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    Daisy Miller
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    Daisy Miller
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    Daisy Miller
    Ebook96 pages1 hour

    Daisy Miller

    By Henry James

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Daisy Miller is a fascinating portrait of a young woman from Schenectady, New York, who, traveling in Europe, runs afoul of the socially pretentious American expatriate community in Rome. First published in 1878, the novella brought American novelist Henry James (1843–1916), then living in London, his first international success. Like many of James' early works, it portrays a venturesome American girl in the treacherous waters of European society — a theme that would culminate in his 1881 masterpiece, The Portrait of a Lady.
    On the surface, Daisy Miller unfolds a simple story of a young American girl's willful yet innocent flirtation with a young Italian, and its unfortunate consequences. But throughout the narrative, James contrasts American customs and values with European manners and morals in a tale rich in psychological and social insight. A vivid portrayal of Americans abroad and a telling encounter between the values of the Old and New World, Daisy Miller is an ideal introduction to the work of one of America's greatest writers of fiction.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateMar 12, 2012
    ISBN9780486111582
    Author

    Henry James

    Henry James (1843–1916) was an American writer, highly regarded as one of the key proponents of literary realism, as well as for his contributions to literary criticism. His writing centres on the clash and overlap between Europe and America, and The Portrait of a Lady is regarded as his most notable work.

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    Reviews for Daisy Miller

    3.5/5

    835 ratings39 reviews

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    • 3/5
      A clever and skillful portrait of a young lady, described as a coquette, who attempts to weave her way into luxury and society. Her attempts ultimately prove to be her undoing.3.5-- Better than expected.
    • 4/5
      Delightful, but bewarned the Penguin Classics edition has spoilers in the end notes (not to mention the introduction, which is disproportionately long.)
    • 4/5
      A flirtatious and vacuous American girl meets a European gentlemen. The girl is ultimately destroyed by her own frivolity and innocence. To me, this story is allegorical, with implications far broader than it first appears. Classic Henry James. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      I was suprised to pick this up and see how short it was! A novella, not a novel - and surprisingly straightforward for James…therefore not what I expected. I found it a quick read and gobbled it up in one day. A fine portrait of a young American girl who is too naive to pick up on the social cues of the older European society around her. When "Roman fever" catches up with her, it's not a big surprise, except perhaps to her.Daisy herself is not difficult to understand. Like many young people she cannot understand that a refusal to follow the rules of society carries a consequence. In her case, the price is very high. The narrator, WInterbourne, is harder to understand. He seems to be fascinated with her, but also able to see her mistakes very clearly. Rather than really attempt to correct or protect her, he laughs at her naiveté and keeps a distance in order to maintain his own standing in the societies of Geneva and Italy, where he moves about easily and smoothly.A sad book and complex, particulary in the depiction of the narrator.
    • 4/5
      This was my first exposure to Henry Miller, and I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. There were a lot of good things about this lengthy short story (or very short novella), including accessible writing, and a wonderful sense of that transitional period in history (when wealthy Americans first started visiting "Old Europe" in droves.) Even though I gave it three stars above, I really want to give it 3.5 stars. I have to admit- however- that after I was done, I didn't know exactly what to make of the story which is roughly about a passive narrator (Winterbourne) trying to understand a free-spirited, rough-around-the-edges American woman (Daisy). It was only after I studied the story some more (using Sparknotes- I admit it), that I got a broader sense of the social context. In this case, Henry James was exploring a cultural clash between new-money American tourists (like Daisy Miller and family) and old-school American ex-pats (like Winterbourne- who apparently has no first name). Furthermore, even though most of the drama in the novel concerns Daisy Miller, a lot of the novel is about how stuck Winterbourne is. He's American in Geneva. He doesn't know whether he can fall for Daisy or not. He is unsure of the value of social standing. He is unsure of how to approach the freedom that Daisy represents. All in all, a good book, and despite the drama (including some social scandal and even a death!), the story has a soft, old fashioned feel to it.
    • 3/5
      For Christmas, I ordered an mp3 player (Library of Classics) that was pre-loaded with 100 works of classic literature in an audio format. Each work is in the public domain and is read by amateurs, so the quality of the presentation is hit or miss. This was the seventh work I’ve completed and, like the first six, the reader did not detract from the experience.Daisy Miller is the tale of a young American ingénue spending time first in Switzerland, then in Rome with her mother, brother and “courier”. It is told from the point of view of a suitor, American expatriate Frederick Winterbourne. Daisy is a flighty, naïve young lady who enjoys thumbing her nose at cultural convention and societal mores of the era. Winterbourne is at first captivated, but becomes increasingly disturbed as Daisy’s actions become more and more outrageous and she is shunned by polite society.This is a very short period piece and is perfectly pleasant without being remarkable in any way. It can be easily read in 2-3 hours.
    • 4/5
      I finished Daisy Miller in no time at all, since it was only 80-something pages. The ending was not what I expected, although I suspect it's a theme that comes up a lot in Henry James' work. In The Master it was made very clear what issues and happenings he went over and over again in different forms in his works.He's most known for writing about Americans' experiences in Europe, of course, and that's a big part of Daisy Miller. You have Winterbourne, the proper American in Europe, and then you have Daisy, who is young and a bit too carefree. Winterbourne is clearly smitten with her, both drawn to and repulsed by her refusal to do what is considered appropriate.When I first finished reading, I thought the story served a rather glib judgment on Daisy, but after thinking about it a bit I realized that there is an equally harsh judgment on Winterbourne. (And that is very in line with how James seemed to feel about some incidents in his life - he may have abandoned some people in their times of need by convincing himself they didn't actually need him.)
    • 3/5
      The story's easy to follow. A young American girl in the late 1800s who is new to money does not understand society's rules. She flirts and openly goes around with strange men of unknown origins. She cares little for her own reputation. Winterbourne finds her pretty and is instantly attracted to her. When she pushes the boundaries, he shoves right back. In the end, Daisy pays the price. In a society where the double standards favor men, Daisy is punished by the author for being reckless. Winterbourne? He gets off with no harm done to his person. Typical.I liked this story. It was fun and easy. The story was told from Winterbourne's point of view, so it was hard to tell if Daisy was just ignorant of the rules or if she was purposely flaunting them. I personally thought she was ignorant and the "mystery behind Daisy Miller" was just a fantasy Winterbourne forced upon her image. Who knows?All in all, I liked this story!
    • 3/5
      Daisy is a free spirited American on vacation in Europe. Her would be suitor is the urbane Winterbourne. Daisy carefree ways are frowned upon in Europe. Henry James' novella about society and manners is still relevant, if a little pessimistic. Who suffers more the one who breaks with convention or the one who follows society's norms? You'll enjoy having to read this story for the answer.
    • 3/5
      Eerder novelle, nogal oppervlakkig, maar wel intens geschreven.
    • 4/5
      The plot is simply told: while touring Europe, an eligible young bachelor, Winterbourne, an American who has spent almost his whole life in Geneva, finds himself attracted to the beautiful, nouveau riche American tourist Daisy Miller. Within a few sentences, the conflict emerges: while he is guarded and conservative, she is brash and even coarse. Does she flout social convention because she’s too innocent to recognize it, or simply because she refuses to be bound by it? James depicts Daisy as a sort of adult child: beautiful, possessing a sophisticated eye for style, but also impetuous, naïve and plain-spoken in the way children are before they are taught by their elders to dissemble. While modern readers may be put off by her coarseness (treating servants as equals, making plans to travel with gentleman sans chaperone, etc.), I believe James means us to admire her self-confidence and courage. Many of his novels pit “brash” Americans against “conventional” European characters in a way that clearly indicates his preference for the former. Daisy’s fatal flaw isn’t that she scorns the rules of society, he seems to say, but that she isn’t aware of them; and that when she is made aware of them, she refuses to acknowledge the validity of being judged by them. As Daisy herself says in one pivotal scene: “If [I] am all improper, [then] you must give me up.” This being James, you know not to expect a happy ending, nor does James give us one. Winterbourne, bowing to the prejudices of his snobbish aunt (plus a measure of jealousy, James implies), overmasters his affection and convinces himself to give Daisy up as unworthy of his regard. Whereupon Daisy catches “Roman fever,” sickens, and dies. Significantly, her final words are an avowal of her innocence, an avowal which her "scandalous" male companion Giovanni, endearingly resigned to having been “friend-zoned” by the lovely American girl, confirms when he assures Winterbourne, “She was the most innocent.” James at his most manipulative, offering us a final chance to contrast Daisy’s strength – her determination to remain herself to the end - against Winterbourne’s weakness – his decision to shun her. Ultimately, the lesson seems to be that while Daisy is destroyed by her own innocence, Winterbourne’s chance of happiness is destroyed too, by his inability to accept her on her own terms. As Winterbourne sums up in the final pages: “I was booked to make a mistake. I have lived too long in foreign parts.”If you’ve been hesitant to take on Henry James, this isn’t a bad place to start. Daisy Miller is short (~100 pages, depending on edition), introduces many of the themes that appear in James’ subsequent works, and – perhaps most importantly, provides the new reader a chance to acclimate themselves to what one might call the “classic Jamesian denoument,” in which no one lives happily ever after and the reader resigns themselves to living with ambiguity.
    • 1/5
      I tried to read this years ago, but couldn't bear to finish it. I tried it again, and it was just as terrible as I remembered. The main character is Mr. Winterbourne, a man so priggish that at 27 he still travels with his aunt and wonders with horror if the women he talks to are flirting with him. He is enchanted by Daisy Miller, a banal but pretty girl. However, when next they meet she is behaving all the more outrageously (walking in public places without a chaperone!) and he struggles to reconcile his disapproval with his like of her pretty ways. In the end, she dies of staying out too late at night. Literally.

      It's a short read, and thus a good test sample of everything I hate about Henry James--the flat, emotionless tone, the eliptical conversations that say nothing, the stupid slang, the piles of adjectives, the prudish story.
    • 4/5
      Daisy Miller is a novella written by Henry James that was originally published in 1878. James delivers his story in a conversational, gossipy manner as he tells about the relations between men and women of the upper class during the Belle Epoch era, in particular, a story about a young, unsophisticated American named Daisy Miller and the consequences that can happen when one ignores the social conventions of the day. The story is told by another American, Winterbourne, who comes across as sophisticated rich young man who spends most of his time in Europe pursuing his own pleasures. He meets Daisy Miller and her family in Vevay, Switzerland and finds himself quite taken by Daisy. His very correct Aunt however refuses to be introduced to her as she considers this family to be crass. Winterbourne then makes a point of travelling to Rome later in the year when she and her family are there with the intention of renewing their acquaintance. Unfortunately Daisy still seems quite clueless as to the accepted behavior of the day and manages to become the “talk of the town”. I really enjoyed this story but was rather taken aback at the abrupt and tragic ending that James provides. The harsh judgment of Daisy by society versus the acceptance of Winterbourne, with his loose morals, was an interesting contrast. I would have liked to have had access to Daisy’s thoughts and feelings rather that just the priggish Winterbourne’s. In the end Daisy does appear to reveal that she did care about Winterbourne so perhaps her behavior was simply to gall him into some kind of action.
    • 2/5
      ...he wondered what were the regular conditions and limitations of one's intercourse with a pretty American flirt. It presently became apparent that he was on the way to learn.While traveling in Europe Frederick Winterbourne encounters young, vivacious Daisy Miller who is on a tour of the Continent with her inattentive, helpless mother and annoying 9-year-old brother. These three had little to redeem them, in my opinion, but Winterbourne was captivated with Daisy and willing to put up with the other two in the interest of spending time with her. Throughout this novella Daisy flaunts traditional mores about how young women should behave with men. Daisy’s mothered allows Daisy and Winterbourne to visit a castle unchaperoned, and yet Winterbourne was later dismayed to find Daisy alone with a man, I suppose because he realized he had not received special treatment. The central conflict is dealt with in a perfunctory manner, and what should have been an emotional ending simply fell flat for me.
    • 3/5
      I believe I thought about this book more after reading than I did while enjoying it.
    • 4/5
      Daisy's disregard for convention comes off as a bit dated now.
    • 2/5
      A mild mystery, with rather a pompous/self-centred first person narrator (by today's standards). OK for a change, but no teeth!
    • 4/5
      I enjoy a lot reading this book is very fresh and well written Henry James manage to describe the difference between the american and the italian society in the time, as well as their manners. Is a very good book and very easy to read.
    • 2/5
      The first thing I've read by Henry James and I wasn't dazzled by it. It boils down to a simple morality tale - mothers lock up your daughters, young ladies don't you dare to gad about Rome with handsome Italian men. Winterbourne seemed to be simultaneously stiff (in Daisy's words) and spineless, while Daisy seemed to be a lost soul with few merits beyond good looks. Not a very satisfying read.
    • 4/5
      Very nicely written psychological-type drama: the psychology of what made Daisy Miller tick, why the protagonist found her endearing, why the aunt refused to recognize her existence. All of these questions made for an interesting read.
    • 3/5
      This volume included other stories by Henry James: THE ASPERN PAPERS, THE TURN OF THE SCREW. All good short fiction - maybe I have been wrong about James & he is actually readable!!Read Samoa Dec 2003
    • 3/5
      A short story which deals, as many other novels by James, with the changing role of women in Society and the differences that begun to arise between the old stiff Europe and the America at the end of the XIXth century.Daisy Miller is not like any other heroine of the time, she speaks her mind, defies the imposed roles of propriety and goes unchaperoned with as many gentlemen as she chooses to. Her transparent ways might have found a true companion in the sophisticated American Mr. Winterbourne, but his classical ways and a social disadjustment prevents them from a happy ending.As usual, Henry James presents her feminine character as a limited creature; innocent, stupid and flirtatious. Her lack of intelligence brings her to a fateful destiny which seems to be exposed as a lesson to be learnt for all of us who belong the weak sex.The novel could also be regarded as a cynical account of a decaying society and its hypocritical members. Anyway, I found it preposterous, simple - minded and unidimensional. I don't seem to get into Henry James' style, too misogynist for me!
    • 3/5
      I am not sure if Henry James and I are meant to “get along”. I thought I would tread gently into his works by starting off with this short novella. On its surface, [Daisy Miller] is nothing more than a story about a flirtatious and rather uncontrollable young woman with her own views of what is acceptable behaviour for her to engage in, much to the chagrin of the pretentious American expatriate community residing in Rome. If one chooses to look for deeper meaning, the story could be held up as an examination of innocence, given that Winterbourne is preoccupied with the question of whether Daisy is “innocent” - is she truly naïve/ ignorant or actually culpable of her actions? On the surface, Daisy is a very unlikable character for me to relate to. She is allowed to roam free (her mother having no backbone to control her wilsome children), bristles at any attempts to reign her in and very much likes to be in control of the people around her. Winterbourne comes across as no better than a man somewhat bored with his life in Europe and believes himself to be smitten with Daisy – although one wonders if he is more smitten with Daisy’s representation of American beauty and poignant innocence than he is with Daisy.Overall, while I found the characters to be dislikeable, I can appreciate James’s skill at using storytelling to examine moral implications of an artlessness or innocence that just does not hold its own against the worldliness and cynicism surrounding it.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed most of this novel while I was reading, and I think that the writing is technically proficient. The end was a great disappointment, and left me wondering why I spend the time reading this mercifully short piece. At least I can say that I've read some of Henry James. My first problem with the book may be the result of not understanding the time period. I am not certain how Americans expected young women to behave, although I understand that their customs were much less restrictive than Europeans. I therefore don't know whether Daisy is rebellious, or reckless, or simply behaving in a manner that she understands to be suitable and many Europeans (American Euro-wannabees) misinterprete. Is the problem just that Winterbourne and Daisy don't understand each other's cultural assumptions, or that he is really reacting to Daisy's personality? Given the reactions of some of the Europeans, is Winterbourne following their codes of behavior more stringently than they do, perhaps fawning on Europeans by an excessive zeal to prove that he is like them? I am therefore at a loss to understand what point Miller is trying to make. Is the issue really the virtues of one set of social customs over another, or is it just the difficulties that arise from misunderstanding? I give this 3 stars rather than 2 because it might have made sense if I were reading it when it was written. My other problem may be idiosyncratic: THIS IS A SPOILER. I have little sympathy for anyone foolish enough to "die for love", especially a brief romance. Winterbourne and Daisy obviously aren't suited for each other, and the solution is to move on, not become suicidal. I really don't see their incompatibility as a moral issue on either side. If Winterbourne really can't respect Daisy then he does well not to become seriously involved with her. If he is stuffy and priggish, well, that's how he is and he should choose a compatible wife. When it comes to a serious commitment like marriage, it is necessary to acknowledge how one really is, not delude oneself about how one ought to be. If James' point, as reviewers seem to indicate, is to expose the difference between European and USA manners, the story is not well-constructed, since Daisy's critics are mostly expat Americans; real Europeans are more tolerant of her. The ending seems a bit bizarre. Such misunderstandings have been the basis of comedies of manners or novels of personal angst, but the ending to this novel is too melodramatic and contrived. In Jane Austen: Women, Politics, and the Novel, Claudia Johnson has some acerbic things to say about the tradition of killing off women disappointed in love. Does James mean to criticize Winterbourne? It would have been more satisfying (and reasonable) if Winterbourne later realized what a fool he had been when he meets up with the happily married, brilliant hostess Daisy Marriedname, famous beauty and wit, perhaps married to a real European who finds her refreshing.
    • 3/5
      A novella only 48 pages long. This is an odd little book. Written in 1878 it chronicles a young American girl’s willful yet innocent flirtation with a young Italian. She is outgoing and flirtatious and refuses to change her ways in order to fit into a culture and society to which she does not belong.I understand that, for its time, it reflected absolutely scandalous behaviour on the part of this young woman and yet for today's time Daisy's behaviour is quite 'normal'.As a social commentary, it doesn't fit with contemporary situations and yet is a very sad reflection on the concept of arrogance on behalf of those who believe that they are the arbiters of 'good behavoiur'. There are many today who would criticize those that don't fit in instead of applauding them for being such free spirits.I can't say that this is going to go down in history as a great read but I am glad that I read it.
    • 4/5
      He remembered that a cynical compatriot has once told him that American women - the pretty ones, and this gave a largeness to the axiom - were at once the most exacting in the world and the least endowed with a sense of indebtedness. Page 32Daisy Miller is an young woman from Schenectady, New York, on vacation with her family to Vevay Switzerland. From the beginning, her actions, her thoughts, and her words sets her apart from European society and their definition of acceptable social conduct. Her carefree and uninhibited nature sets her at odds with those around her and in the end leads to catastrophic and irreversible consequences. I appreciated James social commentary on the differences between American and English society and how someone who is unfamiliar with one or the other will inevitably find themselves treading dangerous territory. Daisy as a character is intriguing in that you can definitely see how ahead of the times she is and simultaneously how ahead of the the times, James is as a writer in the mid to late 19 century. Her pushing of boundaries in what society deems as proper and right and her insistence to go her own way oddly reflects the spirit of freedom that we applaud and advocate for women today. Some have complained about the tendency for James to be verbose and longwinded with this writing, but at novella length, I barely noticed that flaw with Daisy Miller. If anything, this little book was just an exercise in warming up the pen for his later works and with that, Daisy Miller has given me the confidence to explore Henry James' other novels.
    • 3/5
      Henry James is a very good writer, but this novella is rather odd. All of his books I have read leave me feeling unsettled, and this one is no exception.
    • 4/5
      If you enjoy reading classic literature, you might consider giving Daisy Miller a try. James' eloquent writing style and study of cultural ideas make this a very entertaining read. James looks closely at the culture of 19th century Americans on holiday in Europe. The narration makes for a very good window into the attitudes and opinions of the upper class at the time and the perceived differences between those with "old money" and those with "new money."For the most part, this is a light read. It does contain a few dark moments, and in the end the main character really does not exhibit any real growth. All in all, I found it to be interesting and enjoyed James' humor throughout. He has a very nice way of poking fun at some of the conventions of the time while managing to make these things seem of import to his characters. This infuses the story with the life that it needs to keep the reader interested enough to keep reading.
    • 2/5
      I didn't like this book too much. Didn't care for the narrator much either.I find 'Turn of the Screw' as a much more well-written Henry James
    • 3/5
      The Miller family from America, nouveau riche, is enjoying their European tour. The young lady of the family, Daisy, is very noticeable, both for her beauty and her impropriety. Daisy Miller is written from the perspective of Winterbourne, a young man whose path crosses hers, and who finds himself smitten, while trying to figure her out.” He said to himself that she was too light and childish, too uncultivated and unreasoning, too provincial, to have reflected upon her ostracism, or even to have perceived it. Then at other moments he believed that she carried about in her elegant and irresponsible little organism a defiant, passionate, perfectly observant consciousness of the impression she produced. He asked himself whether Daisy’s defiance came from the consciousness of innocence, or from her being, essentially, a young person of the reckless class.”Reflecting negatively on her mamma’s lacking ”parental vigilance”, Winterbourne follows her activities whenever their paths cross, and sees the results.Though they were well written, I wasn’t enamored of any of these characters. The plot seemed shallow, rather a blatant ‘you get what you deserve’. It was interesting enough for a study in the social mores of the day. Overall personal opinion – just middling. 2.7 stars