Portrait of a Lady

A detailed Summary of Portrait of a Lady

Henry James wrote a lot of classic stories in his time. Amongst these great classics is that of "Daisy Miller." Daisy Miller is a love story about a young lady who appears to be out of place in culture and society. It is about a girl who wants to be free and does so by showing her ignorance in society. In the reading we come across many themes that Daisy Miller brings upon herself. Amongst these themes is that of her innocence. Henry James' "Daisy Miller" has a theme of innocence, which brings great misfortune to the main character. Does Daisy's death have to do with her innocence or with her ill-mannered life style? Daisy Miller is a unique girl who appears to do wrong because of her innocence.

Daisy is a young American adult who was placed in a European environment with absolutely no idea of how to act. Some say that this is what Daisy's innocence is all about, and others believe it is her own fault. She was brought up in a very lenient family who let the children do almost whatever they wanted too. This is proved in the opening scene of the book when Winterbourne tells little Randolph Miller; "Take care you don't hurt your teeth" and Randolph replied, "I haven't got any teeth to hurt." (Jame

At the beginning of the story Daisy meets a nice American gentleman who ends up falling in love with Daisy. The gentleman's name is Winterbourne. He does all that he can to try and be noticed by Daisy. They become quite good fiends and he takes her to see some sites. After a long stay, it is time for Daisy and her family to move on to a new European city. Winterbourne is much in love to never see Daisy again, so he agrees to meet up with her in a few months in the city of Rome. When Winterbourne finally arrives in Rome he has noticed that Daisy has an Italian companion with whom she spends all her time. Winterbourne makes it clear that he has many feelings for Daisy. Winterbourne says; "You're a very nice girl, but I wish you'd flirt with me, and me only"(James 61). Throughout the story Daisy flirts with Winterbourne making him believe that she is interested in him. Daisy appears to be interested in Winterbourne, but she also appears to be interested in her Italian friend Giovanelli. Many people begin to talk about Daisy behind her back, and how she is not very proper. Can this be true or is it a sign of her innocence. Does she just not know any better than to flirt with multiple men in this society at such a time-period? Many people believe Daisy is not as innocent as she appears. Some feel that she know exactly what she is doing. Henry James puts this in the story to show that Daisy is not a polite and charming girl. He points out that she just like everyone has flaws. The question of Daisy and her innocence does come up numerous times throughout the novel.

Beautiful young lady I ever saw, and the most amiable." They al

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Approximate Word count = 1115
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English