her.
Winterbourne is said to have lived in Geneva, the dark old city at the other end of the lake (24) so longstudying something, and keeps company with a clever lady who lives there. He compares Daisy and hermother with the young girls and their attentive mothers in Geneva. Geneva is a religious city where ethics
and morals are strictly observed. It is a harsh contrast with loosely controlled family life of the Millers.
Rome is an international city of human history and Daisy ends her life tragically there. It is in Rome that
Daisy meets Winterbourne again and often walks out with Giovanelli, which causes a stir in the American
society in Rome. Rome is a city of the old things including a long human history, and new things emerge in an
endless stream. The most impressive scene in Rome is the moon-lit Colosseum, where Winterbourne meets
Daisy and Giovanelli, and judges Daisy to be a tremendous ﬂirt, (60) saying She was a young lady whom agentleman need no longer be at pains to respect(60). In, its heroine Isabel Archer

regards Rome as the place of Christian martyrdom for faith, while Daisy says he [at this moment she does
not recognize Winterbourne] looks at us [she and Giovanelli] as one of the old lions or tigers may have lookedat the Christian martyrs!

(59) Isabel associates her own sorrow from betrayal of her husband and her closefriend with the humankind sorrow and sublimates it into the universal emotion. On the contrary, Daisy
understands the superﬁcial phase of history, like she does at the Chateau of Chillon in Vevey. Her
unsophisticatedness and uneducated mind are revealed through this novella, and this scene is one of thoseexamples. At the end of this novella, Daisy remains forever in Rome with her death.

Ⅱ
How Daisy Miller is described in this novella? Picking up the adjectives and the nouns used to describe
her, it is possible to identify James way of thinking to provide a detailed but mystifying description of his
heroine.
The adjectives describing Daisy are roughly categorized into two groups; one that emphasizes her beauty,
wealth, and amicability, while the other that criticizes her behavior, especially her society with young men.
To name a few from the scene where they ﬁrst meet, the former is such as follows; strikingly, admirably
pretty (6), pretty American girl (7), for the young girl s eyes were singularly honest and fresh (8). Her
prettiness is repeated many times and is emphasized. But this is only true of her superﬁcial aspects. The
other is often found in the scenes where Winterbourne and his aunt, Mrs. Costello have conversations over
the Millers and she especially criticizes Daisy for her audacious behavior; very common,very wild (17),completely uncultivated (18), a dreadful girl (18), in spite of the fact that the granddaughters of Mrs.
Costello, that is, Winterbourne s cousins, are said to be tremendous ﬂirts(19). In the latter two chapters,

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Chikako TSUTSUMI

Daisy is often seen to walk with a handsome Italian, Giovanelli, which arouses negative judgement toward her,
and an American woman tries to save her from gossip, but her deﬁant attitude puts an end to the woman seﬀort and she is left alone only with her Italian intimate friend(36). The latter half of this novella, she isstill referred to as follows; she was wanting in a certain indispensable delicacy (41), the object of one ofthose sentiments which are called by romancers lawless passions(41),

a very reckless girl (43), very

uncultivated (45). Her audacity and independence are accelerated by the company of Giovanelli.
In analyzing Daisy s character, her clothing is a clue to analyze her. Especially her dresses represent her
state of wealth, her sense of fashion, and her character. She is often seen dressed in white, which usuallymeans innocence or purity. That inference seems to contradict with her attitudes.
… white dress on a woman has many resonances. It was a sign of youth, innocence and purity, andhad become almost mandatory formal wear for the Victorian jeune ﬁlle: white was also correctsummer-wear in the nineteenth century for most ages. (, Clair Hughes 115)

James made a reference to an Anglo-French painter James Tissot s The Deck of the H.M.S. Calcutta, inwhich he criticizes Tissot s vulgar and banal realism̶a longer acquaintance with the lady s black andyellow ribbons would be intolerably wearisome. (Hughes 120)
Daisy s dress implicates her inner innocence and purity as well as the wealth of her father and her desire
to wear the beautiful things as she likes. Daisy does not care about the maintenance of her white dress,
which is shown in her way of walking in the yard of the hotel at the edge of the lake, where she ﬁrst meets
Winterbourne. At that scene, she is bareheaded and has a parasol under her arm, and this is contrary to themanners at that time. In Rome, she uses her parasol in a diﬀerent way, which results in changing
Winterbourne s judgement on Daisy.
Daisy s companion took her parasol out of her hands and opened it. She came a little nearer andhe held the parasol over her; then, still holding it, he let it rest upon her shoulder, so that both oftheir heads were hidden from Winterbourne. (46)
It resonates with her carelessness toward other people s judgement on her character. She does not mind
whether they make a severe and mistaken judgement on her innocence.
Veblen interprets dresses as an expression of the pecuniary culture, and James makes a famous scene inThe, where the heroine Isabel discusses with Mme. Merle. Isabel does not think her

belongings including her dresses represent her inner self, while Mme. Merle does. This perspective
concerning appurtenance is not fully discussed yet in this novella.

Ⅲ
In this novella, the characters can be categorized roughly into three groups, American women, American
men including a boy, and Europeans. In detail, the ﬁrst two groups can be divided into two small groups,
namely, the newly arrived Americans and Europeanized Americans. The latter characters have lived inEurope for quite a long time and are immersed in European convention and have lost the American identity.
The Millers travel around Europe, of whom the American girl Daisy is the only one who really enjoys
Europe, with a little detectable note of complaint that the European society is not what she expected. Her
mother and especially younger brother miss America so much. Mrs. Miller is described as a weak mother,

On Daisy Miller: A Study −From the Perspective of Modernity−

21

both mentally and physically, and she can t control either of her own children. It is at the ending scene that
she exercises her maternity, but it is too late. Her brother is an ill-mannered boy at the age of nine or ten. He
is ungovernable and even capable Eugenio has a hard time with the mischievous and wild Randolph. He
represents the lack of responsibilities as a guardian of Mrs. Miller. She blows the chance for her children tolearn about Europe.
Winterbourne s aunt, Ms. Costello, who lives in Europe, and her children are not attentive to their motherwhile Winterbourne visits her and gives her wanted presents. She is repeatedly referred to as to be so
exclusive (21) about her company and absolutely disapproves of the Millers, especially Daisy. Another
American character plays an important role in the story, Mrs. Walker. She has been acquainted with
Winterbourne from Geneva, and befriends Daisy. At ﬁrst, she tries to save Daisy from the scandalous gossip,
but her deﬁance, lack of docility, and ungratefulness make Mrs. Walker sever the relationship with Daisy. She
is often referred to as the lady from Geneva (43). She is associated with a high and strict sense of morality,
for Geneva is home to Calvinism. Through this novella, Winterbourne is attracted by Daisy s candor,
spontaneity, and prettiness and also mystiﬁed by her audacity, lack of concern for social niceties and the rulesof propriety adopted by the American community in Rome. Both Mrs. Costello and Mrs. Walker share thevalues of American expatriate society and represent the conventional society.

Mrs. Walker was one of those

American ladies who, while residing abroad, make a point, in their own phrase, of studying European society;and she had on this occasion collected several specimens of her diversely-born fellow-mortals to serve, as it
were, as text-books (47). In this point, Winterbourne has something in common with Mrs. Walker. Both ofthem study things European, but the decisive diﬀerence between them is that Winterbourne is always
mystiﬁed by Daisy s amicable, ﬂirting and also deﬁant attitudes. He tries to take the better side of Daisy andstand up for her in the face of Mrs. Costello and Mrs. Walker.
In this novella, there are two European male characters. Accidentally, or intentionally they are both
Italian. One of them is Eugenio, who is mainly seen in the ﬁrst two chapters. He is employed by the Millers asa guide and often referred to as courier (13). His employer is a rich American family and he serves themcapably, but his inner contempt sometimes can be seen through his excessively polite manner and statements.
This type of servant also appears in. Mr. Giovanelli is a handsome Italian and Daisy

picks him up, and he accompanies her wherever she goes. He speaks ﬂuent English and Winterbourne later
learns that he [Giovanelli] had practiced the idiom upon a great many American heiresses (40). From thisdescription, Giovanelli is one of the fortune-hunters.
In the works of James international theme, the heroines are subjected to be seduced by fortune-hunters,
like Isabel Archer in, Milly Theale in, and Maggie Verver in. But their decision of marriage or donation of the wealth is made on their own judgement,
while Daisy thinks of nothing about the danger of seduction. She sticks to her own dogmatic judgement anddoes not listen to other people s statements or advice, which forces her into a position of isolation.
Taking up the relationship among Daisy s family, it can be categorized in the light of ﬁnancial male-female
relationship. Daisy s father, Mr. Miller is deﬁned as an invisible American businessman, which means his
existence is only referred to exclusively through his family s conspicuous spending. He never appears in thisnovella as a real man. They make his state of wealth conspicuous through their spending. He is regarded as aﬁnancial source of his family s rather luxurious travel to Vevey in Switzerland and Rome. They may bedeﬁned as a kind of his possession and Mr. Miller makes use of them to show his industrial and ﬁnancial
success to the world. Young Randolph reminds us of a famous politician by his speech and behavior. He
always says that things and people of America are the best. American candy s the best candy (6),American men are the best (6), My father is in Schenectady. He s got a big business. My father s rich,
you bet (9). He is neither well-disciplined nor spoiled, but, in other words, neglected especially by his mother.

22

Chikako TSUTSUMIAs a result, he is an incorrigible and impudent child. From another point of view, he is a miserable child, for
he is not only given enough consideration by his family and treated like a selﬁsh infant tyrant, but swayed by
the circumstances of the adults around him. In the scenes in Vevey, he behaves himself and pays little
attention or respect to his sister and mother.

Conclusion
How can one associate modernity with Daisy Miller?

Christopher Butler deﬁnes modernity as:
The rise of our dependence on science and technology, the growth of mass culture and its
inﬂuence, the invasion of bureaucracy into private life, and changing beliefs about relationships
between the sexes. (2)On the other hand, Bronner writes about wealth, and its power in his work.
The rise of a consumer culture and the wealth that accompanied it created cultural, social, andindividual dilemmas. Wealth is power, and to show this intangible relationship, wealth was madetangible. The accumulation and display of goods expressed the power to manage people bydirecting production through consumption. (20)Therefore, the power of American wealth was obsessively turned over to the consumptions ofthings that conveyed one s station in life or the station to which one aspired. (21)
His point of view on a consumer culture and the wealth gives an enlightening perspective to analyze
Daisy Miller.

The power of American wealth gives a light not only on a consumer culture but also on thehuman relationships among the characters. The relationship between Mr. Miller and his family is mainly
based on the ﬁnancial relation. Mr. Miller is a great businessman, according to Randolph, but has little
presence. He seems to be just source of money.
Conspicuous consumption is reﬂected in Daisy s consumption behavior, especially her clothing. The
power of American money leads to the availability of French dresses to American women in their own
country. Daisy does not wonder why this economic system has come into being. James works deal withthemes concerning money, but the ﬁnancial or economical systems are not depicted in his works. In, for example, the heroine Milly Theale s tremendous legacy is repetitiously emphasized, but
the details of how it has been accumulated and handed down to Milly are totally neglected. The pearls, thedresses, and her villa in Venice remind the readers of her wealth.
All through this novella, Winterbourne is swaying in his judgement on Daisy s innocence. He has lived solong in Europe that he has lost his identity as an American and dismisses her as being not worthy of his
respect.
At the end of the story, Winterbourne recalls that I was booked to make a mistake. I have lived too
long in foreign parts (64). What does a mistake in his remark represent? The clue to solve this question isin his next sentence. He has lived too long in foreign parts, so that he has lost his American identity and his
natural intuition for judging things American. He seems to regret his judgement of Daisy, but he continues tolive in Geneva, and isstudying hard - an intimation that he is much interested in a very clever foreign

lady (64). He is stimulated by Daisy s spontaneous behaviors but at the bottom of his mind, he remains to beOn Daisy Miller: A Study −From the Perspective of Modernity−

23

what he used to be. And the important reference is in the phrase, a very clever foreign lady (64), which is
totally contrastive to Daisy. Daisy is completely uncultivated (18), and cannot keep Winterbourne interested
in herself.
Is Daisy fully illustrated in the story? Considering this novella is one of James early works, the complete
description would need more detailed explanation, especially in her character. All through this story, Daisy ismost often referred to as a pretty American ﬂirt (12). She remains to be deﬁant, does things on a whim, andpays little attention to others advice. On her deathbed, Daisy pleas for her mother to tell Winterbourne that
she is not engaged to Giovanelli. Although she never listens to his advice and modiﬁes her own behavior, shemight care about him. Daisy remains immature and unsophisticated, and never grows up in the end. Daisy isburied in a graveyard in Rome, surrounded by daisies. She was the victim of Roman fever. She is not so
obsessed with Rome as other heroines of James works. Taking into consideration that this is a novella andalmost his debut work, an insuﬃcient description of the heroine can t be helped. But it can t be denied that
this novella is the beginning of his international theme. It is controvertible to categorize this novella intomodernity works, but from the perspective of modernity, this deserves a modern analysis.
In conclusion, Daisy Miller does not genuinely belong to the modern world, but it can be inferred as apioneering work of modernity by James. The relationships between sexes, such as the ones between Daisy
and Winterbourne, between Daisy and Giovanelli, between Winterbourne and the American ladies who have
lived long in Europe, are superﬁcially described in the novella. One of the reasons is that the characters arestereotyped into the conventional category.
The most remarkable ﬁgure is Winterbourne. His lack of the ability to understand and judge Daisy isrepeated from the beginning through the ending.
He felt that he had lived at Geneva so long that he had lost a good deal; he had become dishabituated to
the American tone. Never, indeed, since he had grown old enough to appreciate things, had heencountered a young American girl of so pronounced a type as this. … Winterbourne had lost his instinct
in this matter, and his reason could not help him. (12)
He is a kind of déraciné, and often perplexed at Daisy s spontaneous behavior.
His aunt Mrs. Costello gossiping about the Millers, remarks his weakness. You have lived too long out of
the country. You will be sure to make some great mistakes. You are too innocent (18). What does she mean
by some great mistakes? As for the mistakes, Winterbourne himself reveals to his aunt at the end of thestory.

You were right in that remark that you made last summer. I was booked to make a mistake. I have

lived too long in foreign parts(64).

What does James mean by mistake?

A mistake made by Winterbourne is to have lost his instinct as an

American and to judge Daisy incorrectly. Although he seems to be in deep regret, nevertheless, he continues
his life, at least in appearance , without being damaged by Daisy s death.
This type of vulnerable but immutable male character appears in James other works, such as Ralf
Touchett in, Lambert Strether in. Among them, the most passive

and unchangeable is Winterbourne.
He is a central consciousness, whose viewpoint allows the readers to see, learn, and feel everything in thestory. At ﬁrst, he takes the side of Daisy, and makes excuses for Daisy, but later on he approaches to his aunt
and Mrs. Walker, and after the encounter with Daisy and her handsome Italian friend at the Colosseum, hegives up Daisy and shares the judgement of Daisy with those American ladies. We can see that
Winterbourne has quite a lot in common with James, however, as we can see from Giovanelli s comment about
Daisy s innocence, James lets him make a mistake and leaves Daisy mistaken and allows her die a tragic

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Chikako TSUTSUMI

death. James just lets the readers imagine how Winterbourne feels about the tragic fate of Daisy.
In this novella, James introduces his life-long motif, an American girl, but also he produces the importantmale character of his international theme. Winterbourne might well be viewed as the unconventional, modern
character. He is far from the traditional male character who has overwhelming control over female characters.
It can be said that he is a modern man who is always confused about his own judgement. The ambiguous andswaying kind of characters following Winterbourne play important role in James works.

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