The more I think about Daisy Miller, the more I come to appreciate the truth of Ali's point in class today that Winterbourne is interested in and appreciates women seemingly without a sexual agenda. I read the novel the first time through seeing this lack of sexual talk as simply the discretion of the time or a method of conspicuous concealment to draw the reader along. It seemed implicit to me that Winterbourne is sexually interested in Daisy, but Ali's point made me wonder whether this is supported by the novel or if I had imposed this view upon him. The full title of the novel, Daisy Miller: A Study, seems to support the lack of sexuality in the story. You almost expect the story to be scientific, a classification of a certain type of woman. This idea of "studying" is emphasized cyclically by the narrator at both the beginning and end of the story. In the beginning, we are told Winterbourne "was at Geneva, 'studying"' (4). "Studying" with quotation marks around it is then defined by the narrator as Winterbourne devoting himself to a lady. Winterbourne is quick to switch "studies" though and the woman in Geneva doesn't reappear once Winterbourne has arrived at Vevey and begins studying Daisy.
At the end of the novella, after Daisy's death, the story comes full circle. Winterbourne returns to Geneva and "is 'studying' hard--an intimation that he is much interested in a very clever foreign lady" (51). He has quickly moved on from his study of Daisy, as he did from his study of the original Geneva woman (is it possible he has in fact returned to this woman?). This seeming lack of a deep emotional connection, as well as the repetition of "studying," lead me to believe that Winterbourne's relationship with women is more clinical, or at least more based on analysis and intrigue, that I had originally imagined. Admitting the intentional fallacy into the discussion, I wonder if this portrayal of Winterbourne was a conscious decision by James to make him either homosexual or asexual, or if James' own sexuality and relationships with women are creeping into a text that is meant to be heteronormative.
You make a good point about the references to Winterbourne's "studying." It's so interesting that there is this subtle aspect of him hidden in plain sight throughout the novel. I'm curious as what other explanations there might be for his behavior, aside from arguments about his sexuality. It seems like he could fall in any number of places regarding his sexual interest, or lack of, in women. I wonder how much his sexuality matters, and if James considered it, or if it's something that modern readers are simply overly interested in.
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