Daisy Miller is a short story by Henry James while Editha is a short story by William Howells. The two publications are authored by very influential authors in the American history.  The two books have great significance to the American literature. For instance, Henry James in his book the Daisy Miller has explored the comparison between the European and American values.  The book is based on a plot that tries to define and contrast the European experience and the American innocence (Ingelbien). It is, however, worth noting that at the end of the book, Henry James denounces this simple opposition and replaces it with a much more advanced play of perception and point of view. At the end of the story, the author is adamant about accepting being an American and opted changing to become a British citizen. The book tries to express discontent with the American culture and the envy of the European culture.

On the other hand, William Howells also was a great artist of his time. A short story by the name Editha is one of his major works of his times. Just like Henry James, Howells work was after the World War I, and the Americans were already devastated by the effects of the war. As a result, Americans were in need of a work of literature that would define their current status as a society. The author tries to explore the role of a woman in the society, especially among the Americans. Through author the short story, the author questions what can justify the war in a society. Howells is very much against war especially the Spanish-American war (Meyers).  The main character in the story is a selfish, arrogant and thoughtless woman who cares less about the consequences of war. He outlines the sufferings and humiliations that are consequences of war in a society. At the end of the story, the author can deliver his message of peace and reconciliation to all the American people.

Realism in the Daisy Miller and Editha

As aforementioned, the conclusion of World War I was a turning point in the American literature. The society required to be enlightened on important issues that transpired during and after the cold war.  It is at this time that the society would cherish literature that would be a true reflection of what is happening in the real life situations (Cooperman). Proponents of this idea argued that true reality was beautiful art and anything short of this was just too ugly. As a result, both Henry James and Howell were determined to fulfill the desires of the Americans through their creative arts.  The two authors are regarded as the pioneers of reality writing, and their work was intended to improve ethics among the readers of their works.

Realist writing was focused more on average characters rather than remarkable individuals. Strong artistry and irony were the major components of realist writing practiced by Henry James and Howell. Through their works Editha and Daisy Miller, the authors have tried to express daily experiences of the people in a community. Though there are different settings, the authors demand the reader to identify with the happenings or the role played by the characters and the real life situations (Lund). The two authors create a picture where women are pressured to accept distinct roles in the society. However, the two authors express the different and contrasting paths that the two characters follow in the two novels. It is evident from the work of these two authors that constraints of realism stipulate certain objectives of the characters in the novel.

For instance in the Howells novel, Editha, the author argues the importance of realism and the problematic acceptance of the ideal position. He was against the idea of romance and accepting the course of life just because the society dictates (Cooperman). To fulfill his objective of opposing idealization, Howell in his novel Editha compares and contrasts the American culture with those of the other countries.  Throughout the novel, the author tries to give different views of the American life regarding manners, classes, and stratification. Howell believed that any art should present life as it is and not as it might be. As a result, through strong artistic and irony, he can convince the Americans that nothing good comes as a result of the war.

The contrast between Editha and her mother in law Mrs. Gearson, who had two distinctive perspectives on the war, is used to exhibit the realism and his opposition to the war (Lund).  While Editha views romanticism and heroism in war, her mother in law Mrs. Gearson and her boyfriend have been used effectively to sensitize the community that there is nothing good that comes from war (Meyers). The author fails to mention the Spanish-American war to create a picture that war is not good and not necessarily any war but the war in general.

Realism writing is also evident from Henry James work in the novel Daisy Miller. Just like Howell, James too is an advocate of realism movement. Throughout this novel, he tries to explain the contrasting cultures of the Americans and Europeans.

Henry James compares English and American culture to enable the reader to associate with one of the cultures (Coffin). To improve his art, James decides to use a young American girl to enhance the irony of the novel (Ingelbien). The young American girl is wealthy and got no manners possibly because she is from a rich family. The young girl is not detracted from her American culture despite being in a European country. The young girl is an example of a person who is of a strong mind and independent in the society. Being strong minded and independent makes the young girl look rebellious to the society but the girl remains firm in her American culture.

To enhance the point of realism, the author brings another totally different character who is an American man. Unlike Daisy, the man changes his American culture and embraces the American culture. After spending much of his life in Italy, Geneva and other European countries, the man foregoes his American culture and adopts European culture.   The comparison between the two characters is instrumental in enabling the reader to relate the characters with real life situations in the society (Cooperman). Additionally, Henry James has also used symbolism in his work to enhance the real life situations of the society.  He has artistically used his characters well to bring out the conflicting culture between the two countries. Daisy Miller exhibits her American culture and fails to conform to the European culture despite the intense pressure from the people. The author has been able to bring out the Americans’ flirt through the young lady.  He also brings out the friendly and socializing culture of the Americans when the young girl accepts Mr. Giovannel’s invitation. Realism is also brought out by the choice of character’s name. For instance, the name Daisy refers to a flower and the character is brought out as a beautiful young lady. Flowers are always associated with beauty, and the choice of this name will help the readers to associate and have a picture o how the young lady looks like (Coffin). Howell used comic to bring about realism in the American literature.  In essence, the works of Henry James and Howell have embraced realism in their work thus making the readers associate well with the real life issues in the society.

PART 2: RESEARCH PAPER

Comparison of the characters between Daisy Miller and Editha

The authors’ aim is to create a picture of the struggles that American women and men faced during the period, the late nineteenth century. Henry James, who wrote ‘’Daisy Miller’’ and William Howells, who wrote Editha are some of the renown authors who were concerned with the social welfare of the American society. Henry James’s novel “Daisy Miller” enlightens the society on the emerging modern America and an American woman who are ‘‘Europeanized”. Daisy as expressed in the novel is fiercely independent as her country of residence (Levine).  The young and wealthy girl is viewed as ignorant and this creates a stereotype opinion of all the Americans in the eyes of Europeans. On the other hand, most probably, Editha is used by Henry James to portray the American government beliefs. In the entire story, the romanticism and realism are conveyed through the war-torn couple, Editha, and her boyfriend, George. Daisy and Editha exhibits character traits that lead to naive and bravery.

Daisy is a young, wealthy girl of an American origin traveling around Europe with her younger sibling and one parent. On many instances, the girl is ignorant and doesn’t seem to care the plight of others. Daisy feels that she knows everything and nobody should question her.  She wonders if Winterbourne, her boy friend, has any knowledge about the city of New York. Frederick Winterbourne was a young man who according to his friends, had come to Europe to“study”. Though we don’t see him as a person who was interested in his studies, we can assume that his interests were in studying Daisy (Ingelbien) .Daisy’s flirtatious and arrogant behavior is a source of irritation and discomfort to Winterbourne who loves her immeasurably. Winterbourne would always wish that this young girl had better traits. Winterbourne recalls one night when she meets the young girl flirting with an Old Italian man by the name Mr. Giovanelli. (Coffin). His efforts to counsel the young girl to stop his flirting behavior are futile as the young girl label him as ‘’boring’. The young girl dies after few days leaving a message that she was never engaged to the Old Italian. This confession is regret to Winterbourne who rues the missed opportunity of having engaged the young pretty American girl.

Winterbourne cannot forgive himself for not having made a move on her. Such erroneous thinking is an act of ignorance. She is also a tiresome flirt. Most of her conversations aimed at enhancing her desires and interests even if she harms others. Again, she does not have conversational gifts or social graces such as talent, wit, and charm for repartee. Her interests are in manipulating men and attracting their attention (Levine).When Daisy meets with Winterbourne in Rome, she is now a pariah, the consequence of her naivety. She defies the strict social conventions and acts as she pleases. Also, she does not respect the democratic ideals by avoiding the egalitarian and open society and favoring the rigidly hierarchical ones. She advocates for knowing a person’s place and behaving accordingly.

Daisy as used by the author is character who portrays a great sense of independence. Unlike the other women in the society, she decides to live a life that maintains her American culture. She fails to conform to the idealization of the European culture.  The young age of this girl is a sign of innocence that the author wants to exhibit concerning the American society. She is a flirt who is really materialistic and is not concerned with the welfare of the rest of the society (Ingelbien). The young lady looks rebellious in the eyes of the society and he seems not to care what the society thinks about her. Out of her innocence and the flirting behavior, the young girl agrees to meet the Italian, Giovanelli and this leads to her death as a result of contracting malaria (Coffin). Use of Daisy as a character in the novel is used to symbolize the American woman and their behavior when they travel abroad. The American culture gets a negative image from the Europeans and more so from Italy.

Editha has a strong stand in support of war and argues that through war one is able to escape from the oppressors. Daisy’s view on war was that t was the only route to freedom and liberty from social suffering. This senselessness, recklessness and the simplicity conviction of believing in the war in the name of patriotism, Editha insists that George should fight for his country. She imagines Georgia coming back home with a single arm, but she decides not to think deeply about her decisions. What is more, Mrs. Greason, mother to George, helps Editha overcomes naivety by lecturing to her about the sons killing other mother’s sons, and young men killing each other. However, Editha declines to follow the advice. When Georgia dies, truth confronts Editha when she faces Georgia’s mother. Because of her behavior, George’s mother is aggrieved by the loss of her son and gets irritated by Editha’s behavior.  Editha gets condemned for encouraging George to undertake a cause that led to his demise. The mother gets enraged, and Edith leaves immediately to avoid confrontation. Her naivety proves too costly as she loses a chance to get engaged to George who dies in war.

Editha and Daisy are both naïve and ignorant. They have selfish characters where they only think f their interest and are less concerned with the welfare of others. in addition,  the two characters are nationalist as they try hard to protect the interests of their countries. Editha believes that her boyfriend involvement in war is a sign of patriotisms and heroism. The naïve girl would encourage her fiancé to go to war without considering the possible repercussions. Editha and Daisy have been used artistically in both novels to create a plot of conflict. Editha, for instance, is in conflict with her elderly mother in the law concerning their opinion on war. Editha believed that her opinion in matters of war was the best and no person should go against it (Kar). On the contrary, Mrs. George tries to lecture the naïve girl on the deadly repercussions of war. Though the two women show independence and strong minds, these character traits are not beneficial to them at all. They have little understanding on how to cohabit peacefully and selflessly with other members of the society.

On the other hand, the characters are brave as they are willing to stand firm for what they believe. Uncalled for forces, regardless of how fearsome, won’t dissuade them from their own objectives. Their own particular self-esteem is sufficiently high to free them to have the capacity to act autonomously. Despite being not educated, both ladies are also intelligent and clever. They know how to draw an obvious conclusion. They know how to share and are not afraid of criticism. They illuminate themselves when there is an issue (Meyers). They don’t simply worry about issues. They find solutions for their issues. Their commitment to a higher reason or objective is a typical characteristic of their bravery.

The authors of these two books have also tried to use the main characters effectively to bring out different personalities of the people in the society. For instance, Henry James has been able to show how Daisy directly flouts the societal rules and expectations. The character is depicted as being very stubborn and she does not allow any gentleman to interfere with what she does in her daily life (Coffin). The character by all odds defies the societal provisions and clings on her independence. She refuses to conform to the old setting as Winterbourne would prefer but instead chooses to maintain her innocence. Though the society viewed her flirting behavior as immoral, Daisy maintains her independence all the way to the grave. The same case is also evident on the part of Editha. Despite efforts from her mother in law and her fiancé, she maintains that participating in war was a sign of patriotism and heroism. She threatens her fiancé of discontinuing with their relationship if he declines to go to war. Though she is grieved by the demise of her fiancé, the girl maintains her stand on the heroism and patriotism associated with war. According to the two authors, society and individualism are distinct issues of the society.

The issue of naivety and it consequences have also been explored by the works of Howell and Henry James. For instance, Daisy is portrayed as a young and clueless American girl at the time.  Her cluelessness and her firm stand on important life issues eventually lead her to downfall and eventual demise (Johnson). Although she had been warned severally on her flirting behavior, she arrogantly ignored these warnings and decided to flirt with Giovanelli to the Coliseum. This behavior made Europeans to look down upon the Americans and also made her contact malaria diseases from which she meets her unprecedented death. If she had only been keen on some of these warnings, she would have lived quite longer and possibly get engaged to Winterbourne. This is also the case on the side of Editha (Monteiro).  The naïve girl maintains her stand that her fiancé must go to war despite relentless efforts by George’s mother. Her emphasis makes the young man t agree to go to war and unfortunately he becomes one of the soldiers who die in war. If the naïve girl had listened to the elderly woman, she would have a chance to live with her fiancé for some time. She would also have lived with harmony with George’s mother who is very much aggrieved by the death of her son. In essence, the authors of these literatures work exhibits how it is difficult to live in harmony with stubborn and arrogant people in the society.

Both Henry James and Howell have also been able to use other characters in the book to develop different themes in their works. They have used the characters artistically to bring out feminism and male chauvinism in their literature work. For instance, although Editha is very much pro-war, she is not the one culturally sanctioned in this story to go to war.  The society norms are that men are the ones to be involved in matters of war. It is for this reason that the author brings in another character, Editha’s fiancé, George,    who should go to the battlefield. Editha convince George to accept to join the army so that she could prove some idyllic notions that she had about patriotism and romance she held in matters of wars (Johnson). Through George, the author can show us the determination trait from the Editha. The young girl is determined to maintain her patriotism and romance in war.

In the novel ’’Daisy Miller’’, the same ideas have also been used significantly to develop essential themes in the novel.  Henry James has introduced another character by the name Winterbourne. While Daisy is used to develop the theme of feminism, Winterbourne is used by the author to portray male chauvinism in the society. Winterbourne is expressed as a character that foregoes his American culture and adapts European culture. He is expressed as a typical European person and their belief in American women. He has generalizations and assumptions on the life of Daisy just like the other Europeans think. Through Winterbourne, the author has been able to give a clear picture on how the American culture is valued in Europe (Kar). It helps us conclude that all European men see American women as flirts and uncultivated. Although he has does not know other American women with such behaviors, the character is quick to generalize and assume that American women are flirts and is a contrast to the European culture. This makes him disown his culture and adapts the European culture (Meyers). The presence of Winterbourne in the novel has been used artistically to represent the European culture and helps compare with the American culture.

From the novel, it is clear that Winterbourne does not know whether or not Daisy is naïve and nice or not. Unlike Daisy and Editha, who are independent and people of strong mind, Winterbourne is the exact opposite and lacks independence in decision making. Howell describes Winterbourne as a character who always listen to the opinion of others to make an essential conclusion. He makes conclusions towards the character of Daisy through what she hears from other people as is the case represented by her discussion with her aunt, Mrs. Costello (Johnson). At the initial stages of the novel, the author depicts Winterbourne as a character who is trying to maintain the American culture.  However, as the novel grows on, the character is finding it difficult to cling on to this culture and eventually adapts the European culture. At the end of the novel, he is unable to describe the traits of Daisy and his stand on her behavior.

Winterbourne and George have been used artistically to create a picture of how blind love can be disastrous. For instance, Winterbourne is depicted as a confused character that is blindly in love with Daisy.  He is just in love with this girl just because she is beautiful and pretty. The author depicts this character as undecided and just hopes that Daisy is innocent and naïve and this result in his love for the girl despite finding her flirting with other men.  Although the author does not clearly portray Winterbourne as a slow thinker, the deeper analysis of the novel can lead us to make such conclusions (Kar). From the novel, he is a strong defendant of the pretty girl despite being aware of her flirting behavior. He lacks essential independence and firm stands in essential aspects of life. From the reader’s point of view, it is easy to think that the flirting behavior if this pretty girl could be motivated by the unquestionable love that Winterbourne had for this girl. As a result, the girl decides to flirt so as to make the young man jealous (Monteiro).  This could however not be the case since we can know the character of Daisy from the Winterbourne’s thinking and believes.

The same cases are also evident in the case of Editha and her relationship with George. George and his mother had a better understanding of the horrors and misfortunes that arise from war. Despite this understanding, George is convinced to accept participating in the battlefield. Possibly after a love letter that Editha sends to him, George is convinced by love poem and ends up meeting his death on the battlefield.   According to Mrs. Gearson, her son had switched her gender role and became more feminine by agreeing to the request of his fiancé join the war. Editha uses everything within her reach to convince his boyfriend in participating in the war. To drive her ideology,Editha alludes to Richard Lovelace’s poem in her letter to George. The Lovelace played a significant role in persuading George into the battlefield (Johnson).  Although the author doses not categorically portray the issue of blind love and indecisiveness, readers can draw a line between the Editha and George as far as making decisions is concerned. Both George and Winterbourne are exhibited as naïve in a way, and their lack of independence in decision making has resulted in a tremendous loss. Editha loses her fiancé in war while Winterbourne loses her fiancé from malaria disease after flirting with an Italian after midnight (Johnston). Winterbourne and George lack confidence and independence a combination of qualities essential for one’s identity. The two fails to make informed decisions despite their broad knowledge of the issues surrounding their lives.

Both Editha and Daisy Miller have been able to have a good combination of young, naïve and inexperienced characters as well as the elderly and experienced characters. For instance, Daisy’s mother in the novel Daisy Miller and Mrs. Greason in Editha are examples of elderly characters in the novels and havea significant contribution to the development ofessential themes in these novels. For instance, a look at Daisy’s mother can make one think that they young girl is freely allowed to make her choices without limitations.  The elderly and sickly mother looks unfazed by her daughter’s behavior, and this helps in contrasting the European and American culture. Daisy and her brother Randolph seems to be independent, and their mother is little concerned with their welfare (Meyers). Also, the author could have used the two characters to help in contrasting the behavior of mother and daughter. On the other hand, Mrs. Greason as depicted in the novel Editha is a tough talking woman. She lectures the naïve Editha on the horrors of war and also advises her son George against joining the war. The character could have been used to show the different experiences of people across different ages in the society. While Editha was buried in romance and war, the elderly Mrs. Greason was wise enough to know that war had no positive influence on the society (Johnston). We can see the anger in this woman after the death of her son. She is so aggrieved that she is unable to forgive Editha, who tries to console her after death of her son.

It is concluded that Daisy Miller and Editha are portrayed ashow some individuals in the society become biased in their conservative ideas. They are the source of inspiration for today’s women because they do what they want to do neglecting all the traditions and typical restrictions. Both are the real women and believe in their objectives and desires. Daisy and Editha have their own rules of living lives while ignoring other’s criticism. Both novels have embraced realism literature thus making it easy for the reader to associate with the happenings in the novel. So they have many similar characteristics, which make them interesting characters of the stories.

Works Cited

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