“Daisy Miller” is one of the most remarkable novellas written by Henry James in 1878. In his novella, James focuses on the opposition in visions typical for the Americans and Europeans living in the 1870s. From this point, “Daisy Miller” addresses the question of the morality based on certain social principles and norms which are characteristic for the American and European societies (James 12).
In order to help students to understand the author’s idea and to focus on the accentuated differences in the social morality characteristic for the Americans and Europeans, it is necessary to focus on the setting in “Daisy Miller” as the key to understanding the international theme. Thus, one of the most important aspects of the novella’s text is the active change of settings as the environments within which the main characters act to emphasise the spread of the Europeans’ visions of the Americans.
The setting is the key to analysing the international theme discussed in “Daisy Miller”, and the main teaching strategies should include the focus on comparing the social and moral norms typical for the Americans and Europeans in the 1870s; the focus on discussing the role of setting in presenting the issue of morality and developing social stereotypes; the focus on analyzing the author’s biographical background and the historical background of the story’s events; and the focus on discussing Daisy Miller as the international heroine within the presented setting.
“Daisy Miller” is one more novella written by Henry James which discusses the international subject and refers to the differences between the New World and Old World. Before comparing the social and moral norms typical for the Americans and Europeans in the 1870s, it is necessary to determine the physical setting discussed in “Daisy Miller”. The critical question in teaching the setting in “Daisy Miller” is the necessity to differentiate between the lands of the New World and Old World. To prepare the comparison exercise, the teacher should ask students to state clearly in which countries the described events occur (Kar 33-34). Thus, the main events develop in Switzerland and Italy, and the Miller’s house in the United States is only mentioned in conversations (James 14-16).
It is important to draw the students’ attention to the fact that Switzerland and Italy were discussed in the 1870s as the countries of the Old World where the traditions and moral principles were valued. The United States were regarded as the New World where the society was more progressive and open in relation to the issues of morality (Halperin 144).
At this stage, students should refer to the Europeans’ perceptions of Daisy Miller’s behaviour and compare the visions of the moral norms typical for two worlds. From this perspective, the change of settings in the novella helps to understand the characters’ behaviours with references to the issues of morality and development of social stereotypes. Students should answer the questions about the morality of Daisy Miller’s behaviour from the European and American points of view while discussing the associated problem of stereotypes.
The next teaching strategy is the analysis of the author’s biography in order to provide the background for the discussion of the novella’s setting. Henry James discusses the conflict of moral values typical for the European and American societies in many works because he is the Anglo-American writer who spent much time working in Britain. James uses the character of Daisy in order to state the role of social stereotypes and differences in cultures.
In this case, Daisy Miller can be discussed as the international heroine because she promotes the certain moral norms within the new European setting (Deakin 47). At this stage, it is necessary to inform students about the role of the ‘international subject’ in James’s works (Daniels 8-10). James develops the international theme while focusing on the Europeans’ perception of the Americans, and the students’ task is to analyse Daisy’s behaviour within such settings as the resorts of Vevey and Chateau de Chillon and Rome from the point of the European, American, and modern morality.
That is why, the main questions to be discussed while studying the setting and international theme in “Daisy Miller” are the following ones: How can the described setting contribute to revealing the topic of the social morality? How can the setting be used to describe the conflict of values? How is the international theme in “Daisy Miller” accentuated with the help of setting? Are the characters’ perceptions of Daisy influenced by the social stereotypes? The answers to these questions can help students to understand the role of the setting in developing the international subject in James’s works.
While teaching the setting and international theme in Henry James’s “Daisy Miller”, it is necessary to pay much attention to the connections between the international subject and the described settings. Moreover, the key approach to teaching the setting is the focus on the opposition of the Old World and New World’s societies emphasised by Henry James in “Daisy Miller”.
Works Cited
Daniels, Howell. “Henry James and “An International Episode”. Bulletin: British Association for American Studies 1.1 (1960): 3-35. Print.
Deakin, Motley. “Daisy Miller, Tradition, and the European Heroine”. Comparative Literature Studies 6.1 (1969): 45-59. Print.
Halperin, John. “Trollope, James, and the International Theme”. The Yearbook of English Studies 7.1 (1977): 141-147. Print.
James, Henry. Daisy Miller. USA: Cricket House Books LLC, 2013. Print.
Kar, Annette. “Archetypes of American Innocence: Lydia Blood and Daisy”. American Quarterly 5.1 (1953): 31-38. Print.