Europeanization and Cultural Differences in Henry James’ Daisy Miller

Abstract

Literature brings together what geography and culture tear apart, and reflects the differences between the distinct races of mankind. This dissertation explores the cultural differences and Europeanization in Henry James’ novella Daisy Miller, aiming to provide an angle for the complications of Daisy’s life by means of analysis of concepts such as integration, otherness, identity and Europeanization as well as an emphasis on the protagonist and the Europeanized expatriates who rejected her due to her behaviour in the Old World, and the issue of clash between the two cultures and how the misunderstandings purport the tragic fate to the heroine.This work is divided into two chapters; the first one is devoted to the theoretical part ‘an Insight into Culture’ which tackles cultural differences, otherness, identity and Europeanization. The second chapter ‘Cultural Involvement of the Characters’ explores the characters' behavior in relation to the abovementioned concepts.