-1Daisy Miller

Characters:

Daisy Miller - A rich, pretty, American girl traveling through Europe with her mother and
younger brother. Daisy wants to be exposed to European high society but refuses to
conform to old-world notions of propriety laid down by the expatriate community there.
In Rome, she becomes involved with an Italian man named Giovanelli, and she
eventually dies from malaria as a result of being outside with him at night. Along with
Winterbourne, Daisy is the novel’s other possible protagonist. She temps Winterbourne
throughout the story and adds to his own personal conflicts. She is also illuminates the
sharp contrast between the two societies. She is brought down by Winterbourne’s lack of
reliability that leads the reader to believe that she is immoral. The name “Daisy” is
particularly appropriate when one considers the theme of the novella because it further
reiterates that she appears innocent when really there is a drastic difference between her
innocence and experience. She is a tragic character because she has admirable beauty but
it is her flirtiness and persistence that causes her downfall. In the end, we feel pity for her
because her own innocence causes her to suffer undeservedly.

Winterbourne - A young American who has lived most of his life in Geneva.
Winterbourne is the novel’s central narrative consciousness and possibly the protagonist.
Early on in the story we learn that he is very intrigued by young, beautiful women. He is
initially intrigued by Daisy because of her frivolity and independence, but he eventually
loses respect for her. After she dies, however, he regrets his harsh judgment and wonders
if he made a mistake in dismissing her so quickly. Out loud he defends Daisy and her
morals yet the whole novella is based around his attempts and inability to define her in
moral terms. He ultimately decides, after having treated her as a novelty, that she is
beyond moral redemption.

Mr. Giovanelli - An Italian man whose indiscreet friendship with Daisy is misinterpreted
by the American expatriate community and leads, directly or indirectly, to Daisy’s
ostracism and death. She flaunts their relationship and ends up dying because of her
naivety and unwillingness to conform.

Mrs. Costello - Winterbourne’s aunt, a shallow, self-important woman who is genuinely

fond of Winterbourne. She represents the snobbish high society. She also fulfills the role
of “confidante,” a frequent figure in Henry James’s novels.

Mrs. Walker - A wealthy, well-connected American widow who lives in Rome, knows
Winterbourne from Geneva, and has befriended Daisy. Mrs. Walker shares the values of
the rest of the American expatriate community, but she genuinely seems to care what
happens to Daisy and tries to save her. Her attempt fails however as Daisy continues her
affairs with Mr. Giovanelli.

Mrs. Miller - Daisy and Randolph’s vague, weak, ineffectual mother. She seems
obsessed with her health and is incapable of governing the behavior of her children. She
is silly and clueless, but when Daisy falls ill, she proves “a most judicious and efficient
nurse.”

Randolph Miller - Daisy’s younger brother. Randolph is a loud, ill-mannered,

ungovernable little boy of about nine or ten.

Conflicts:

Primary Conflict: Daisy’s refusal to conform to the strict European laws of propriety
that govern behavior, particularly relations between young unmarried people of the
opposite sex, which raises eyebrows among Rome’s high society.

Rising Action: Winterbourne meets Daisy and is charmed and intrigued but also
mystified by her.

Climax: Winterbourne finds Daisy alone with Giovanelli in the Coliseum and decides
she is too unprincipled to continue troubling himself about. He comes to the conclusion
that “She was a young lady about . . . whose perversity a foolish puzzled gentleman need
no longer trouble his head or his heart.”

Falling Action: Daisy realizes that she has lost Winterbourne’s respect, falls ill, sends a
message to him through her mother, and dies. This event is foreshadowed first in chapters
three and four when there are numerous references to “the Roman fever” and in chapter
four when Winterbourne sees Daisy walking above the burial mounds at the Palace of the
Caesars.

Other Conflicts:
•Winterbourne’s longing for Daisy’s affection. The majority of the novella is based
around this conflict and his attempts to woo her. Time and again Daisy meets his desires
with flirty actions that make her even more difficult to obtain. In the end, he gives up
altogether realizing that she is untamable.

Characters that contribute to this conflict:

Randolph: Introduces Winterbourne to Daisy and initiates the whole escapade.
Eugenio: Tour guide who gives Winterbourne a reason to further chase Daisy. He makes
him feel as if there were reason to chase her.
Daisy’s mother: Allows Daisy to go walking with men alone, and is specifically lenient
about this in Rome.
Giovanelli: Makes Winterbourne jealous and makes Daisy appear to be more of a flirt.

• At Mrs. Walker’s party, Daisy arrives late with Mr. Giovanelli and announces that they
have been alone together at the hotel. Mrs. Walker refuses to say good night to her then
declares that she will have nothing more to do with Daisy. As a result of the party, Daisy
becomes a social outcast, but refuses to change her behavior.