by Samantha J. Adkins

Created on: May 15, 2009

Henry James' "Daisy Miller" is filled with references to setting. Throughout the story, setting is used to give attention to the rank and status of characters. It is also used to show changes in the relationship between the two main characters and to explain the fascination Daisy Miller holds for her admirer, Mr. Winterbourne. Much of Daisy's charm lies in her disregard for social propriety in her attempts to increase her experiences with her setting, particularly in the evening.

The "Trois Couronnes": A Classy Place to Meet

The story begins in Vevey, Switzerland where the main character, a young American named Winterbourne, has recently arrived after living some time in Geneva.

Effort and time are taken to explain that Winterbourne is situated at a famous, luxurious hotel, the "Trois Couronnes", which is popular with American travelers. Winterbourne is a rather idle, likable and rich twenty-seven year old man who has been employing himself rather questionably in Geneva as the devotee of an older foreign lady. Still, he holds fast to his respectability and rank in society. In comparison to his questionable activities, he spends the duration of the story studying and attempting to comprehend a young American girl named Daisy Miller.

Winterbourne admits he is somewhat out of his element in this story. He frequently refers to setting as he has been many years away from his home country and living in the rather stuffy society at Geneva. As an ex-patriot of the United States living in Europe, Winterbourne is an odd mixture of American and European values and customs. The story uses setting to describe these values. When Winterbourne meets Daisy Miller, he is immediately taken by her seeming lack of reserve. He wonders if her outgoing and flirtatious ways are now common amongst young American women. He immediately compares this to what he has become accustomed to and contemplates the differences when he first meets Daisy. "In Geneva, as he had been perfectly aware, a young man was not at liberty to speak to a young unmarried lady except under certain rarely-occurring conditions; but here at Vevey, what conditions could be better than these? - a pretty American girl coming and standing in front of you in a garden." (James, Henry, 272.)

Winterbourne is both charmed and perplexed by Daisy. She frequently describes him as "stiff" and one wonders if his own practices in Geneva have clouded his ability to properly judge others. During their first

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