The first time I read Daisy Miller, I was paying more attention to the plot. This time, I was able to see some more of the details. I noticed that a significant number of the women in the story were ill, weak, or impotent and that this keeps them confined in some manner. Mrs. Miller suffers from dyspepsia and the inability to control her children, Mrs. Costello suffers from recurring headaches and cannot influence Mr. Winterbourne, Mrs. Miller cannot control Daisy, and Daisy herself dies of the fever. Conversely, the men have more agency and are able bodied. Mr. Winterbourne is capable of avoiding the fever and making his own decisions without negative consequences, Mr. Giovanelli also does not succumb to the fever and does not suffer from the social scorn directed at Daisy, and even Randoph is able to move about and do as he pleases, he doesn’t even go to bed when he is supposed to but stays up all night.
Even the clothes that the women wear confine them. Daisy is described as being dressed in “a hundred frills and flounces and knots of pale-coloured ribbon” which she had to keep smoothing. Daisy could not run about as her brother because of her dress. Her clothing also marks her in Rome as being of a higher class and so attracted attention for walking about through the parks. Her clothing was meant to confine her to the inside of hotel rooms and confine her to her social status. Daisy cannot escape the social expectations that confine her in ways she refused to be confined, and she died for freedom. The social cold shoulder and judgement, the clothes, her ineffectual mother all combined to create a situation where Daisy could not escape without extreme tarnishing of her reputation and so she died of the fever.
I really like this point and an example that fit this theory came to mind. Mrs. Costello claims that her headaches always keep her in and she also claims that she is too exclusive to be in the society of just anyone. Mr. Winterbourne tries to tell Daisy that the reason Mrs. Costello can't meet her is due to her headaches. I think this rings true to the theory because this is a way in which Mrs. Costello allows societal rules to confine her and therefore sickness affects her. She even says to Winterbourne about his knowing the Millers though she feels she can't, "If... you desire to keep up the acquaintance, you are very welcome. Of course a man may know every one. Men are welcome to the privilege!" (26).
ReplyDeleteI think Daisy herself is a fairly strong character in comparison to the other women, who I agree with you are weak, ineffectual, or ill. Daisy does exactly as she wants throughout the story, although I'm still uncertain what she hopes to achieve by being a "flirt." Is it just entertainment, or is she waiting for Winterbourne to take control (since women can't) and propose. I also wonder if Daisy has agency in her own death. Giovanelli says that Daisy wanted to go to the Colosseum, but we're never told if Daisy knows she can catch the fever there. Therefore, while Daisy certainly dies in search of freedom, does her death actually reassert the power of men over women because they are kept in ignorance?
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