Journal #33 Henry James: Etiquette First!

QUOTE:

“Winterbourne wondered if he himself had been like this in his infancy, for he had been brought to Europe at about this age” (James 393).


SUMMARY:

Winterbourne meets little Randolph in the hotel’s garden area and is somewhat entertained with the boy’s obnoxious behavior.


RESPONSE:

Since Daisy Miller: A Study seems to look at the behavior of each of the characters and how they deal with certain situations, this section is revealing more about how Winterbourne’s character perceives the obnoxious little boy. At first, Winterbourne tries to suggest how he thinks the boy should be acting, but he soon becomes more amused at Randolph’s mannerisms. Winterbourne realizes that he could be looking at himself seventeen years ago, and since he is also caught up in worrying about proper etiquette (at least in public places), Winterbourne probably doesn’t want to be too critical of the boy if it could possibly seem hypocritical (even if he would be the only person to notice).

Winterbourne soon forgets about proper etiquette though. He begins to realize that Randolph and Daisy are far from “refined” when he starts to ease his way towards a friendship with Daisy. This seems to give Winterbourne extra confidence and even the gumption to think that he could have some kind of romantic relationship with Daisy. I think Winterbourne also tries to relate to Randolph more, due to his interest in Daisy. He definitely doesn’t want to seem like an “old crank” when it comes to kids like Randolph if he is assuming that he may see this kid more often. However, I think Winterbourne also sees how he can “use” Randolph to his advantage. Randolph could help Winterbourne start conversation topics that may seem impolite to someone like Mrs. Costello, which could lead to finding out more about Daisy.