Henry James wrote Daisy Miller, according to his
biography, after hearing how some European socialites spoke with contempt against the
mannerisms, lack of culture, and lack of social status of a nouveau riche socialite who
was trying to rub shoulders with rich aristocrats during her first grand tour of
Europe. At the time of James, for an American family to come to money was a
demonstration of how differently Americans and Europeans view the making of a person: In
Europe, you need peerage and name. In America, money is enough to make you socially
acceptable.
In the case of James, he used this story he
heard to convey a message: How society views a person who has just come from somewhere
else using the assumptions of their current society, and how individuals observe that
person as well.
Therefore, the "study" in two parts is not
only on the views of how society shun Daisy Miller for her nouveau riche behavior, but
also how Winterbourne saw her under his criteria of a man of society, and as a man who
could possibly end up loving a controversial woman like that.
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