The true protagonist in Daisy Miller
There are two major characters in the novel Daisy Miller by Henry James. The story is about an American young man who meets a young American girl who is not only pretty but also charming. The meeting point is quite spectacular as the American gentleman; Winterbourne meets Daisy’s little brother long before the actual meeting. The boy goes ahead to give details of his sister Daisy as well as those of his family and their homeland. This creates a better position for Winterbourne who obtain details of Daisy long before he meets and this makes him eager to meet the girl (James, 2007).After getting acquainted to Rudolph; Daisy’s younger brother, the young girl appears and when she stands in front of Winterbourne so as to address her brother, Winterbourne is unable to control his moves and he ends up by her side. During the conversation, Winterbourne is aiming at obtain as much information as possible from the young lady and her little brother such that after that meeting he is convinced that he should see her more often (James, 2007).
Even though the title of the novel is Daisy Miller, the reader gets to know about her through the efforts and conversations which are presented between her and Winterbourne. The young American man has generated a great interest in the young girl and he retrieves so much information form her during their meetings and at some point daisy is also able to get more information about Winterbourne from his friend who spends a great time in paying attribute to his friend (James, 2007).Winterbourne adores Daisy and during their meetings he attempts to understand her contradicting nature which is clearly reflected in her behavior towards other people and Winterbourne himself. Although she is pretty, Winterbourne fails to understand why she cannot be like other American women who are not only elegant but also concerned with the effect they have on others. During the many excursions, Winterbourne gets an insight of Daisy’s moral status which is beyond repair hence she cannot be helped (James, 2007).
The story about Daisy Miller revolves around her aspirations to fall in love with the American man who is very reluctant to commit himself in any relationship with Daisy. This leads to Daisy making extremely silly mistakes such as when she defies all to spend a late evening with her Italian boyfriend and in the process she falls sick and succumbs to Roman Fever (James, 2007).It is rare that we find protagonists dying at the end of the story or else failing to succeed in their endeavors and aspirations. In this story, Daisy refers to Winterbourne as her savior who should have helped her change some of the undesirable aspects of her character. She believes she is innocent and so does Winterbourne only that the realization came so late when she had already passed away (James, 2007).This makes Winterbourne the protagonist because all aspects of Daisy’s life reflect directly on his actions. The story depicts him as a godsend who takes an extra mile to help a sister who is unable to control her ways such that even the society brands her an improper lady (James, 2007).
References
James, Henry, (2007), Daisy Miller. Filiquarian Publishing.
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