The more I thought about this, the more I thought about the significance of the Colosseum. It was a place of violence and entertainment, which seems to parallel gauche, shallow aspects of America and Daisy herself. However, the Colosseum was also a place where executions took place, particularly those of Christian martyrs. Because it is revealed at the end that Daisy was "innocent" after all, James might not be as judgmental towards Daisy as I thought. He could be comparing her to these innocent victims, and showing the way the cruelty of Winterbourne's world killed Daisy.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Death by Culture
Daisy, who travels Europe but does not seem to appreciate or experience culture, contracts the illness that kills her at the Colosseum, a vestige of Ancient Rome and an incomparable symbol of Europe's history. I didn't know quite what to make of this. James, if not Winterbourne, seems to subtly mock Daisy and Americans like her who do not "understand" the nuances of European life. So it confused me that when she finally seems to be seeking out what she lacks, James kills her. One more example of the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" nature of Daisy's short life. Perhaps James implies that Daisy was not seeking out the Colosseum for the right reasons; instead of wanting to gain intellectual knowledge or absorb the history, she just wants an adventure and that isn't good enough for James and Winterbourne.
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That's an interesting way to look at Daisy's death. As the professor mentioned in class, the work mentions a cross in the Colosseum that isn't actually there (as far as we know). James really seems like he is for pushing the fact that Daisy is innocent at the end.
ReplyDeleteHi Kirsty,
ReplyDeleteI, too, was puzzled by Daisy's death and how seemingly random it is as the fate of Daisy in the novel. It also is oddly understated and undramatic. I think your comparison between Daisy and her American-ness and Colosseum life are insightful and reasonable- I hadn't thought about the connection between her death and where it takes place before reading your post!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!
Ali