Daisy Miller

Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 1878

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Symbols & Motifs

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Symbols & Motifs

Hotels

Much of the novella takes place at grand hotels in Vevey, Switzerland, and Rome, Italy. The narrator describes them as luxurious, ornate, and full of the amenities that upper-class Americans are used to. These hotels are a symbolic embodiment of the wealth the main characters all have in order to spend days, weeks, and even months at a time in them. Though the inhabitants all have a lot of money, they aren’t all aware of the unspoken social contract of behavior for Americans when traveling abroad. The Millers, while rich enough to afford to stay at the same hotels as Winterbourne, quickly show through their loud and vulgar behavior that they have not been in this upper-class milieu for very long. Whenever Daisy brings an Italian gentleman into the hotel, the other guests and hotel employees whisper about her distasteful conduct.

The hotels seem to be almost exclusively occupied by Americans and are located in central, more tourist-laden areas of the cities. As such, hotels act as a buffer or shield between the wealthy Americans in the story and the culture and people of the country that they are actually visiting. Daisy disrupts this way of life by bringing Mr. Giovanelli to Mrs. Walker’s party in Rome. She is more willing to blur the lines between American and European culture and the structures of the hotel represent those boundaries.

Walking

Walking is a recurring motif throughout Daisy Miller. Women like Mrs. Walker and Mrs. Costello criticize Daisy for gallivanting around Vevey and Rome with gentlemen, often walking about in the open. They believe she is shamelessly flaunting her flirtations with various men by allowing herself to be seen walking with them. Mrs. Costello is aghast when she learns that Winterbourne accompanies Daisy to see the Chateau de Chillon, a castle on an island near Vevey, after they’d only just met each other.

After just meeting Daisy and learning that she plans to take a walk with Mr. Giovanelli, Mrs. Walker literally chases after her in her carriage, begging her to get inside with her, rather than have her walk in broad daylight with Mr. Giovanelli, and Mr. Winterbourne, around Rome.

Though Daisy’s frequent walks put her friendships on display to the rest of society, Mr. Winterbourne points out to his aunt that there really is no “intrigue” with Daisy—she walks around town with Mr. Giovanelli because she doesn’t believe that she has anything to hide. In reality, she is more open and honest than people like Mrs. Walker, who would prefer her to hide her relationships, which in turn would make them more scandalous.

The Roman Colosseum

The Roman Colosseum is an iconic ancient structure that serves as a symbolic backdrop for one of Daisy Miller’s most pivotal scenes. The Colosseum was completed in 80 AD for the purpose of witnessing spectacles, including gladiatorial competitions and public executions. There was a punishment for criminals called damnatio ad bestias, where the offender would be thrown into the Colosseum with an animal like a bear or lion, for the amusement of a crowd. In the novella, the Americans in Rome treat Daisy herself as a spectacle for their entertainment, and women such as Mrs. Walker believe they have the right to attack her. She might as well have been stoned to death as catch the Roman Fever while she was loitering there with Mr. Giovanelli late one night.

Not only is the Colosseum a symbol for ritualistic public shaming, but, as an ancient structure literally in ruins, it represents the crumbling of old ways of thinking about social class and gender roles. Much like the outdated beliefs of Victorian and Puritan values during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Colosseum has become a relic of a different time. The “Old Guard,” like Mrs. Costello and Mrs. Walker, will not be able to hold onto their old ways much longer before more young people like Daisy will force a change that they cannot deny. For now, though, in the context of the story, Daisy is almost a martyr for this new way of thinking that has not been accepted yet.