GG Challenge: Daisy Miller by Henry James (#53)

Title: Daisy Miller
Author: Henry James
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Released: December 18, 2007
Originally published in 1878

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Summary: {Goodreads}

Henry James' 1878 publication that brought him international fame. "Daisy Miller" is subtitled "A Study in Two Parts." The plot centers around a Europeanized American man named Winterbourne, who meets a nouveau riche American woman going by the name Daisy Miller. A short novel, James wields the sword of fiction to craft a "study" of the roles of men and women, social relationships, cultural intersection, the allure of money, foolishness and wisdom, the responsibilities of parents, and the impact of one's life upon others. 

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I read this as part of my Gilmore Girls Challenge. You can find my progress here.

Frederick Winterbourne is an American who has settled down in Geneva. While visiting his aunt in Vevey, he meets Daisy Miller, a pretty, young American girl travelling through Europe. Winterbourne is immediately smitten, but he quickly finds that there is much more to Ms. Daisy Miller. 

Henry James first published this little novella in 1878. An American in Europe himself, in Daisy Miller, he tackles the difference in social norms and customs between the two regions through the characters of Mrs. Costello and Daisy Miller. Winterbourne, like James, is stuck between these two worlds. 

Mrs. Costello, Winterbourne's aunt, is very traditionally "European". She follows traditional European customs to a "t". 

Daisy Miller, on the other hand, represents everything that Europeans believed about Americans. She is naive, outspoken, and a little too forward. 

Winterbourne believed Daisy Miller to be, "completely uncultivated... But she is wonderfully pretty, and, in short, she is very nice."

Mrs. Costello, however, said things like:

"They are very common," Mrs. Costello declared. "They are the sort of Americans that one does one's duty by not-not accepting."

"They are hopelessly vulgar," said Mrs. Costello. "Whether or not being hopelessly vulgar is being 'bad' is a question for the metaphysicians. They are bad enough to dislike, at any rate, and for this short life that is quite enough."

The Good: 

Henry James is a wonderful writer. Like many of his 19th century peers, he has a certain style to his writing, his descriptive language, that makes it easy to really imagine the 19th century environment. It's beautifully descriptive and that alone made me enjoy reading it. 

The Bad: 

I did have some issues with the characters. 

1. Frederick Winterbourne - I felt like his character lacked depth. I didn't know enough about him to really care about his comings and goings or his relationship with Daisy. 

2. Daisy Miller - For a title character, I really, really did not like her. In fact, she annoyed me the entire time, which makes it hard to care about what happens to her. Winterbourne describes as "innocent" many times, but I thought that it was simply immaturity. Innocence is one thing, but immaturity is annoying. Here are some examples of what I mean:

"That's all I want - a little fuss!" And the young girl began to laugh again.

"I don't want you to come for your aunt," said Daisy. "I want you to come for me."

"I've been telling Mrs. Walker how mean you were," the young girl announced.

Overall, it's still considered a classic, and since it is so short, it doesn't hurt to take an hour or two to read it. Personally, it was just OK.

** Review also found on Goodreads here.