Daisy Miller Meets. . . .Girls Gone Wild?

I just have to say for all of you people who finished The Coquette earlier this week, are these two stories not eerily similar???

Moving on. I can see how Americans might have been offended back in the day for the flirtatious Daisy Miller being the supposed representative for the typical American girl, loose and unrefined. Back then, world travel wasn't as accessible of an endeavour as it is today, and anything read in print was a big deal and were taken seriously.

But come on!!! Just because one little book says it's so does not make it the truth- and Daisy Miller is a fictional work! Henry James is not claiming that all girls are like Miss Miller!(but if we find out on Tuesday that he really did think this, ignore the aforementioned statement.) Does anyone remember what happened when Borat made his way across America? Hello!!! He thought TONS of things were true about American girls because he had seen real live footage of drunk college chicas taking off their clothes in Girls Gone Wild videos! I mean seriously! The main point I'm trying to make here is that readers should always analyze the texts they are reading critically, and understand that the arguments being made may in fact be debatable.

I think the focal point of the story( and I guess we'll find out if I'm grasping at straws on Tuesday) is foreign relations and the fascination of other cultures. Winterbourne is constantly making pro-American statements such as "American girls are the best girls" and "American's candy's the best candy" (6). Well come on, you know it's true! And even Daisy makes comments here and there indicating that her main interest in any country or culture is its society: "The society's extremely select [in Rome]. There are all kinds- English, Germans, and Italians. I think I like the English the best. I like their style of conversation. But there are some lovely Americans. I never saw anything so hospitable" (39). Both Daisy and Winterbourne are infatuated with other cultures, and the entire novel illustrates how one is easily swept up in this idea of racial pride.

The most important thing that Daisy says, however, is in her heated response to Mrs. Walker's exclamations that she was ruining her reputation by taking long walks in the dark alone with a strange man (well, come on now, who are we kidding. . . she kind of was- no matter what society she was a part of). Nevertheless, she argues: "The young ladies of this country have a dreadfully poky time of it [entering relationships with members of the opposite sex], so far as I can learn; I don't see why I should change my habits for them" (49). She admits to being a flirt and attracted to men of foreign lands, and she refuses to abandon her "dating style" for the sake of reputation., to which her companion responds, "Flirting is purely and American custom; it doesn't exist here" (50).

So there you go. Daisy feels confined by all the rules of each society she tries to become a part of (though society is all that she lives for), yet she is unwilling to relinquish her now taboo act that we call "the flirt." Doesn't really matter what she decided to do or didn't decide to do, because in the end she DIES and so her flirtatious, dare I say, coquettish days are abruptly ended. (Again, similarities are presented between this and The Coquette). Henry James couldn't think of a better way to put an end to the dreadful flirting- he just had to off her in one page. ONE PAGE. She was so evil, wanting to be free from social pressures. I guess that flirtatious American bitch really got what she deserved.