Daisy Miller Essay

Daisy Miller

In Henry James Daisy Miller, Daisy is portrayed as an innocent American girl who seemed not to fit in high society or European culture at the time. Winterbourne, a young American brought up in Europe, seemed to pursue Daisy because this innocence yet also wanted to save her from the ridicule others, including his aunt, bestowed upon her. In many ways, like Winterbourne wanting to save Daisy, the lawyer in Bartleby, The Scrivener wanted to save his employee, Bartleby. The two novels have much to do with the same theme or idea of wanting to help or save a person dear to them through relationship and reputation, yet these mens intentions were also two words apart.

When Winterbourne and Daisy met, Winterbourne seemed attracted to Daisys beauty and the fact that she was showing her interest in him as well, or so he thought. He was inclined to think Miss Daisy Miller was a flirta pretty American flirt. He had never, as yet, had any relations with young ladies of this category. ( ) In the case of the lawyer, Bartleby first presented himself as neat and respectable man who worked hard and asked for near to nothing. The lawyer was attracted to Bartleby, not in a physical sense, like Winterbourne, but in the sense that he admired Bartlebys work ethic and punctuality. One object I had in placing Bartleby so handy to me behind the screen, was to avail myself of his services on such trivial occasions. (5) It seemed like the lawyer almost needed Bartleby to be around so that he seemed secure, in knowing that Bartleby will do the job right.

As the storied progressed the authors showed how Winterbourne and the lawyer wanted to save Daisy and Bartleby because of their own reputations. Winterbourne was hearing the people around him talk about Daisy in such a negative way he wanted to insure his reputation would not be spoiled because of the way she acted. In the same way the lawyer wanted to save his reputation by saving Bartleby. When Bartleby decided not to work anymore the lawyers friends and colleagues started to talk about him and his employee. Although in both cases the men had to save their own reputation it was like they were saving the others reputation as well.

Through relationship and reputation, Winterbourne and the lawyer both seemed to have many similarities in how they needed to save their beloved and employee. The situations the men were put in seemed world apart from one another. One was a romantic relationship and the other was an employer-employee relationship but the two men still both had difficult times trying to save the person who they needed in the story. Winterbourne had a hard time getting into Daisys head and understanding why she acted the way she did and why she teased him and the lawyer had a hard time figuring out why Bartleby just stopped working and preferred not to do anything anymore.