Daisy Miller: A Study

A unique novella during its time, Daisy Miller tells the story of the American title character, her flirtatious relationships with men she meets in Switzerland and Italy, and how Europeans and Americans view her actions. Although Frederick Winterbourne, an American vacationing from his studies, receives scoldings and disapprovals from his aunt and neighbors about hanging around Daisy Miller, he cannot help but be attracted to her. Daisy breaks many social conventions with men by meeting them in unchaperoned locations and being out after dark with those she hardly knows. While author Henry James was met with some criticism of the work, including reviews that held the story as "an outrage on American girlhood," the novella continues to be one of James' most popular works.