Realism in Daisy Miller by Henry James

David Tori Prabowo

180410150057
Henry James’s Daisy Miller, novel with 48 pages and published in 1878. In this novel,
James realistically describes the socially accepted norms of the European culture in comparison
to that of the young American girl and her cultural norms. He also goes into detail about the
nature of life in the European culture–wealthy socialites throwing parties, as well as the men
trying to seduce the rich young women. The nature of human gossip and its potentially
devastating consequences is also revealed in a dramatic way.
Henry James was an expatriate, traveling frequently to Europe at afairly young age, and
therefore had a greater understanding of European/American relations thans omeone who lived
just on one continent. The primary theme in his writing was a contrast between the youth and
exuberance of the New World with the age and wisdom of the Old. Hewas very well-known I
society and traveled extensively. Henry James’ Daisy Miller provides an accurate portrait of the
Realistic ideas of the Nineteenth century. The author’s use of experience as it relates to the
individual, free will, and psychology as discussed above clearly illustrate attitudes and issues
members of society faced at the time. During the Post-Civil War era, writers began to write more
about real life tales. Their writings had a lot to do with fate. They believed that fate ruled
someones destiny. Everything was meant to happen for a reason and everything that was suppose
to happen will eventually somehow happen. Authors during this time focused a lot on the
differences between American and European cultures, divorce, satir (especially in politics), and
equal right. This is what makes the stories part of natural and realism genre
Henry James has had a tremendous influence on the development of the novel. Part of
this influence has been through the type of realism that he employs. On the other hand, the most
frequent criticism against James has been that he is not realistic enough. Many critics have
objected that James does not write about life, that his novels are filled with people whom one
would never meet in this world. From the realism in Daisy Miller a lot of themes are taking part
in the story as such a realism value. Such as; Eroupeanization, cultural differenciation, American
identity, and innocence representation. In this paper, the writer is going to cite the analysis from
some sources about Daisy Miller’s themes which talking about Eroupeanization, cultural
differenciation, American identity, and innocence representation.
Daisy Miller focuses exactly on these aspects, describing the opposition between two
national cultures and between those pertaining to them. It presents Daisy Miller, a charming
spontaneous American girl, who ends up being the victim of the rigid social conventions of the
new world she confronts herself with. As Riquelme puts it, the short story shows “the quality of
being English and the quality of being American” (585) and, as Lund observes, it shows “an
innocent young American woman attempting to live in the structured society of ancient Europe”
(126).
According to Berrahma from University of Tlemcen, Daisy Miller is one of James’
novellas that addressed the cultural gap between America and Europe in addition to an
emblematic description of the American girl, embodied in the character of Daisy that raised the
controversy about the American values and manners, in contrast to other characters who totally
embraced the European social code. Despite Daisy’s mystifying beauty and the perfection of her
dress, Mrs Costello does not falter to pass judgment on the Millers especially the young lady’s
rudeness.
The difference between the European sophistication and the American immatureness and
simplicity is showcased when Henry James writes:
“She has that charming look that they all have… I can’t think where they pick it up; and she
dresses in perfection—no; you don’t know how well she dresses. I can’t think where they get
their taste” (25)
He immediately perceived, from her tone, that Miss Daisy Miller’s place in social scale is low.
“I am afraid you don’t approve of them”, he said.
“They are very common,” Mrs Costello declared. “They are the sort of Americans that one does
one’s duty not --- not accepting.”
The novel demonstrates the clash between the identity embraced by the Americans who
recently arrived to the Old Continent and the Europeanized characters who embraced the
European culture in order to socially survive. They had to become Europeanized, which implies
to adjust their American attitude. Those expatriates insist upon the strict European social codes.
They refuse cultural diversity and do not accept that every single culture has its own standards.
Christof Wegelin’s (1958) comment on these American expatriate as follows:
… They are social snobs pure and simple. Mrs. Costello is typical, in all but the fact that her
perch on the social ladder not only in Rome but, much more telling, in Washington and New
York, was built long ago and high (p.61).
In Daisy Miller, Henry James explores the manners of his characters predominantly
Europeanized characters and a young American lady who challenges the complex European
society; on the one hand, the heroine Daisy Miller is ignorant yet simple. She could neither
understand the European norms nor respect them. Her innocence (lack of culture), spontaneity
and self-reliance mirror the American identity.
One the other hand, the Europeanized Americans i.e. Mrs. Costello, Mrs. Walker and
Winterbourne symbolize the strict European norms and high class which differ in terms of social
behaviours. Daisy’s reluctance to adapt in the European circle made her excluded from their
circle. The protagonist is presented through the lenses of Winterbourne who could neither
graspher thought nor her behaviour until she dies at the end of the novella. Daisy’s mother, Mrs.
Miller, is a silent figure in the story. She could not save her daughter from this Europeanized
society. The Millers misfit such society since they represent the ‘nouveau riche’ American class.
As a realistic writer, James tried to depict the reality of nineteenth century American
social codes which contrast the European ones through the international theme. Innocence and
self reliance were mostly associated with America while experience and knowledge was related
to Europe.
It is not as easy as it seems to distinguish who is innocent and who is not. Innocence is a
cultural concept which is usually confusing. An act that is naive and normal in one society can be
a public disgrace in another. Then a question comes to mind: What is innocence? Challenging
the norms of a society makes a person totally wicked? What spoils or preserves innocence? The
word innocence is ambiguous. It has double vision because people put different masks on their
faces for different occasions.
Henry James, in his letter to Elizabeth Lynn Lynton, emphasizes Daisy Miller’s
innocence as the major conception of her character: “Poor little D.M. was (as I understand her)
above all things innocent…. She never took the measure, really, of the Scandal she produced, &
had no means of doing so: she was too ignorant, too irreflective, too little versed in the
proportions of things. (Jobe 84). However, he goes further to say “she became conscious that she
was accused of something …. This consciousness she endeavoured to throw off; she tried not to
think of what people meant & easily succeeded in doing so…. She only wished to be left alone”
(Jobe 84). Although James emphasizes Daisy’s innocence as the keynote of her character, he
agrees that Daisy really isn’t bothered by the society’s view of her. And it’s a conscious decision.
The reliability of the narrator can be discussed when Winterbourne, an American but a
Europeanised man is told to be an "extremely amiable fellow, universally liked." Everything
looks alright with him. There seems to be no way to discuss his honesty, his innocence can be
discussed because he does not really try to help Daisy. He is only affected by her in a physical
way. If he had a chance of flirting with Daisy, he would not miss that chance also he would not
marry her. He regards her as an innocent, fresh, and young lady but also he thinks that he is
common and unsophisticated
According to Stanescu, there are another important aspect of Daisy as a symbol of
America is her independence and the way she tries to conserve it no matter what. She listens
neither to Winterbourne nor to Mrs. Walker, the ones attempting to make her discover the proper
way to behave, until it is not too late. Unfortunately she is strong-willed and her response is an
abrupt and determined one: “I have never allowed a gentleman to dictate to me, or to interfere
with anything I do”, meant to emphasize her wish of autonomy. Randall observes she “refuses to
take advice from anybody, man or woman” (572). This is because Daisy wants to be free, and, as
her own name hints, she is in the springtime of her life and she wants to carry her existence far
from being constrained, as she has no inhibitions. Annette Kar sees Daisy’s option of submitting
to the society’s demands as a way of “losing her identity” (35). In view of that, she preserves her
individuality despite the general public’s judgment and does not enclose herself within the
boundaries of the social mores she fails to identify herself with.

Daisy Miller shows the outcome of European life on the American’s identity, and the
way in which an American, in the person of Daisy Miller, may end up to be the victim of a
different social and moral system, which she cannot understand. The differences between
America and Europe, or, more exactly between the New and the Old World, and Europe’s
sophistication and corruption, reflected in the opinions of its inhabitants, can lead to disaster the
young inexperienced American who finds himself/herself confronted with these bizarre values.
Nevertheless, Henry James portrayed Daisy Miller as a person who can preserve her identity, by
not allowing the new society to restrict her freedom, even if it is this attitude that leads to her
death.

The conclusion from this paper is Daisy Miller as a realism novel has some themes and
issues. They are about Eroupeanization, cultural differenciation, American identity, and
innocence representation. The story carries those themes and issues. And each themes are
relating to the realism as Henry James the author wants to tell to the reader. Some articles had
been analyzing the themes about what is Daisy Miller from some aspects. The realism it self can
be shown from the story when it tells the characteristic that gets Eroupeanization, the
differenciation of culture in the story, the American identity which represented from the
characters, and the main character Daisy as the innocence representation.

References:

 James, Henry. (1879). Daisy Miller. London: Penguin Popular Classics

 Berrahma, Hadjira Zahra. (2015). Europeanization and Cultural Differences in Henry
James’ Daisy Miller. Chetouane, Algeria: University of Tlemcen. http://dspace.univ-
tlemcen.dz/bitstream/112/9601/1/berrahma-zahra.pdf
 Jobe, Steven. (1997). “Henry James and the innocence of Daisy Miller: A Corrected Text
of the Letter to Eliza Lynn Linton.” American Literary Realism. JSTOR Web. 24.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/27746702
 Goodman, L. (1996). Literature and Gender. New York: The Open University
 Stanescu, Madalina. (2010). American innocence vs. European vice in Henry James’
Daisy Miller. EgoPHobia E-Journal Web.
 Riquelme, John Paul. (2000). “Toward a History of Gothic and Modernism: Dark
Modernity from Bram Stoker to Samuel Beckett.” Modern Fiction Studies 46.3: 585-605.
 Randall III, John H. “The Genteel Reader and Daisy Miller”. American Quarterly 17.3
(1965): 568-581.
 Kar, Annette. “Archetypes of American Innocence: Lydia Blood and Daisy Miller”.
American Quarterly 5.1. (1953): 31-38.
 Wegelin C. (1958). The Image of Europe in Henry James. Dallas:Southern Methodist
Univ. Press,.