Realism In Daisy Miller
In the time period immediately after the Civil War, a new style of writing emerged. Literary critics dubbed this new style Realism. Unlike Romanticists, Realist authors concentrated on real life occurrences rather than the fantastic. Henry James, author of Daisy Miller, was such an author. Through characters such as Daisy and Winterbourne James exhibited many qualities, which made him a realist author.
In Daisy Miller, James formulates characters that are very "real" and common. The action of the story itself is cannot be considered extraordinary. The main character, Winterbourne, is an ordinary person living an ordinary life. The occurrences between him and Daisy are occurrences that could have happened between anyone. At no point does the reader lose contact with the belief that he too could find himself in a similar situation. By writing in this way, James conveys an intricate picture of life through the eyes of an ordinary person.
Irony, is one of James's more obvious literary devices which is also an indicator of Realism. Throughout the story it becomes clear that Winterbourne is attracted towards Daisy. Since Winterbourne is the "Center of Conscience" in the story it is unclear what is felt by Daisy. One begins to believe that Daisy does not feel the same way about Winterbourne for she is always found flirting with a young Italian man, Giovanelli. As if Daisy's death at the end of the novel is not ironic enough, the reader comes to find that she did indeed have feelings for Winterbourne. Daisy had been playing "hard to get" and not showing her true feelings. When analyzed, the novel Daisy Miller is found to be dripping with irony.
The characters in Daisy Miller are not only ordinary individuals but also turn out to be symbols. When one analyzes the story he finds a startling connection between illness and the characters. The characters that conform to European society and "fit" in are in good health, while the characters that do not conform are not in good health. Characters such as Winterbourne, Randolf, and Mrs. Walker all abide by the rules of European society and thus are in good health. Mrs. Costello, however, does not accept the European culture and is ridden with disease. Daisy too, becomes sick and perishes due to the realization that she shall exist as an American girl in European society. The conclusion can then be drawn that the characters are incapable of controlling their surroundings and are weeded out by their environment if they do not conform. The inability to control the surroundings of which a character is placed in is also a characteristic of Realism.
Throughout Daisy Miller one can clearly observe that Henry James was a Realist. He focussed on writing about ordinary people enveloped in ordinary happenings. In Daisy Miller James successfully illustrates the harsher side of life present during his time. Through observation of such traits it can easily be discovered that James was a Realist.