好書分享：Daisy Miller

在市圖看到這本書時(我看的版本是中文的，圖片是想讓你們一睹黛絲小姐可能的風采)

很鮮明的想到在"20世紀美國小說"這堂課時，有在教科書Norton Anthology上瞄到Daisy Miller 這部小說，而這部小說的作者是Henry James，非常有趣的人物，在哲學與神學有相當研究，思慮縝密，哥哥還是心理學界的大師William James呢(他的主張:你在森林見到熊的時候，你是先拔腿就跑，然後才感到害怕--強調動作先於情緒並影響情緒)，在林語堂的蘇東坡傳甚至把James Brothers媲美蘇軾與蘇轍，使我崇敬之感油然而生，所以我就開心的借回來看~ 有興趣一睹簡介者請看文末，不過我建議你直接去看薄薄的原著。

看完我有兩點整理:
1. 那時候的歐洲社會真的很古板 認為未婚男女單獨約會是一件要不得的事，不過若已訂婚就另當別論而Daisy Miller非常的自我主義，藐視世俗規矩，喜愛與男性單獨約會，同時態度又表明的天真無邪隨和可親，一般而言，沒有對男方強烈的獨占欲，似乎也沒有做出任何牽手、接吻等越軌的行為。特別的是雖在某些情境下，對Winterbourne先生相當在意，但也沒有給予他足夠的尊敬與喜愛。我只能說:Miss Daisy, you are indeed very weird! If I were a Psychologist, I would be very interested to study your personality!

2. 從Winterbourne眼中的Daisy，大概是他所見過最美麗動人、自然天真又變幻莫測的女性了，他越提醒自己Daisy具有的缺點，越是能為她開脫，一直喜歡著她，也一直提出中肯(符合那個時代的道德觀)的建議給Daisy Miller，儼然是一名身居上流社會，但意識形態較為開闊多元的紳士。但愛上Daisy Miller真是他人生一大挑戰，非常值得同情～～



Plot Summery:
At a hotel in the resort town of Vevey, Switzerland, a young American named Winterbourne meets a rich, pretty American girl named Daisy Miller, who is traveling around Europe with her mother and her younger brother, Randolph. Winterbourne, who has lived in Geneva most of his life, is both charmed and mystified by Daisy, who is less proper than the European girls he has encountered. She seems wonderfully spontaneous, if a little crass and “uncultivated.” Despite the fact that Mrs. Costello, his aunt, strongly disapproves of the Millers and flatly refuses to be introduced to Daisy, Winterbourne spends time with Daisy at Vevey and even accompanies her, unchaperoned, to Chillon Castle, a famous local tourist attraction.
The following winter, Winterbourne goes to Rome, knowing Daisy will be there, and is distressed to learn from his aunt that she has taken up with a number of well-known fortune hunters and become the talk of the town. She has one suitor in particular, a handsome Italian named Mr. Giovanelli, of uncertain background, whose conduct with Daisy mystifies Winterbourne and scandalizes the American community in Rome. Among those scandalized is Mrs. Walker, who is at the center of Rome’s fashionable society.
Both Mrs. Walker and Winterbourne attempt to warn Daisy about the effect her behavior is having on her reputation, but she refuses to listen. As Daisy spends increasingly more time with Mr. Giovanelli, Winterbourne begins to have doubts about her character and how to interpret her behavior. He also becomes uncertain about the nature of Daisy’s relationship with Mr. Giovanelli. Sometimes Daisy tells him they are engaged, and other times she tells him they are not.
One night, on his way home from a dinner party, Winterbourne passes the Coliseum and decides to look at it by moonlight, braving the bad night air that is known to cause “Roman fever,” which is malaria. He finds Daisy and Mr. Giovanelli there and immediately comes to the conclusion that she is too lacking in self-respect to bother about. Winterbourne is still concerned for Daisy’s health, however, and he reproaches Giovanelli and urges him to get her safely home.
A few days later, Daisy becomes gravely ill, and she dies soon after. Before dying, she gives her mother a message to pass on to Winterbourne that indicates that she cared what he thought about her after all. At the time, he does not understand it, but a year later, still thinking about Daisy, he tells his aunt that he made a great mistake and has lived in Europe too long. Nevertheless, he returns to Geneva and his former life