Daisy Miller

“He was some seven-and-twenty years of age; when his friends spoke of him, they usually said he was at Geneva ‘studying.’ When his enemies spoke of him, they said—but, after all, he had no enemies; he was an extremely amiable fellow and universally liked. What I should say is, simply, that when certain persons spoke of him they affirmed that the reason of his spending so much time at Geneva was that he was extremely devoted to a lady who lived there—a foreign lady—a person older than himself. Very few Americans—indeed, I think none—had ever seen this lady, about whom there were some singular stories.”

Here, the narrator gives the reader some background on Winterbourne. There is a moment where they correct themselves mid-sentence, saying that Winterbourne didn’t actually have any enemies, but some people did say that the reason he was in Geneva was because of a lady and not to “study.” It is a vague reference but it does tell the reader that Winterbourne may have a relationship with another woman, and that there may be something unconventional or even scandalous about her since there are “some singular stories” in circulation about her. This small reference will re-emerge again at the end of the novella, and highlights The Double Standards for Men and Women, as Winterbourne is free to engage in affairs while women like Daisy are not.

“I haven’t got any teeth to hurt […] My mother counted them last night and one came out right afterwards. She said she’d slap me if any more come out. I can’t help it. It’s this old Europe. It’s the climate that makes them come out. In America they didn’t come out. It’s these hotels.”

When they first meet, Randolph asks Mr. Winterbourne for some sugar. Here, he is telling Mr. Winterbourne that his teeth have been falling out since they came to Europe after Winterbourne suggests that too much sugar will hurt his teeth. This quote demonstrates Randolph’s brash personality and his absolute disdain for Europe and how much more he prefers America.

“The only thing I don’t like […] is the society. There isn’t any society; or if there is, I don’t know where it keeps itself. Do you? I suppose there is some society somewhere, but I haven’t seen anything of it. I’m very fond of society, and I have always had a great deal of it. I don’t mean only in Schenectady, but in New York.”

Here, Daisy is telling Winterbourne that her social life was much more exciting in New York than in Europe. She says that if there is some society there, she hasn’t seen it; Mr. Winterbourne and readers may suppose that the “society” she wants she wants to belong to has not seen fit to invite her to any social gatherings, reflecting The Importance of Class and Social Standing amidst the upper-class Americans.

“Poor Winterbourne was amused, perplexed, and decidedly charmed.”

In this quote, the narrator inserts themself into the commentary by showing pity for “poor” Mr. Winterbourne. He thinks that Daisy is beautiful and fun but cannot figure out if she is a proper young lady.

“Was she simply a pretty girl from New York state—were they all like that, the pretty girls who had a good deal of gentlemen’s society? Or was she also a designing, an audacious, an unscrupulous young person?”

This quotation is an example of the narrative technique of free indirect discourse, where the narrator asks questions as though they are Winterbourne’s own thoughts, though it has not been clearly stated that is the case. Winterbourne’s internal debates as to whether or not Daisy is innocent and unaffected or “audacious” invokes the theme of Individualism Versus Conformity.

“‘They are very common,’ Mrs. Costello declared. ‘They are the sort of Americans that one does one’s duty by not—not accepting.’”

Mr. Winterbourne is telling his aunt, Mrs. Costello, about the Millers and she openly shares her disdain for them. This quote represents not only her, but Mrs. Walker’s and others’ attitudes toward the Miller family: If they wish to remain part of their elite, exclusive society, it is their duty to snub people like the Millers for being “common,” i.e., unrefined. The passage is a reminder of The Importance of Class and Social Standing in the upper-class milieu of the novella.

“She would be very exclusive. 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 is marveling at the “exclusivity” of Winterbourne’s aunt, a quality that she admires. She says that she and her mother are exclusive, too, but then admits it's more because people won’t speak to them and not the other way around. She dismisses this distinction by saying that it’s “the same thing,” but the reader, and Winterbourne, are meant to know that it is not. Daisy does not have the luxury of being exclusive because everyone from the most elite class of society has already excluded her.

“It isn’t for me—it’s for you—that is, it’s for her. Well, I don’t know who it’s for!”

When Winterbourne suggests that Daisy’s mother doesn’t like him walking with her, she responds that she doesn’t really understand her mother’s reaction. When she says, “I don’t know who it’s for,” she could also be calling into question all of the rules a lady must follow in order to keep her reputation respectable, referencing The Double Standards for Men and Women.

“Of course a man may know everyone. Men are welcome to the privilege!”

After Winterbourne leaves Vevey and returns to Geneva, he writes to his aunt and she tells him about the rudeness of the Millers. She insists that she will not socialize with them but that he can, because men are freer to associate with whomever they like without damaging their reputation. This is another explicit reference to The Double Standards for Men and Women that regulate how the sexes are supposed to behave.

“I have never allowed a gentleman to dictate to me, or to interfere with anything I do.”

This quote from Daisy is the most bold and direct statement she makes in the text, embodying her stance regarding Individualism Versus Conformity. She says it to Winterbourne when he is trying to get her to leave Giovanelli and get into Mrs. Walker’s carriage with him. This exchange is a moment where Daisy appears to be fully aware of the impact of her choices and doesn’t care. She is communicating a proto-feminist perspective that many people wouldn’t take very well at the turn of the 20th century, and indeed, Mr. Winterbourne and Mrs. Walker do not.

“I think you have made a mistake […] You should sometimes listen to a gentleman—the right one.”

When Daisy tells Winterbourne that she does not let gentlemen tell her what to do, he responds with this quote. He clearly feels that he is the “right one” that she should listen to. This rebuke makes him sound condescending and paternalistic and, later, Daisy accuses him of being preachy and stiff.

“Winterbourne felt a superior indignation at his own lovely fellow-countrywoman’s not knowing the difference between a spurious gentleman and a real one.”

As Winterbourne walks with Daisy and Mr. Giovanelli, he assesses Giovanelli’s social status. He determines that he is not a “real” gentleman, but is doing a fairly good impression of one. He does not describe how he can tell the difference but feels he is smarter than Daisy for being able to do so. Winterbourne’s assessment of Giovanelli reflects his jealousy over the situation and The Importance of Class and Social Standing for people like him.

“It was impossible to regard her as a perfectly well-conducted young lady; she was wanting in a certain indispensable delicacy. It would therefore simplify matters greatly to be able to treat her as the object of one of those sentiments which are called by romancers ‘lawless passions.’ That she should seem to wish to get rid of him would help him to think more lightly of her, and to be able to think more lightly of her would make her much less perplexing. But Daisy, on this occasion, continued to present herself as an inscrutable combination of audacity and innocence.”

As Daisy flirts openly with Mr. Giovanelli, Winterbourne continues to be confused about the ambiguous nature of her character. He believes his life would be easier if Daisy would do something to indicate that she is clearly not “respectable” so he could then know how to treat her. This shows that Mr. Winterbourne does not believe that every person deserves to be treated with the same basic level of respect just by virtue of their humanity, but instead based on their social class and behavior.

“Winterbourne raised his eyebrows. ‘I think it is a pity to make too much fuss about it.’”

When Mrs. Walker is chasing Daisy down the street in her carriage, Winterbourne suggests she not make so much “fuss” about Daisy’s behavior. For one thing, it calls more attention to the behavior Mrs. Walker is trying to hide, and such a confrontation could push Daisy further away. Winterbourne also seems to enjoy Daisy’s casual attitude toward spending time alone with men, so long as the man is him.

“Daisy gave a violent laugh. ‘I never heard anything so stiff! If this is improper, Mrs. Walker,’ she pursued, ‘Then I am all improper and you must give me up.’”

Daisy is angry at Mrs. Walker for chasing her and accusing her of being “improper.” Here, she stands up to her and tells her that she doesn’t care what she or anyone else thinks about her conduct and that she will continue doing what she pleases. She communicates that she thinks Mrs. Walker’s definition of “impropriety” is silly and meaningless to her and will not allow her to shame her into getting into her carriage.

“But did you ever hear anything so cool as Mrs. Walker’s wanting me to get into her carriage and drop poor Mr. Giovanelli; and under the pretext that it was proper? People have different ideas! It would have been most unkind; he had been talking about that walk for ten days.”

After her confrontation with Mrs. Walker, Daisy vents her frustration over the situation to Winterbourne and shows that she has her own measure of what is proper and polite, reflecting the dilemma of Individualism Versus Conformity. Daisy feels following Mrs. Walker’s advice on propriety would have been rude and unkind to Giovanelli; to Daisy, it seems as if behavior that is polite and proper should also be kind. As we see several times throughout the story, women like Mrs. Walker and Mrs. Costello do not share this belief.

“You’re a very nice girl, but I wish you would flirt with me, and me only.”

Here, Winterbourne shows his cards to Daisy and expresses a bit of his jealous annoyance that she doesn’t flirt exclusively with him. Throughout the novella, there is a bit of tension between whether Winterbourne’s objections to Daisy’s behavior are made out of concern for her or because he wants her for himself. This quote indicates that there is some level of selfishness behind his concern for her reputation.

“It seems to me much more proper in young unmarried women than in old married ones.”

When Winterbourne scolds Daisy for flirting with Italian men, Daisy responds with her own kind of logic. This exchange is one of several between Daisy and other characters where Daisy questions a social rule and assertively defends her behavior. As the novella progresses, particularly in Part 2, Daisy becomes a stronger character who is better able to express her point of view on Individualism Versus Conformity.

“‘That was very cruel,’ he said to Mrs. Walker. ‘She never enters my drawing room again,’ replied his hostess.”

Winterbourne says this to Mrs. Walker after she snubs Daisy at her party. It simultaneously reveals that Winterbourne has a tendency to scold others and can occasionally stand up for Daisy, and that Mrs. Walker has decided that Daisy has crossed a line socially that she will not recover from, reflecting The Importance of Class and Social Standing.

“He felt very sorry for her—not exactly that he believed that she had completely lost her head, but because it was painful to hear so much that was pretty and undefended and natural assigned to a vulgar place among the categories of disorder.”

After Mrs. Walker rejects Daisy, the rest of society follows suit and Winterbourne watches it happen without doing much to help. The narrator says he feels “very sorry” for Daisy, which has a condescending connotation as he still regards her as “pretty and undefended and natural” as opposed to strong-willed and knowingly following her own values.

“They are only pretending to be shocked. They don’t really care a straw what I do.”

Daisy says this to Winterbourne when he tries to appeal to her sense of shame, saying that everyone is talking about her. She is clearly becoming more cynical about this “exclusive” society and scoffs. She is starting to see how hypocritical and arbitrary the rules are that confine her and openly scorns anyone who prevents her from doing as she pleases.

“He remembered that if nocturnal meditations in the Colosseum are recommended by the poets, they are deprecated by the doctors. The historic atmosphere was there, certainly; but the historic atmosphere, scientifically considered, was no better than a villainous miasma.”

This is one of only a few references to the Roman Fever that Daisy dies from before the end of the story; here Winterbourne remembers that he should not spend a lot of time around the Colosseum because people believed the air there contained the cause of the illness. “Roman Fever” is another term for malaria, which is usually spread by mosquitos. It was so prevalent in Italy during this time period that the word itself is Italian and literally means “bad air.”

“Winterbourne stopped, with a sort of horror; and, it must be said, with a sort of relief. It was as if a sudden illumination had been flashed upon the ambiguity of Daisy’s behavior and the riddle had become easy to read. She was a young lady whom a gentleman need no longer be at pains to respect.”

When Winterbourne sees Daisy at the Colosseum late at night with Giovanelli, he believes he finally has the evidence he needed to understand that Daisy is truly not respectable and he needn’t waste any more time worrying about her. In a similar manner to how Mrs. Walker made a snap judgment to never allow Daisy in her home again, here too Winterbourne abruptly decides it's time to write her off completely, reflecting both The Importance of Class and Social Standing and The Double Standards for Men and Women—after all, Winterbourne only sees her because he himself is also out walking at night, but as a man, he remains a “gentleman” regardless and his behavior would never be deemed shocking.