Tourism was the main industry of the little town of Vevey, Switzerland where Winterbourne, a young American gentleman, vacationed at the Trois Couronnes hotel a couple of years ago. The lake on which the town rested, Lake Geneva, was bordered by a myriad of fashionable hotels, all inferior to the Trois Couronnes. Toward the end of June, so many American tourists descended upon the town that it drew comparison to Newport. Winterbourne had lived in Geneva since he was a young boy and had schooled and attended college at Geneva. Many friendships had formed and it was rumored that he was devoted to an older woman which kept him in Geneva. At twenty-seven, his friends referred to him as still "studying." He had come to Vevey in order to visit his aunt but she was indisposed one evening with a headache, which was not unexpected.

Winterbourne took a walk before having breakfast and then retired to the garden for coffee and a cigarette. A small boy came upon him with bright, staring eyes and a long alpenstock, a stick used for mountaineering, which he flung about him. The boy asked Winterbourne for his extra sugar which Winterbourne gave him disapprovingly. The boy put two lumps in his pocket and tried to eat the other but exclaimed loudly because it was hard. His word choice and accent confirmed to Winterbourne that the boy was American. The boy complained that he was losing his teeth in Europe and that he missed candy. He proclaimed that American candy was the best and he and Winterbourne jokingly declared that American boys and men were the best.

As the boy's strikingly pretty older sister approached, Winterbourne decided that American girls were the best as well. The girl reprimanded her brother, Randolph, for kicking up gravel with his alpenstock. Randolph told his sister that Winterbourne was American and Winterbourne figured this was a good enough introduction to present himself to the girl. She responded rather indifferently. He watched as the girl bickered with the boy, telling him he could not bring his stick to Italy. Winterbourne inquired about their trip to Italy. Then, as Winterbourne pointed to interesting sights in view, the girl paid more attention to Winterbourne. He realized that she was not embarrassed but direct and unaffected. He thought her face was beautiful and examined its features. It was delicate though slightly unfinished and he figured that she may be somewhat of a coquette. After talking for a bit, she became quite sociable and told Winterbourne about her family and their travels.

She, her mother, and Randolph were traveling to Rome for the winter. They came from Schenectady, New York where her father was a wealthy businessman. Winterbourne questioned Randolph about his family and found that the girl's name was Annie P. Miller though they called her Daisy. Daisy explained to Winterbourne that Randolph wanted to go back home but they would get him a teacher in Rome. She spoke about a British woman, Mrs. Featherstone, she had met who criticized her for not instructing Randolph herself. She talked like she was Winterbourne's old friend and in constant good humor. Her manner though was uncultivated and she bragged about the many gentleman she knew in New York. Winterbourne could not decide whether she was simply innocent or designing. She must have been a flirt. Daisy asked Winterbourne if he had been to the Château de Chillon, calling it simply an old castle. She noted that her brother did not want to go and her mother would have to stay with him because the courier would not stay. Winterbourne commented that he would like to take her with her mother but was most pleased when she replied that her mother would likely prefer to stay. When Eugenio the courier arrived to inform the children of lunch, he looked at Winterbourne pretentiously. Daisy informed Eugenio that she would, in fact, get to go to the old castle. She asked Winterbourne if he was certain he would go and as a response he told her he would introduce her to someone who could vouch for him. As she left with Eugenio, Winterbourne mused over the princess-like girl.

Chapter One Analysis:

The main theme which Henry James explores in his novella, Daisy Miller, concerns the contrast between American and European societies in the second half of the nineteenth century. Symbolically these societies represent, respectively, an innocent and natural way of life as compared to a ritualized, experienced, and artificial manner which was more present in Europe. James had lived comfortably in both the United States and abroad. He was the first author truly capable of exploring the differences between the two societies. His writing explored those of a standard of living which allow them to experience the luxuries and pleasures of education, travel, and high society. Yet within this narrow view, James was characterized as having a very realistic writing style. In this sense, he was always consistent and true to his characters' personae. Once James has defined the character's behavior and attitudes are defined, he remains loyal to these. One is usually able to predict how the character would react in any situation based on one's knowledge of that character. Unlike authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne who would design a theme and then create characters and situations to illustrate the theme, James thought first of characters and situations. He then developed the plot as he went along. He often would not know the outcome of his writing until he arrived at its end. Accordingly, critics sometimes highlight the unreal quality of his writing, especially his characters, who seem more fictitious than one would find in ordinary life. Some more realist authors have criticized James for his limited scope of social class issues.

He has also caused distaste because of his somewhat laborious tendency to draw storylines out slowly or to withhold pertinent information on a character or situation until later in the story. The reader might complain of being deceived. Yet one will find that his writing style reflected his leisurely lifestyle. Furthermore, the events are meant by him to come upon the reader in a circular manner. James described his structure as circulating around the central idea that "supremely matters." In this way he will describe one aspect of his supreme idea from many different angles and perspectives until it has been fully examined in terms of moral, psychological, and cultural sensibilities. This depth of examination illuminates a side of the supreme idea and then another side is examined from multiple angles until the entire central focus has been developed. In this manner, the entire work of James points, though circularly, to his supreme focus. In Daisy Miller, James's theme points to the exploration of Daisy Miller as American innocence. Each chapter and situation gives the reader another opportunity to explore her personality and to decide, as Winterbourne must, whether she is innocent and natural or designing and artificial.

We, the reader, can observe Daisy however only from the subjective point of view of the main narrative voice, albeit in third person, of Winterbourne. This type of narration is common in James's work and is frequently referred to as a "central intelligence" by James because of the dependency the reader has on this character and the knowledge the character strangely has the power to impart. Their knowledge is not that of an omniscient narrator; we see events and people mainly through the eyes and thoughts of the "central intelligence" without sneaking into the minds of other characters or learning histories which are not provided in some sort of dialogue or conversation. Yet descriptions and observations are extremely keen and detailed and thus can be seen as a higher intelligence than would be expected normally. The notion of seeing Daisy Miller through Winterbourne's eyes adds the psychological element. We judge the main character of the novel -- and we are meant to judge -- based on the perceptions of her actions by a third party. Winterbourne's approval and disapproval, in addition to the input we receive from his aunt, Mrs. Walker, bystanders, Eugenio, Randolph and so on, color the figure of Daisy and achieve a deception over the reader, who in the end may very well feel duped. This is the genius of the Jamesian novel and its commentary on the social world.

The names of our main characters give us the first insight into their personae as archetypal symbols. Winterbourne is introduced first by the anonymous yet strangely familiar first person narrator. We are told that two or three years ago, at this detail he is not certain, a "young American" sat in the garden of the Trois Couronnes "looking about him, rather idly, at some of the graceful objects I have mentioned." The vagueness accompanying this description hints at the exploration of types which James undertakes. The development of types hits upon James's theme of European versus American, form and ceremony versus nature and spontaneity. His characters, which we will meet one at a time, fulfill archetypal kindes (from the Middle English word "mankinde") through which James can symbolize the contrasting patterns of European and American social worldliness. Winterbourne, as critics have noted, is symbolically quite true to his name. He is a man born out of the cold, winter landscape, both physically and socially, of Geneva into a new arena where he encounters a contrast of types at the vacation spot of Vevey. Vevey is a perfect locale for the encounter of the two cultures as it stands in the middle of Europe but yet is visited by a large number of Americans. James also pays special attention to mention that Vevey drew comparison to American hot social spots of the time, Saratoga Springs and Newport, Rhode Island. This allows the opening setting to hold a significant symbolic place for both cultures in order for the reader to experience the cultural clash.

Daisy Miller is the other main character thrown into this environment and yet she seems to not be effected by its peculiarity. In fact, her spontaneity allows her to make her own decisions and meld to the different landscapes she encounters. Her name symbolically represents the flower it mirrors, the daisy. The daisy is a typically commonplace flower known for its simple beauty and lack of pretense. The notes to the text comment that the fact that daisies open in sunlight attest to their life-loving quality. Furthermore, her last name Miller represents the trade of a miller and symbolizes how her father made his fortune in trade and is nouveau riche. This type of wealth would likely be looked down upon by the older wealthy from America and Europe. The disdain for his money will be witnessed in Winterbourne's aunt's reaction to the Miller family.

Randolph C. Miller is the first American which approaches Winterbourne in the novella and his cruder characteristics immediately contrast with the refinement of Winterbourne. The narrator has just informed the reader of Winterbourne's ability to remain "studying" in Geneva, his amiability, and his politeness toward his aunt. We find him sitting in a garden having a cigarette and coffee, clearly influenced by the European sophisticate which he has been a part of since about the age of Randolph himself. Randolph comes along by himself, thrusting his climbing stick into flower beds and lady's trains, and, with no reservations, approaches a strange man. This is not a polite, reserved boy of the continent and Winterbourne tells us a moment later that he had immediately known the boy's origins. The text reads, "Winterbourne had immediately perceived that he might have the honour of claiming him as a fellow-countryman." The boy instantly begins a conversation with the man which illuminates the theme of type which had first been suggested by defining Winterbourne mainly as a young American. The two joke, though Randolph is likely quite serious, that American boys and men are better than any other country's boys and men. We thus see how the division is to fall between culture and types. The end of the chapter provides another contrast between types as Eugenio comes to collect the Miller children. James describes, "Eugenio's tone apparently threw, even to Miss Miller's apprehension, a slightly ironical light upon the young girl's situation." The offensive and impertinent manner in which Eugenio, a servant, regards Daisy illuminates his disapproval of her "want of finish" and her tendency to throw the rituals of custom to the wind.

This design is cultivated clearly once Daisy herself approaches. Her beauty does not individualize Daisy enough for Winterbourne not to refer to her as "they." Upon viewing Daisy, Winterbourne comments, "'How pretty they are!'" He does not say 'how pretty she is' because he is not thinking of her on an individual basis. Daisy is immediately swept into a category, the type of American girl, upon which she will be judged. As Winterbourne tries to approach Daisy to speak with her, as is acceptable in Vevey but would not have been in Geneva (symbolizing the importance of their locale and Winterbourne's birth out of rigid formality), he twice in two sentences refers to her a "pretty American girl." Daisy at first does not want to respond to Winterbourne and is described as giving answers "simply", characteristic of her symbolic name and type. Moreover, Daisy describes the Château de Chillon nonchalantly as only an "old castle" and is rather ignorant of its history, symbolic of her lack of knowledge and refinement. Once she is comfortably conversing with Winterbourne, he wonders if she is a coquette or flirt. She is constantly being thrown from one category to another based on Winterbourne's perceptions of her and his feelings toward her. He decides a "pretty American flirt" would be acceptable for him to know. Mainly he wants an excuse to spend time with her.

Winterbourne is immediately attracted to the pretty American girl as is illustrated in the movement of his body upon seeing Daisy. James writes, "...she was strikingly, admirably pretty. 'How pretty they are!' thought Winterbourne, straightening himself in his seat, as if he were prepared to rise." This description of his physical posture is a metaphor for his sexual arousal at the sight of Daisy. His desire for her to be innocent and undesigning reflects not only on her true personality but on his lust for her. He takes all of her physical features in readily, consuming them as if her were consuming her. The syntax is organized to flow quickly, breaking the long sentences describing her face and hands only by half pauses (commas, semi-colons, and hyphens) and choosing words such as "relish" and "addicted." Winterbourne's description of Daisy's face is synecdochal of her entire persona in his view. He notes, "[The young lady's face] was not at all insipid, but it was not exactly expressive; and though it was eminently delicate, Winterbourne accused it -- very forgivingly -- of a want of finish."Winterbourne's need to judge the young girl and make her into one type or another is observed in this sentence as well as Daisy's restraint in judgment as Winterbourne finds her slightly unexpressive. Furthermore, the lack of polish Winterbourne finds in Daisy's face metonymically stands for the face of young America, uncultivated and natural.

When the headache of Mrs. Costello, Winterbourne' s aunt, had passed, Winterbourne attended her. After politely inquiring about her health, he asked if she had noticed the Miller family. With disgust she replied that she tried to avoid them. Mrs. Costello was a widow of wealth and distinction with striking white hair tied above her head. She was accustomed to claiming that she would have made quite an impression upon the world if it had not been for her headaches. Her three sons rarely visited her in contrast to the attention shown to her by her nephew Winterbourne who felt it one's duty to respect one's aunt. She thought highly of Winterbourne. Her circles were very exclusive as she thought necessary for a wealthy woman of New York. Her tone intimated to Winterbourne that Daisy Miller was one of lower social status and Mrs. Costello confirmed this consternation by referring to her as common. She described the girl as having the charm and good taste which American pretty girls tend to have but which in no way allow them to escape from commonness. Furthermore, she was abhorred at how the Millers treated their courier like a family friend. She guessed it was because he was a man of higher distinction than they were familiar meeting.

Winterbourne responded that Daisy had been quite pleasant to him and his aunt scolded him for not mentioning first that he was acquainted with Daisy. He said that he had promised to introduce her to his aunt. His aunt was again abhorred but Winterbourne continued by telling her that he was to take Daisy alone to the Château de Chillon after only knowing her for a half hour. Mrs. Costello thought Daisy dreadful and Winterbourne began to doubt a little. His aunt scolded him for being too innocent because he had been out of America for so long to which Winterbourne responded that he was not so innocent. Mrs. Costello thought this no better. Winterbourne inquired if not all American girls acted in this manner. She replied that her granddaughters certainly would not. Remembering how flirtatious they were supposed to be, Winterbourne assumed that Daisy must be even worse. Mrs. Costello declined to meet Daisy.

Impatient to see Daisy, Winterbourne wandered the grounds that evening and soon ran into her. She was alone looking beautiful, carrying a very large fan, and she seemed rather bored. She explained that she had been walking with her mother but that her mother was trying to get Randolph to go to bed. Mrs. Miller would likely have Eugenio try to persuade him but Randolph was very obstinate. To Winterbourne's embarrassment, Daisy soon mentioned how she had looked for his aunt, as she had learned from a chambermaid that Mrs. Costello was the person to whom Winterbourne intended to introduce her, but had not yet seen her. The maid had informed her of Mrs. Costello's tastes and Daisy much wished to know her. Winterbourne tried to use the headaches as an excuse but Daisy soon realized the truth. She laughed shortly and told Winterbourne not be afraid because she was not. He perceived a slight tremor in her voice and was mortified. He began to hope he would have to comfort her but upon seeing her mother, Daisy's tone changed.

Her mother hesitated in front of them. Daisy explained that her mother was uncomfortable with Daisy's gentlemen friends but she refused to allow Winterbourne to leave. Winterbourne told Daisy his full name but it was too long for her and she introduced him as Mr. Winterbourne. Her mother was timid in his presence though Winterbourne tried to make small talk, mentioning that he was familiar with her son. Mrs. Miller noted that she could not get Randolph to bed because he wanted to talk with a waiter. Contrary to her mother's wishes, Daisy commented on how tiresome Randolph was because he would not go to the castle. Daisy however was happy because, as she notified her mother, Winterbourne would take her. Mrs. Miller was a silent for a time and then responded that they had wanted to go for awhile. As they spoke, Daisy skipped ahead finally turning around and telling Winterbourne to take her on a boat ride. It was eleven at night. He was surprised but delighted at the thought and agreed. Eugenio arrived and Mrs. Miller hoped he would talk Daisy out of going but upon learning that Winterbourne was to accompany her, Eugenio smiled and told her to do as she liked. He then mentioned that Randolph had gone to bed. Mrs. Miller declared to Daisy that now they could go, and Daisy lightly told Winterbourne that their trip was off. She and her mother followed Eugenio indoors.

Winterbourne was puzzled but he was able to take Daisy two days later to Chillon. Against his better judgment, they met in the large hall where all of the hotel guests could stare at them. It was Daisy's idea. As Daisy entered, Winterbourne felt as some romantic encounter was beginning. She chattered constantly on the steamer, giving many objective observations. He had feared she would be an embarrassment but his fears were calmed and he was pleased to be with such a pretty companion. She did disappoint him though. He had hoped being alone with him on this venture would make Daisy excited or fluttered, but she showed no signs of blushing. To Daisy, Winterbourne seemed grave though he felt he was smiling largely.

At the castle, Winterbourne arranged for them to be guided very loosely so that he and Daisy were mostly alone. He provided her with detailed histories which interested her little. She instead asked him for details of his life and family and told Winterbourne about her own. The news that he would be returning to Geneva shortly greatly dismayed her and she ridiculed him for returning to some charmer in Geneva, though she knew nothing in reality of such a woman. Finally Daisy made him promise to visit in Rome over the winter which he agreed to as he was supposed to visit his aunt there as well. During their drive home, Daisy was very quiet. When Winterbourne returned to his aunt that evening he told her how he had spent the day at Chillon alone with Daisy. Mrs. Costello shuddered at the thought of such a girl.

Chapter Two Analysis:

Mrs. Costello's character symbolizes old money and culture, even though she is American, and thus sets up a stark contrast to Daisy Miller, a character devoid of much ritual or formality. Mrs. Costello had lived much of her life in Europe and had kept a society so intentionally exclusive in America that she has separated herself from any of the qualities associated with the innocence and natural spontaneity of an American. Her reaction to Daisy's character then is not a surprise. She responds to Winterbourne's inquiry quickly with disgust and gives reasons which represent the affront felt by most Europeans when in contact with the Millers. Daisy's family is one of commonality and crudeness which Mrs. Costello proves by pointing to their intimacy with Eugenio, their courier. This condemnation strikes the reader significantly because of the manner in which the last chapter ended. We watched Eugenio look at Daisy and Winterbourne in disdain. As Mrs. Costello points to the way in which the Millers allow Eugenio to have such an intimate control over their lives, her insight provides us with another perspective on how to view the previous encounter. Eugenio is not only a contrast to Daisy but a condemnation of her.

Mrs. Costello is a woman who also sets up a contrast to Daisy and gives the reader the rigid formality of her viewpoint because of her relationship to Winterbourne. She does not come into contact with Daisy but knows her type. Since Winterbourne is willing to listen to his aunt and gives some credence to her observations, the reader can explore both the ways that Daisy may be overstepping her behavioral bounds and how Winterbourne is prejudiced against Daisy because of the rules of his society. For example, upon the mention of Mrs. Costello's granddaughters, whom Winterbourne had heard were tremendous flirts, Winterbourne immediately assumes that Daisy must be worse than they are instead of thinking that his cousins may be just as bad. Moreover, once Mrs. Costello tells Winterbourne about Eugenio's intimacy with Daisy, Winterbourne's mind has been influenced. The text reads, "Winterbourne listened with interest to these disclosures; they helped him to make up his mind about Miss Daisy. Evidently she was rather wild." Mrs. Costello also shows her disapproval and quickness to judge with the syntax employed and the language she uses. For instance, her devotion to a code of social behavior is expressed in the repetitiveness of her negative language. A good example of her negativity concerning Daisy, in addition to James's stress on category, is reflected in this statement, "They are the sort of Americans that one does one's duty by not -- not accepting."

James writes of Mrs. Costello's background that she is from New York, paralleling to some extent Daisy' background, to further allow for comparison between the two woman. Whereas Daisy does not believe that she should act differently in Europe than in Schenectady, Mrs. Costello's behavior is always refined and reserved. Still, James hints to the reader that she is not a character to be admired when he explains that her sons never come to visit her and that she "frequently intimated that, if she were not so dreadfully liable to sick-headaches, she probably would have left a deeper impression upon her time." James's tone here is sarcastic; he implies that her headaches are often used as an excuse, foreshadowing the excuse Winterbourne will try to give Daisy for his aunt not wanting to see her. Mrs. Costello's intimation also alerts the reader to her artifice, the pretense of her character which causes her to invent reasons why she is not as important as she believes she should be.

As much as Winterbourne wishes he was dissuaded from wanting to see Daisy, he wants to see her intently after talking with his aunt. He is embarrassed as to his aunt's response to meeting Daisy, but he is drawn to Daisy's side because of her beauty and freshness. His aunt has told him that he has been too long out of America and is thus too innocent. He replies that he is not innocent, which we can interpret meaning that he has been too long out of innocence. His attraction to Daisy is sexual on the surface and an attraction to innocence and spontaneity on the symbolic level. He is the distinguished gentleman attracted to the freely wild and innocent girl. Daisy represents to Winterbourne what he lacks, standing as a metaphor of what all of Europe lacks, as long as Daisy does not go too far with her social freedom. Her danger, which is foreshadowed many times, is that she will take stretch her cloak of innocence so far that it tarnishes all respect for her character and reputation. How much should that matter and how far should she restrict her carefree attitude?

When Winterbourne sees Daisy however all he can really worry about is how much he lusts for her. Though embarrassed, her prettiness makes Daisy a welcomed sight to Winterbourne. As they chatter, Daisy brings up the meeting with Winterbourne's aunt she was expected to have. She is innocently curious about the woman and had asked a chambermaid about her. She is impressed by the tales of Mrs. Costello's exclusivity and her frequent headaches. Her simplicity is shown in the following comment: "I like a lady to be exclusive; I'm dying to be exclusive myself. Well, we are exclusive, mother and I. We don't speak to everyone -- or they don't speak to us. I suppose it's about the same thing." Daisy admires people based on their exclusivity and thinks that she and her mother are being exclusive because many people choose not to speak to them. She cannot understand the formalized customs of the European social clime. However even Daisy picks up that Winterbourne is trying to hide the fact that Mrs. Costello does not want to meet her. She is not stupid, just innocent, and shows this side to Winterbourne when she tells him to not be afraid. She will not allow the cold heart of ritual to shake her free will or easy nature.

Mrs. Miller provides an even greater contrast to Mrs. Costello as they symbolize the maternal in terms of social custom in America and Europe. Daisy tells Winterbourne how her mother is timid and does not like to meet her gentleman friends. This is peculiar because most mothers, of propriety, would require their daughters to introduce them to any friends with whom they wished to keep company. If they were not properly introduced to any potential friends, their daughters would be kept away. Thus we observe how Mrs. Miller seems to condone her daughter's flighty behavior by not making any move to change it. When Winterbourne and Daisy do approach Mrs. Miller she is not surprised to see her daughter in the company of a strange man. She nonchalantly talks with Daisy about Randolph's refusal to go to bed. Her acquiescence to allow Randolph to refuse bed because he likes to talk with waiters is weak. She lacks the control over her child that a European mother would likely insist on having. Her treatment of Randolph parallels her behavior toward Daisy.

When Daisy alerts her mother to the fact that Winterbourne had offered to take Daisy to Chillon, Winterbourne expects that Mrs. Miller will harshly disapprove. The text states, "Winterbourne took for granted that she deeply disapproved of the projected excursion...[and] he was quite prepared to find that, as a matter of course, she meant to accompany her daughter." Yet, Mrs. Miller assumes nothing of the sort, mentioning that Daisy was always undertaking some large enterprise or another. Winterbourne asks her outright if she will accompany them and she rejects the idea. Furthermore in her speaking with Winterbourne, her language further exposes the uncultivated and crude aspects of the mother and daughter. Mrs. Miller tells Winterbourne, "We've been thinking ever so much about going." The phrase "ever so much" was regarded at the time as vulgar and unrefined. Daisy herself uses it liberally and one could say that they simply did not know any better. Thus we experience how Mrs. Miller is a symbol of the lighter moral restrictions embodied in American social maternity.

Winterbourne is puzzled by Daisy as she swivels on her spontaneity and confuses with her flightiness. We see her freedom of thought synecdochally when she tells Winterbourne to take her for a boat ride. The romantic idea of a star lit cruise with a pretty girl overwhelms his propriety and he agrees. Their language has a sexual undertone as their dialogue becomes quick and passionate, passing from one to another in an increasing fervor. James employs simple, action verbs, repetition, and exclamation points to mirror this passion. The dialogue follows: "'Do, then, let me give you a row,' he said to the young girl. 'It's quite lovely, the way you say that!' cried Daisy. 'It will be still more lovely to do it.' 'Yes, it would be lovely!'" Even Daisy's mother finds this suspect and by asking for Eugenio's help, further highlights Eugenio's powerful role in the Miller family. Yet Daisy does not understand her desires as wrong or right and sees no problem with telling Winterbourne to take her and then quickly changing her mind and leaving. This action is symbolic of Daisy's tendency to give little thought to consequences and it foreshadows her bad decision making later in the book which will bring about her demise. She can sometimes be too free with her actions.

The trip Winterbourne and Daisy do take to Chillon is relatively uneventful. Although Eugenio's little smile when Winterbourne is around Daisy implies that he does not trust Winterbourne's or Daisy's motives and even though Mrs. Costello finds Daisy to be a dreadful girl for going alone to Chillon with any man, nothing impure or improper occurs on their expedition. Winterbourne is swept away by the girl, feeling that he is going to elope and that a smile has overtaken his face. His lust for Daisy is again apparent in how the third person narrator describes Daisy's appearance through the eyes of Winterbourne, the "central intelligence." Daisy is illustrated as "squeezing her folding parasol against her pretty figure..." The use of the verb to squeeze and the preposition against describe a physical and visceral attraction. Yet the rest of the voyage is innocent. Winterbourne tries to give Daisy a history of the castle whereas Daisy is more concerned about personal histories. Her attention to Winterbourne is not unexpected when she is on a date with a potential suitor.

Winterbourne is surprised by the untasteful way in which Daisy responds to the news of his leaving but, as James is a realist, her reaction is quite true to character. She expects Winterbourne to wish to see her and she enjoys spending time with him. Winterbourne does not give a thought to the chance that he is insensitive to her feelings. He has been pursuing her by taking walks with Daisy and a trip to the castle but does not let her know that he is leaving very soon. Daisy is quite astute at guessing why Winterbourne is likely leaving Vevey, assuming that it is a mystery charmer which has been alluded to the reader as well. We are thus shown again that she may be simple and innocent but she is not dense. Mrs. Costello gets the last word of the chapter. After we have seen Daisy react to a series of events, Mrs. Costello throws in the typical European opinion of Daisy's flaunting about Europe. Mrs. Costello's "sniff" at the smelling bottle is symbolic of her feelings of superiority over Daisy but also of their everlasting differences. Daisy is a fresh, sun-loving flower whereas Mrs. Costello must reach to the stuffy contents of a bottle.

Winterbourne came to Rome toward the end of January. His aunt had arrived several weeks earlier and sent him letters as to the movements of the Millers, noting that the courier was still very intimate with the family and Daisy was rather intimate with several "third-rate Italians." Mrs. Costello asked him to bring her the novel, Paule Méré, and to arrive no later than the 23rd. Winterbourne expected to pay a visit to Miss Daisy after their acquaintance at Vevey, as he told his aunt. His aunt replied testily that men could keep whatever acquaintances they wanted. Due to Winterbourne's prodding, she further explained how she had seen Daisy alone with foreign men, bringing them to houses and parties. The mother was no where to be seen. Mrs. Costello found them vulgar but Winterbourne continued to believe that the family was simply ignorant but not bad.

Still, with the news of Daisy's gentlemen, he was slightly hurt and chose not to see her immediately. He did call upon a few other friends, one being an American woman whom he had known for years in Geneva, Mrs. Walker. Shortly after he arrived to pay his compliments, the servant announced that the Miller family had arrived to see Mrs. Walker. Randolph came straight up to Winterbourne but Daisy greeted Mrs. Walker and did not notice Winterbourne until she heard his voice. At this, she turned abruptly toward him, in disbelief. She criticized him for not coming to see her although he claimed that he had arrived just the day before. Randolph proclaimed that their rooms in Rome were much larger than Mrs. Walker's, causing Mrs. Miller embarrassment. Winterbourne thought it polite to converse with Mrs. Miller, who looked at him for the first time since she had entered the room. She and Randolph explained how they had suffered some from the dyspepsia. Mrs. Miller missed her doctor, Dr. Davis, from Schenectady. Winterbourne asked her how she enjoyed Rome to which she replied that it had not pleased her like other cities, such as Zürich. However, Daisy dearly enjoyed the society and had made many gentleman friends. After chatting for a while, Daisy, who had been talking to Mrs. Walker, turned to Winterbourne and reprimanded him for being mean and for leaving Vevey when he did. Winterbourne thought to himself that Daisy should have realized the sacrifice he made by not stopping in the intellectual centers of Florence and Bologna on his way to Rome.

Daisy next told Mrs. Walker than she would like to invite a friend to her party. Mrs. Walker said that any family friend was fine but Mrs. Miller corrected her, noting that she did not know the gentleman. Daisy told them that it was Mr. Giovanelli: an Italian, an "intimate friend", and the handsomest man in the world, besides Mr. Winterbourne. Mrs. Walker responded agreeably. Mrs. Miller then mentioned it was time for them to return to the hotel. However, Daisy replied that she was going for a walk to the Pincio. Mrs. Walker did not think it was safe for her to walk about in the late afternoon alone. Mrs. Miller agreed, noting that she should be careful not to catch the fever. Daisy kissed Mrs. Walker upon leaving and, smiling, told her not to worry as she would be with a friend, Mr. Giovanelli. Still, Mrs. Walker advised her against it and Daisy realized she was warning her to not be impudent. She found an easy way to mend this and declared she would walk to the Pincio with Winterbourne. He agreed. They saw the rest of the Millers off with Eugenio and then set off.

It was a short stretch but with all of the late afternoon traffic, it took the two a considerable time. Winterbourne noticed the attention pretty Daisy received while walking through the Roman crowd and thought her silly for thinking she could have gone alone. Daisy again reprimanded Winterbourne for not seeing her sooner and then chattered about her affairs, such as the diverse society she had met and the large number of social events. Winterbourne told Daisy that he would not help her find Giovanelli nor would he leave her once they did. Daisy misunderstood him and told him that she would not allow anyone to dictate her affairs. Winterbourne tried to express to her that Giovanelli was not the right one to listen to when they came upon him. He was a well dressed Italian man whom Winterbourne noticed right away was a very good imitation of a gentleman. Daisy however could not tell the difference and Winterbourne wondered if a nice girl would be so ignorant. Daisy made a smooth introduction between the two men and then continued walking with one on each side. Winterbourne observed how Giovanelli was disappointed by the third party but became even more gallant to overshadow this. Daisy was a mix of audacity and innocence yet did not act extremely enough to discourage Winterbourne completely.

A carriage pulled up near the three as they walked and Winterbourne noticed that Mrs. Walker sat within, beckoning to him. Winterbourne hurried over and Mrs. Walker excitedly told him how dreadful Daisy was acting. Fifty people had noticed her with the two men. Her mother was a dreadful stupid woman, she ranted, and Mrs. Walker felt she had better try to save Daisy herself. Winterbourne told her she was overreacting. Mrs. Walker wanted Daisy to drive around with her for a half hour, for the world to see she was not completely wild, and then return safely home. Winterbourne doubted Daisy would agree but Mrs. Walker tried to persuade her. Daisy paused her walk with Giovanelli because she was glad to have the chance to present him to Mrs. Walker. Mrs. Walker asked her a several times to enter the carriage but Daisy declined, stating that walking was much more pleasant to her. Mrs. Walker told her that it was not the custom in Rome but Daisy retorted that it should be custom because she enjoyed walking. Mrs. Walker told her to walk with her mother but Daisy laughed, commenting that her mother walked very little. She added then, more annoyed, that she was not five years old. When Mrs. Walker told her she was old enough to be talked about, Daisy did not know what she meant and then told her she did not wish to know what she meant. Finally Daisy asked Winterbourne if she should go with Mrs. Walker to save her reputation. He hesitated but answered yes. She told them to give up on her then because if this was improper, she must be all improper. She left with Giovanelli.

Mrs. Walker demanded Winterbourne get in the carriage though he thought it best to accompany Daisy. Riding together, Winterbourne bluntly told Mrs. Walker that she had not acted smartly. Mrs. Walker though explained that Daisy had gone too far in Rome, flirting with any man, receiving late visitors, and so on. Winterbourne insisted that she was simply very uncultivated and asked why Mrs. Walker had made him enter the carriage. She replied that she wanted him to stop his relations with Daisy. Winterbourne refused. He liked Daisy extremely but promised he would do nothing scandalous. In a huff, Mrs. Walker told Winterbourne to rejoin Daisy if he wanted and he exited the carriage. As he looked up, he saw Daisy and her companion on the other end of the garden, sitting together very intimately with a parasol balanced against them so that Winterbourne could not see their heads. Winterbourne walked instead toward his aunt's residence.

Chapter Three Analysis:

The first sentence in chapter three gives the reader a key insight into the change in physical and social atmosphere which has occurred. It reads, "Winterbourne, who had returned to Geneva the day after his excursion to Chillon, went to Rome towards the end of January." Here we are reminded of three distinct locations of the story: Geneva, Chillon, and Rome. Interestingly, Geneva is an important locale to remember, as we have discussed, because of the setting it provides for Winterbourne's home as a cold and highly formal arena. So the first insight that the sentence gives us is that Winterbourne has returned to this cold which he had sprung from into the warm atmosphere of Vevey. The next time he will depart from the rigidity of Geneva will be in the winter, symbolic of the continuation of formal setting as opposed to the break represented in his visit to Vevey in the summer. In this forbidding season, Winterbourne travels to Rome, a city also very much steeped in its old traditions and established culture.

As the chapter continues, we will experience Rome in a very different light from the setting of Vevey. The multitude of American tourists has gone, so that the characters are surrounded mostly by foreigners such as when Daisy and Winterbourne walk through the throngs of Roman pedestrians who stare at Daisy. She, especially, will stand out much more in the crowds in Rome than she had in Vevey where her habits brought fresh from Schenectady still held some weight. Furthermore, Chillon, the last locale mentioned in the first sentence of chapter three, was the one locale in Vevey where Daisy did seem out of place as she will in Rome. Daisy does not consider the old castle seriously enough to learn its name but views her journey there as more of a romantic adventure with Winterbourne. Yet, Winterbourne is not embarrassed about taking Daisy to this site nor does he think it unwise for her to be there with him alone. In fact, he encourages the situation. Thus, as Winterbourne told us when he first met Daisy, "In Geneva ...a young man was not at liberty to speak to a young unmarried lady except under certain rarely occurring conditions; but here, at Vevey, what conditions could be better than these?" A stark contrast is quickly created between Vevey and Geneva which is then exacerbated when the reader observes Daisy with Winterbourne at Chillon and later Daisy with Giovanelli at the Colosseum.

The main theme of James's work, concerning the incongruity between reality and appearance, becomes apparent during this chapter. The first substantial example of this incongruity results during the letter from Mrs. Costello informing her nephew of the scandalous behavior of his acquaintance, Daisy Miller. Her tone is rather sarcastic, focusing again on the intimacy of the courier with the family because she understands his intimacy as a symbol of the family's vulgarity. At the end of the letter however, she asks Winterbourne to bring her "that pretty novel of Cherbuliez's - Paule Méré." This novel is purposely chosen by James in order to illustrate Mrs. Costello's own ignorance of the situation concerning Daisy. In the novel, published in 1865, the heroine is innocent but has her reputation destroyed by the gossiping Genevan society. The hero loves her and tries to ignore the gossip but it finally ruins their relationship. The parallel to Daisy Miller is uncanny and, as stated by Patricia Crick, was definitely intended by James to be understood by the reader as irony. The reality of the character of Daisy was overlooked by Mrs. Costello who could comprehend the novel Paule Méré as being "pretty" but could not see the reality which lay beneath the text.

This idea of subtext is a metaphor for the manner in which the European-American social circle in Europe misunderstands the true character of Daisy Miller. She is innocent and uncultured and incautious but the circle sees only the surface of her character and the actions that character takes. They imagine a member of their social circle, thus someone with the experience and knowledge to understand and exaggerate the mores and codes of the European culture, acting in the way that Daisy Miller does. They do not take the time to look beneath this pretense to find that she is naturally innocent, acting on impulse instead of caution and convention. She rebels not by having a great knowledge of the rules which bind the society and consciously deciding to throw them out the window, but by being limited in her scope of experience and by refusing to change her natural ways in order to please a culture to which she does not belong. She oversteps even these bounds but not in the manner for which she will be ridiculed and rejected by her compatriots.

As we have discussed previously, James is an author who generally holds true to his characters by writing within a realism where they react how one would expect them to in all circumstances. Winterbourne is confused by Daisy's behavior most often when he is unable to understand that she is acting on spontaneous impulse rather than artifice and appearance as he does. Winterbourne, though our hero and a likable character, makes decisions widely based on propriety and social mores because he is a creature of the culture he has long been a part of. He is largely blinded to the honesty and innocence which Daisy imparts because he has trouble recognizing a manner which has become foreign to him. Thus when Daisy walks calmly along with both Giovanelli and Winterbourne in the Pincio and does not seem anxious to get rid of Winterbourne, Winterbourne is perplexed. He constantly asks himself, should she know better? Yet he does not realize that she does not know better and she will ruin herself because of it. The great theme of the disparity between reality and appearance is at its greatest strength in the relationship between Winterbourne and Daisy because of the conflict which roars inside of Winterbourne regarding the appearance he cannot overcome and the reality he cannot accept.

A lack of communication is one hindrance to a relationship without pretense between Winterbourne and Daisy. Unlike Daisy, Winterbourne often sublimates his feelings and withholds his opinions at times when it could have made their relationship more clearly understood by both. When Daisy and Winterbourne arrive at Mrs. Walker's separately both are surprised to see each other. Winterbourne had hesitated to see Daisy immediately because he had heard from his aunt that she had been cavorting with foreign men and it destroyed the picture of her pining away for him that he had created. James writes, "...he was annoyed at hearing of a state of affairs so little in harmony with an image that had lately flitted in and out of his own meditations." This revelation is symbolic of the disparity between reality and appearance which exists thematically in the story as Winterbourne had created a false reality which was broken when he heard of Daisy's actions. Judging the appearance of Daisy's behavior, Winterbourne is incapable of realizing the reality which lay underneath. His feelings are hurt and when Daisy enters the room he acts on pretense, pretending he does not notice her.

Daisy however cannot withhold her feelings and upon hearing Winterbourne's voice, she turns to him in surprise and chastises him for not visiting her sooner. She obviously has missed the man and is very excited to see him but he must remain properly reserved and so does not relay to Daisy the quickness with which he traveled to Rome. The text states, "...Winterbourne [was] rather annoyed at Miss Miller's want of appreciation of the zeal of an admirer who on his way down to Rome had stopped neither at Bologna nor at Florence..." Critics have noted that if Winterbourne had told Daisy that he had traveled to Rome in impatience and that he hoped she was anxiously awaiting him, the events which unfolded between them likely could have been very different. Yet, as Winterbourne often expresses his doubts and feelings to himself or perhaps the outside ear of his aunt, Daisy knows very little of how he feels. As a result she believes he feels very little, calling him "stiff" and "quaint." He is overly proper in her eyes and little more.

One understands now how the "central observing consciousness" controls the telling of the story because the reader is privy so frequently to the subjective flow of consciousness experienced by the hero, Winterbourne. Daisy, on the other hand, expresses her feelings and thoughts readily to her acquaintances but we know little of the motivation behind anything because we hear more about her than from her. The reader, along with Winterbourne, has to decide for herself -- consistent with the tone of subjectivity and partially obstructed truth with which James liked to play -- if Daisy is innocent or designing. In the manner of the circles of analysis, where Daisy's character is explored in a circular motion from many different viewpoints, the reader observes the girl as an injured friend in Mrs. Walker's room and then seemingly as a rebellious coquette as she moves through the Pincio with two men.

Moreover, in between the layers of character exploration, hints of foreshadowing are dropped by James to heighten the suspense of Daisy and Winterbourne's decision making. For instance, Mrs. Miller misunderstands Mrs. Walker's anxiety about Daisy walking alone and believes it is because of the dangers of the fever. Mrs. Miller warns Daisy that even walking with someone will not protect her from fever, foreshadowing the events of the last chapter and moving the girl closer to defying objective rules of caution. However Daisy still walks a line of innocence as is observed when Mrs. Walker demands her attention in the Pincio. Daisy defies the conventions of the culture readily and without fear, determined to act as she pleases and live life to its fullest. This is consistent with the Daisy we know. However, she realizes that Mrs. Walker may mean something not completely innocent when she tells Daisy that Daisy is being talked about. Daisy decides that she wishes to not know what Mrs. Walker means because she wishes to stay innocent and without knowledge of the rules she has been caught between. This is symbolic of Daisy's true innocence and lack of culture.

When Winterbourne tells Daisy that he also thinks she must "save her reputation" by giving into the decorum she despises, she declares that she will not be untrue to herself and they must give her up. However Winterbourne too cannot be untrue to his character, as James is a realist concerning characters, and "the truth, for Winterbourne, as the few indications I have been able to give have made him known to the reader, was that Daisy Miller should get into the carriage." Daisy's laugh is violent in response and it becomes clear that by remaining true to himself, Winterbourne has made the decision to reject Daisy paralleling the decision he makes at the end of the chapter. James cleverly structures the scene as Winterbourne leaves the carriage so that he views a very intimate moment between Daisy and Giovanelli. Winterbourne again believes in the appearance he sees without checking out the reality of the situation and he moves toward Mrs. Costello's house, a metaphor for his ultimate siding with American circle abroad.

Mr. Giovanelli is the last major character introduced into the story and fulfills quite a major role. His intimacy with Daisy parallels the intimacy between the courier and the Millers as both relationships are looked down upon by the American circle as vulgar and uncouth. His name literally means young man thus substantiating the claim that the reader was meant to understand Giovanelli as a type. His type is one of an imitation European gentleman as Winterbourne observes on first seeing him. The flowers in his buttonhole function synecdochally for Giovanelli because they were viewed as vulgar and overly conspicuous by the upper classes. As his urbanity and smoothness illustrated that he was a well trained imitation of a gentleman, so his overly prominent buttonhole stood as a signifier to those who knew enough that Giovanelli was simply a second rate man. The descriptions concerning Giovanelli mention the protrusion from his buttonhole numerous times to stress how highly symbolic and incriminating the buttonhole is. Furthermore, that Winterbourne realizes immediately that Giovanelli is an imitation but Daisy believes him to be the most handsome, most dashing man in the world besides Winterbourne symbolizes her lack of knowledge and experience with such types. She is blind to Giovanelli's artifice and thus gladly spends time with him because she enjoys their time and his manners. Little else matters to her. Giovanelli, on the other hand, understands that his time with Daisy is being intruded upon when Winterbourne walks with them but "reflected upon that profundity of Italian cleverness which enables people to appear more gracious in proportion as they are more acutely disappointed." He sets up a complete contrast to Daisy, an definite opposition of types, because of the significance in their relationship of the themes of knowledge as evil versus inexperience as innocence and nature versus urbanity. Giovanelli will fall more into this role in the Colosseum scene to come.

Winterbourne asked for Mrs. Miller at her hotel with some chagrin but convinced himself that no servants were giggling at him. Mrs. Miller and her daughter were not in however, that day or the next. The following day was Mrs. Walker's party and Mrs. Walker still included Winterbourne on her invite list. She was most concerned with the appearance of her gathering and her study of the European society. Mrs. Miller arrived alone at the party only minutes after Winterbourne. She commented how afraid she was being at a party alone but Daisy had pushed her ahead. Daisy and Giovanelli remained at the hotel at the piano and did not seem to be in a hurry. Mrs. Walker turned snidely to Winterbourne, noting that Daisy would make a spectacle and that she would not speak to the girl. It was after eleven when Daisy arrived with Giovanelli. Daisy rushed forward into the room so that everyone turned to stare at her and hurried straight to Mrs. Walker. She excitedly explained that she and Giovanelli had been practicing at the piano so that he would be able to sing at the party. When she asked Mrs. Walker if there was anyone she knew, Mrs. Walker cruelly replied that everyone knew her.

During Giovanelli's singing, Daisy loudly told Winterbourne that she wished there was room to dance but he replied that he did not dance. Daisy quipped that she would not want to dance with such a stiff man as he. She asked about his ride with Mrs. Walker to which he replied that he would have preferred to continue walking with Daisy. Daisy commented on Mrs. Walker's coldness that day, pretending that it was more proper to get in the carriage and leave Giovanelli than to stay in his company. Winterbourne retorted that Giovanelli should have known better than to walk with a young lady on the streets to which Daisy replied that they were in a garden not the streets and thankfully she was not of his country because the Italian women seemed to have no fun. She refused to change her habits for anyone. When Winterbourne called Daisy a flirt, she laughed and agreed, confirming that all nice girls were flirts. Winterbourne wanted her to flirt only with himself but she declared that she did not want to flirt with such a stiff man. Winterbourne tried to explain that to the Italians, flirting was taken more seriously. Daisy retorted that she and Giovanelli were too close to flirt. Winterbourne intimated that it was another story if they were in love with each other to which Daisy blushed and told him that Mr. Giovanelli was much more respectful. Winterbourne was surprised since she had not minded his frankness until this point. Daisy spent the rest of the evening with Giovanelli tucked in a corner. Giovanelli had approached after finishing at the piano and asked if she would like tea. She accepted, responding that Winterbourne never offered her tea and left.

Upon Daisy's departure, Mrs. Walker got her chance to turn her back. She blatantly ignored Mrs. Miller as she cordially attempted to thank the woman for the evening. Daisy was deeply offended by the affront to her mother. Mrs. Walker told Winterbourne that she would never allow Daisy in her home again. Because of this, Winterbourne went frequently to the Miller's hotel. When he actually found them at home, Giovanelli was always present, usually alone with Daisy. Winterbourne came to expect that Daisy would react indifferently, never upset that her intimacy with Giovanelli was being broken. He began to think that she was a girl who could not be jealous and may become a shallow person. Yet she did seem to like Giovanelli considerably. When he saw the couple at St. Peter's, he pointed them out to his aunt. She replied that they must be the reason why Winterbourne was so pensive lately. She ridiculed the couple for having a seemingly secret affair in public and noted that the courier probably introduced them and would do well if they married. Winterbourne did not think her intentions were to marry and noted that Giovanelli likely thought it an impossible dream as he had no title to offer Daisy. A number of Mrs. Costello's friends gathered during the vesper-service and gossiped that Daisy had gone too far. Winterbourne was displeased but had to agree on many levels. He felt sorry for such innocence being reduced to vulgarity and hoped to warn Mrs. Miller.

One day he met a friend in the Corso who had just left the Dorio Palace gallery and told him that he saw the pretty American girl. She was accompanied by an Italian with "a bouquet in his buttonhole" leading the friend to question Winterbourne's claim as to her character. Winterbourne rushed off to see Mrs. Miller who told him that Daisy was out with Giovanelli. Mrs. Miller had told Daisy that she was engaged but Daisy denied it so Mrs. Miller had asked Giovanelli to let her know if it happened. Her ignorance so stunned Winterbourne that he left without warning her. He did not see Daisy much after that because she was never at home or invited to the homes of their mutual friends. The Americans hoped to show the Europeans that Daisy's behavior was not representative. Winterbourne wondered whether Daisy's behavior was from her upbringing or innocence and whether maintaining her innocence was simply being gallant on his part. He saw Daisy a few days later at the Palace of the Caesars. She remarked to Winterbourne that he must be lonely always wandering by himself. Winterbourne responded that he was not as lucky as Giovanelli to which Daisy replied that he meant that she was too much with Giovanelli. Winterbourne alerted her to the feelings of most of his compatriots and Daisy slowly realized that she had been treated coldly lately, such as during the departure from the party. She criticized Winterbourne for not doing more to stop the coldness. He told her how her mother said she and Giovanelli were engaged. To upset Winterbourne, she confirmed the rumor. When he believed her, she denied the engagement. He was perplexed as Giovanelli returned from finding a flower for his buttonhole. Winterbourne soon left them.

A week later, Winterbourne visited a villa for dinner and then walked home in the evening. He strolled inside of the Colosseum, quoting Byron, until he remembered how dangerous his location could be at night because of the fever. As he reached the center cross, he noticed two people sitting at its base. When the woman's voice reached his ears, he realized the couple was Daisy and Giovanelli. Winterbourne now knew that Daisy did not deserve his respect. He did not realize that he could be seen much easier by the couple than he could see them and turned to walk away. Daisy's voice came again, astonished that Winterbourne was ignoring her. Annoyed that she feigned innocence so well, Winterbourne approached the cross. The stupidity of a young woman sitting in a potential pool of Roman fever struck Winterbourne and he criticized Daisy. Giovanelli claimed that he was not worried for himself and Winterbourne retorted that as a native Roman he should have been worried for Daisy. Giovanelli said that he could never persuade Daisy. Daisy said she never became sick and if there was a problem, Eugenio could give her pills. Prompted by Winterbourne, Giovanelli ran for his carriage. Daisy remarked that at least she had seen the Colosseum at night. Winterbourne laughed. When she asked about the other day, Winterbourne said that it did not matter whether he thought she was engaged or not. Giovanelli rushed Daisy into the carriage. Before pulling away, Daisy cried to Winterbourne that she did not care if she got Roman fever or not.

Winterbourne did not tell anyone that he had seen Daisy that night but the American circle heard regardless. Winterbourne soon heard that Daisy was seriously ill with the fever. He visited regularly, once seeing Mrs. Miller who surprisingly was a composed and efficient nurse. She told Winterbourne how Daisy asked her mother three times to tell him that she was not engaged. Mrs. Miller was pleased at the news since Giovanelli had not bothered to visit during Daisy's illness. According to Mrs. Miller, Daisy also wanted to ask Winterbourne if he remembered the trip to Chillon but Mrs. Miller did not wish to give such messages.

A week later, Daisy died. Winterbourne stood at her grave with many more visitors than expected. Giovanelli told Winterbourne that Daisy was the most innocent. Winterbourne was surprised and then hurt, demanding of him why he took her to the fatal night spot. Again, Giovanelli meekly said he had not feared for himself and Daisy had wanted it. Giovanelli told Winterbourne that Daisy would never have married him. Winterbourne left Rome soon after Daisy's death but visited his aunt in Vevey again the next summer. Winterbourne mentioned to Mrs. Costello that he had done Daisy an injustice. He had understood in the year that passed that Daisy "would have appreciated one's esteem." He had been out of America for too long. Nonetheless, he returned to live in Geneva, where the rumors continued to circulate about him "studying."

Chapter Four Analysis:

Chapter Four explores Daisy's final decline from respect to death, as she becomes overly incautious and indiscreet. James consistently utilizes types, as metonyms, to investigate these issues. By generalizing and categorizing the characters, the more universal themes of nature versus urbanity and outward action versus inward meditation become clearer. Mrs. Miller and Daisy represent quite a different type than Mrs. Walker to whom they are compared in the opening of the chapter. When Winterbourne visits the Miller's hotel room, the two women are often not at home. This is then contrasted with Mrs. Walker who is not only at home but having a party to which she can invite her social circle and beyond. James refers to the Miller women as "this lady and her daughter" and then to Mrs. Walker as "one of those American ladies...while residing abroad," illustrating their function as types. Her top priority is to showcase her lifestyle to gain the greater approval of her peers. She focuses on appearance and formal decorum upon which to base her life as is witnessed in the following quotation from the text: "...in spite of the frigidity of his last interview with the hostess, Winterbourne was among the guests. 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 textbooks." Mrs. Walker is portrayed as a cold social examiner, observing society instead of participating in it. Her party is a metaphor for the social examination which Mrs. Walker carries out inwardly at every moment.

The contrast with Daisy, who relishes living and responding to life, is greatly developed at Mrs. Walker's party. Mrs. Walker immediately judges Daisy on the characterization of her actions as given by Mrs. Miller. Once hearing that Daisy had stayed behind with Giovanelli, she comments, "I'm sorry she should come - in that way." With Mrs. Walker, her opinions are almost always qualified to fit the regulations of convention. Daisy has once again stepped outside of the regulations and Mrs. Walker, true to her character, can only respond with disdain. Mrs. Miller misses the condescending manner which Mrs. Walker uses with her. Her uncultivated type is represented by her dialect in this scene. The contractions and slang she uses shows her to be more uneducated and uncivilized in comparison to the rest of the company at the party. For instance, Mrs. Miller states, "'I ain't used to going round alone.'" Both "round" and "ain't" point to her lack of culture.

When Daisy arrives, she rushes in to speak with Mrs. Walker, who is caught off guard and responds although she had decided to ignore the girl because of Daisy's impropriety. The description of Daisy not being a "young lady to wait to be spoken to" again categorizes her as a innocent young lady. Realistic with her character, she reacts on spontaneous impulse. Daisy approaches Winterbourne without hesitation although they had left each other last on strained terms. Daisy is unsurprised that Winterbourne does not dance because she finds him to be so stiff. His manner to her is closed and formal, regardless of the passionate feelings he hold inwardly for Daisy. As the theme of outward action versus inward meditation has carried throughout the story, Winterbourne cannot release his need to hold his true feelings inside. As a result, Daisy finds it difficult to believe that Winterbourne would have rather kept walking with her instead of going in the carriage with Mrs. Walker. To Daisy, Winterbourne fits more into the type assigned for Mrs. Walker than we know him to be. Ironically, the next mention of stiff comes when Daisy and Winterbourne meet in the Palace of the Caesars and she compares his stiffness to an umbrella. This obvious sexual metaphor refers to Winterbourne's arousal at the time of his first meeting with Daisy and his evident attraction for her ever since. Even further irony can be invoked if the reader believes that Daisy, in her innocence, never actually noticed or understood Winterbourne's arousal. Either way, it is evident that Winterbourne harbors intense feelings for Daisy that he is incapable of expressing.

As Daisy and Winterbourne speak at Mrs. Walker's party, Winterbourne attempts to designate her by type to understand why she confuses him but he misses the message which results. First Winterbourne tries to compare her to a young lady of Italy to which Daisy responds that she is happy to not have to conform to their stricter idea of convention. He then tells her she is a flirt but Daisy surprises him and agrees. She says, "I'm a fearful, frightful flirt! Did you ever hear of a nice girl that was not?" Daisy, in her way, is explaining to Winterbourne that her intentions are completely innocent and that she is living by the morals of American youth. She is quite aware of what she is doing and nothing lies beneath the surface. And yet Winterbourne cannot accept this and ventures that young unmarried women should not act in that manner in Italy. Daisy rightly compares this notion to old married women acting as flirts, twisting Winterbourne's words. This argumentative sparring does little but try to assign categories which Daisy defies and obscure the concern for Daisy which Winterbourne really feels. He finally offends her because he does not understand that she is only flirting. By implying that she and Giovanelli are in love, Winterbourne has expanded and distorted their relationship to a point which Daisy finds uncouth but which baffles Winterbourne. He can only reply "mentally that little American flirts were the queerest creatures in the world," again employing types.

The cynicism and condescension which describe Mrs. Walker and Mrs. Costello's manner toward Daisy and her type is well typified in a comment made by Mrs. Costello. She retorts, "'Of that young lady's, Miss Baker's, Miss Chandler's - what's her name? - Miss Miller's intrigue with that little barber's block." As Patricia Crick notes, Mrs. Costello most likely had no problem remembering Daisy's last name but was mocking her social origins by putting her in the category of last names which symbolize, like her own, industry and trade. Also, the act of not being able to recall Daisy's name demonstrates Daisy's lack of significance to Mrs. Costello and her circle. She is solely a type to the group, not an individual to be concerned about. Mrs. Costello's great hypocrisy, and the hypocrisy of her type, is described soon after this comment as she sits with her circle of haughty Americans abroad and gossips during the St. Peter's vespers service. At a moment which should be solemn if she were religious or respectful, she and her friends are self-involved and rude. Ironically, they gossip about Daisy's crude manners as they commit an uncivilized act of their own.

Daisy's innocence comes to a bad end not because she knowingly disregards convention but because she steps too far beyond rules of physical safety and caution. She is reckless not only with her morals but with her health and wellbeing. There are several subtle references to Daisy's innate innocence. Meanwhile the reader is faced with Winterbourne's interior monologues debating Daisy's character and ultimately deciding that she does not deserve his respect. Mrs. Costello comments, "[Daisy] goes from day to day, from hour to hour, as they did in the Golden Age. I can imagine nothing more vulgar." While Mrs. Costello refers to vulgarity, James alludes to innocence. Rousseau believed that natural man's innocence and purity was destroyed by the rigid rules of formalized civil society. By referring to the Golden Age, the reader is reminded of the philosophic notions of nature's ruin at the hands of civilization. Thus James is likely implying subtextually that Daisy's position in a sort of Golden Age is a state of innocence and goodness, not something to be insulted or ridiculed as Mrs. Costello is doing. This foreshadows the remark Giovanelli will make to Winterbourne at the end of the chapter, declaring that Daisy was the "most innocent" and ultimately proving to Winterbourne that he had mistaken the girl by adding too much of his own "civilized" judgment to her persona. Another important reference to Daisy's innocence comes in mentioning the Velazquez painting of Pope Innocent X. A likely reason that James chose this painting to have Winterbourne's friend comment upon directly before noting that he saw Daisy inside the gallery is to associate the name of the Pope with Daisy's character.

Daisy does go too far by being overly incautious. The contraction of Roman fever had been foreshadowed from the beginning of the third chapter yet Daisy ignores all warnings she receives. Her careless reply to Winterbourne's last warning follows, "I never was sick, and I don't mean to be!" Simply because she is innocent does not make her immortal. Her death will fit realistically in with her character. Daisy desires to live life to its fullest but is unable to realize that physical restraints may come into play. The setting in which Winterbourne finds her, at night in the Colosseum, is heavily foreshadowed by foreboding imagery and fearful symbolism. As mentioned in the last analysis, Rome is a metonym for the cold, forbidding conventional society in which most of the American circle abroad gladly participates.

Daisy's fate in this city is symbolized by her walk through a beautiful area of Rome. The text states, "The early Roman spring had filled the air with bloom and perfume, and the rugged surface of the Palatine was muffled with a tender verdure. Daisy was strolling atop one of those great mounds of ruin..." The pastoral scene is set with a tone of rebirth and vitality, employing the imagery of spring to symbolize fertility. Nouns such as "bloom", "perfume", and "verdure" expand the feeling of youth and liveliness and parallel the allusions established with Daisy's name. The tone is then contrasted with Daisy's movement across the top of a ruin. This foreshadows the state into which she will fall after the Colosseum scene.

As Winterbourne enters the Colosseum, James utilizes wonderful terminology to build suspenseful foreshadowing. Paralleling the prior scene, Winterbourne is drawn to the Colosseum because of its beauty but contrasting imagery establishes a different tone. James chooses phrases to symbolize Daisy's decline into the darkness of death such as "cavernous shadows", "deep shade", "waning moon", "dark archways", and "thick gloom." Winterbourne ultimately finds that Daisy is present when her voice travels to him from the center where she was "covered with shadow" immediately after Winterbourne notices that the Colosseum "was no better than a villainous miasma." Winterbourne too is drawn by the beauty of the location as Daisy says she is but he realizes the danger of it. Sitting in shadows, Daisy cannot see beyond her desire for the pleasures of life. She says, "I was bound to see the Colosseum by moonlight; I shouldn't have wanted to go home without that..." Yet she is condemned for her disregard of her own wellbeing. The Euro-American social circle finds out about her escapades even though Winterbourne does not tell them and Daisy soon dies. The Colosseum scene is in fact a parallel to the dark castle scene in Vevey, when Winterbourne and Daisy take the trip to the Château de Chillon. At Chillon, Daisy's flirtatious behavior is not celebrated but is not condemned either. The social atmosphere parallels Daisy's in America unlike the atmosphere in Rome. Sitting alone with a man in dark Rome in addition to her incaution result in her death.

In telling the reader of Daisy's death, James writes, "But, as Winterbourne had said, it mattered very little." This parallels the last conversation that Daisy and Winterbourne have in which Winterbourne tells Daisy that it did matter whether he thought she was engaged or not. This so upsets Daisy that she cries, "I don't care...whether I have Roman fever or not!" Her statement mirrors Winterbourne's harsh comment and points to, as many critics believe, the reason for Daisy's death beyond physical practicalities. Winterbourne's ultimate rejection of Daisy, his decision to side with the American circle in Daisy's condemnation, hits Daisy so cruelly that she no longer cares to live. He refuses to believe in Daisy's innocence and she quickly fades away. Her resiliency and natural spontaneity have died. Winterbourne does not realize his mistake until Mrs. Miller relays Daisy's message to him and Giovanelli speaks to him at the funeral. And yet, in this way, Daisy's innocence triumphs. The lasting message of the novella is Daisy's innocence and the cruelty of the society which condemned her to death.

• Biography of Henry James
• About Daisy Miller
• Character List
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• Summary and Analysis of Chapter 4
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