The Character of Giovanelli

Daisy and Winterbourne are definitely the most intriguing characters in Daisy Miller; however, I also developed a profound interest in Mr. Giovanelli by the end of the novella. The narrator really reveals nothing regarding the substance of his and Daisy's relationship, only what other Americans in Rome think of it. Daisy describes him as "'a great friend of mine,'" and as "'tremendously clever." He apparently is not clever enough to recognize the audacity and individualism in Daisy's character though. I thought it was incredibly poignant that by the end of the novel Giovonelli proclaims Daisy as "'the most innocent'" shortly after Winterbourne comes to the conclusion that her abnormal behavior actually stems from an inherent audacity and disregard for societal expectations. The narrator articulates Winterbourne's epiphany as "she was a young lady whom a young gentleman need no longer be at pains to respect" (p. 48). He proceeds to say of Daisy "what a clever little reprobate she was, and how smartly she played an injured innocence" (p. 48).  But Giovanelli, who spends enormously more time with Daisy than Winterbourne does, seems completely oblivious to her true personality, her true recklessness and clever self-awareness. James conceals such a large portion of Daisy and Giovenlli's relationship that it's completely unclear how Giovanelli misinterprets her personality. I think Daisy's character is so interesting because so many people misinterpret who she actually is, and Giovanelli does this very explicitly. He sees her clever rebelliousness as innocence.