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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
I love Henry James style but this was a dry little book.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Henry James really just didn’t like women. I haven’t read anything about his life or how he loved it, but as a woman I can feel the skin crawling veiled misogyny through Daisy Miller (and years ago through The Portrait of a Lady). This seems to me to be a man who was injured by a woman and has decided that they all must possess the qualities of mercurial flirt. The prose in this book was so exquisite and that is really why I didn’t roll my eyes and throw it away after twenty pages… also the fact that it is only 64 pages spurned me forward. Daisy Miller is not a likeable character, she is like I’ve said above, flirty and mercurial. What I find even more abhorrent is that I really feel that he thinks he is somehow doing service to writing a “strong” woman, but he isn’t. He is writing indecisiveness. He is writing poor stereotypes and I found myself really struggling to feel anything but disdain for all of his characters. The male protagonist Winterbourne is a shallow excuse of a man who really only continued to pursue Daisy because of how pretty she is. All of that to say I can really see a lot of Fitzgerald in the writing and it’s clear he was inspired by James, however even Fitzgerald who famously had a very toxic marriage seems to write women with more generosity. Even his most (in my opinion) depressing novel Tender is the Night felt more kind towards women than either Daisy Miller or The Portrait of a Lady. The man really knew how to spin a phrase though, so for that I give four and a half stars, but his reckless imperiousness for women, I bring my overall rating down to three stars.
Couldn't get through that one! Seems like the point of the book was to wonder whether this girl, who didn't quite fit the standards of a Victorian lady, was "loose" or not. Meh.
Daisy Miller is a teenager touring Europe with the mother and brother in 1870's. James, in his contrasting of American vs. European behavior and expectation paints the American woman as independent and outspoken to a potential fault through Daisy.
Great writing, but why do we care about any of these characters?
A minor early Henry James but apparently a must-read for fans. Now that I've read it I can see why.
Henry James can be a bit of a tough nut to crack. I’ll be very honest; I prefer Edith Wharton, who was his protégée. I just find her funnier and sharper. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love and appreciate Mr. James' very interesting insights into his society, the upper crust on the American East Coast during the Gilded Age.
I find characters like Daisy Miller truly fascinating, and I love that while he doesn’t explore the events from her point of view, James still managed to write a fairly nuanced female character who isn’t a typical heroine of the age. Daisy is smart, stubborn and well-intentioned. She thinks that if people know her, they will understand that she acts in transparency and innocence. But that’s not how society works. For her, gentleman friends and suitors are pleasant to know and spend time with, but do not really mean anything beyond that. But other people make assumptions about the true nature of her acquaintances, her suitors’ intent, the implications of time spent together… You know, all that junk that may mean nothing but that reputations are built and destroyed on.
I think the central question of this book is book is: is Daisy simply an innocent girl, unaware of the potential ramifications of her actions, or is she too stupid to truly understand them? Is she being toyed with or is she simply enjoying herself? James never really settles that question, and while that may be frustrating, I appreciate it. I think he wanted the readers to decide who they thought Daisy was. I’d like to think she wanted to just be herself, and that the society gossips were more annoyances than meaningful critics to her, that she wanted to live a life she got to define, regardless of what they have to say.
I am also aware that this might say more about me than about Daisy, or Henry James, and that’s OK. Some books are Rorschach tests, and if this is well done, no one will interpret it the same way. I think this is one such book. It’s also a very quick read, if you are intimidated by James’ longer works. Recommended.
I find characters like Daisy Miller truly fascinating, and I love that while he doesn’t explore the events from her point of view, James still managed to write a fairly nuanced female character who isn’t a typical heroine of the age. Daisy is smart, stubborn and well-intentioned. She thinks that if people know her, they will understand that she acts in transparency and innocence. But that’s not how society works. For her, gentleman friends and suitors are pleasant to know and spend time with, but do not really mean anything beyond that. But other people make assumptions about the true nature of her acquaintances, her suitors’ intent, the implications of time spent together… You know, all that junk that may mean nothing but that reputations are built and destroyed on.
I think the central question of this book is book is: is Daisy simply an innocent girl, unaware of the potential ramifications of her actions, or is she too stupid to truly understand them? Is she being toyed with or is she simply enjoying herself? James never really settles that question, and while that may be frustrating, I appreciate it. I think he wanted the readers to decide who they thought Daisy was. I’d like to think she wanted to just be herself, and that the society gossips were more annoyances than meaningful critics to her, that she wanted to live a life she got to define, regardless of what they have to say.
I am also aware that this might say more about me than about Daisy, or Henry James, and that’s OK. Some books are Rorschach tests, and if this is well done, no one will interpret it the same way. I think this is one such book. It’s also a very quick read, if you are intimidated by James’ longer works. Recommended.
This is a nice little novella by James. It's interesting to compare to say Wharton's American women. I'm not quite sure though what to make of Daisy. I think it goes to show how really innocent Americans were (are) compared to the rules and customs of old Europe.
What I really appreciated was the notes of my Penguin edition. Rather than my [b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics)|Charlotte Brontë|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41GT7KJHSVL._SL75_.jpg|2977639] edition, these notes were informative and educational, helping to bridge the gap of what educated people in the 1880s thought was common for today's reader. And to my great relief, no spoilers (just hints). Although, any spoilers that the notes may have given way, James kind of hits the reader over the head with the proverbial bat.
All-in-all I'm glad I read it. Looking forward to reading his other "more important" works (even though Daisy was his first commercial success).
What I really appreciated was the notes of my Penguin edition. Rather than my [b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics)|Charlotte Brontë|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41GT7KJHSVL._SL75_.jpg|2977639] edition, these notes were informative and educational, helping to bridge the gap of what educated people in the 1880s thought was common for today's reader. And to my great relief, no spoilers (just hints). Although, any spoilers that the notes may have given way, James kind of hits the reader over the head with the proverbial bat.
All-in-all I'm glad I read it. Looking forward to reading his other "more important" works (even though Daisy was his first commercial success).
I just didn't like this book all that much. The storytelling and character portrayals just didn't seem as strong as in James' ilk Edith Wharton and Jane Austen.
A brief novella wherein flirty 19 y.o. American girl meets staid American 26 y.o. boy in Vevey, Switzerland, a Lake Geneva coastal town. Girl has great zest for life, which includes keeping "society" with members of the opposite sex, which doesn't mesh well with the Victorian mores of her contemporaries. Midway through, the scene switches to Rome, but that's not enough to keep James from growing bored and abandoning this thing after about 60 pages.