『데이지 밀러: 하나의 연구』에 관한 또 하나의 연구—스키넥터디 성향과 뉴욕시 사교계 문화와의 관계를 중심으로 데이지의 정체성 엿보기

Abstract

Critics of Daisy Miller have generally agreed that Daisy, the heroine of the novella, is a simple and unambiguous character just because they think of her as a stereotypical young American woman in the latter part of the nineteenth century. This essay questions the validity of their view by contending that the character of Daisy has complexity and ambiguity for the very reason that she is presented as a stereotype. In Daisy Miller, she is oversimplified as a stereotype of uncultivated young American women by the Europeanized Americans, including Winterbourne and Mrs. Costello. James is no less responsible for the characterization of Daisy. He presents Daisy as a representative figure in order to render the narrative a satirical comedy of manners which demands characters with stark contrasts in terms of their manners and ways of thinking. On the other hand, Winterbourne, the central intelligence of the story, attempts to categorize Daisy but fails to do so, because of his male desire and his inability to understand what her unique background as a young lady from Schenectady with experience of the fashionable world of New York high society implicates. According to Stuart Hall, a stereotype is created by those who tend to judge others based on their prejudice and a sense of superiority without in-depth knowledge of the backgrounds of the targets of their stereotyping. Daisy is not merely a young woman from Schenectady but the daughter of a nouveau riche couple, who frequented and experienced New York City's high society which has influenced her character and behavior. Daisy is a kind of cultural construct and her identity therefore was forged by the intricate web of cultural forces. Thus, “the unambiguous ambiguity” of Daisy's identity, to borrow Lukacs' expression, can be more lucidly illuminated when approached with references and discourses outside the text of Daisy Miller. This essay is an attempt to re-examine the identity of Daisy and the multiple implications of her unconventional behavior by resorting to a number of outside references that detail the culture of New York high society and the traits of Schenectady.