It is girls like this that truly give Americans a bad name abroad. If Daisy Miller lived in 2009, I dare say she might have ended up on a Spring Break video.....anyway.
I was intrigued by this girl. The story pulled me in right at the very beginning, and kept me interested till the very end. James's fascination with class distinction can easily be seen throughout the entire story. Daisy was a girl that went against everything that Henry James was brought up to believe. Through the story Winterbourne constantly compares her to the girls back in Geneva and finds no similarities at all. I also liked how James used Geneva and Rome to represent Daisy, and the anti-Daisy. Daisy is like Rome; brash, fast paced, and full of life. Meanwhile Geneva is proper, follows all social mores, and leans towards old values and customs. Also, it is when Daisy is in Rome that her character begins to enter into a downward spiral.
I found it interesting that the climax of the story where Winterbourne begins to think Daisy has no self respect at all takes place at the Colosseum, a classic symbol of Rome. What is better than that to describe the terrible nature of her character?
What got me the most was the questions James posed about the life worth living. Is it better to live a life of propriety, or a life where chances are taken in hopes of fulfillment? I still wonder at this question. I like the safe, commonness of my world. But by living like that, what am I missing out on?
p.s. I'm not even going to start on ridiculousness of her mother. If James wrote a sequel, it might have been a story about when Mrs. Miller finds her spine lying on the side of the road somewhere in France.
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