TragedybehindDaisyMiller’sDeath：FromthePerspectiveofArchetypalCriticism

Abstract：The conflicts happened among those American expatriates in Europe is the main plot in Daisy Miller and also the main reason for Daisy’s death. The archetypal analysis on the conflicts shows that those American expatriates，who are constantly in the paradoxical and conflicting mental state between home culture and European culture，are much more eager to assert their identity，and thus Daisy，who behaves inconsistently with the European standard，becomes inevitably their target. Persona works a lot in those American expatriates and either their too much use of it or Daisy’s too little use of it mainly account for the tragic ending of the novella.

Key Words：conflict; Archetypal Analysis; personaDaisy Miller，one of Henry James’ popular novellas，has attracted many critics to interpret it from different angles of view since it was published. Some critics analyze it from the perspective of feminist criticism，some from the perspective of Henry James’ “international theme”，while some critics analyze the cultural conflict or the narrative techniques in it. This thesis will use the archetypal criticism to interpret it，focusing mainly on the question why insult and criticism on Daisy’s behaviour mostly come from American expatriates instead of from those locals in Europe and what lies behind Daisy’s tragedy?

Based on his theory about the collective unconscious，Jung puts up with his idea of archetypes. According to Jung，the collective unconscious is “a part of psyche”(Jung 42) and it is

a second psychic system of a collective，universal，and impersonal naturewhich is identical in all individuals. This collective unconscious does not develop individually but is inherited. It consists of preexistent forms，the archetypes. (Jung 43)

Persona is one of the archetypes，which refers to as “the mask of the actor”(Jung 20). This means that people tend to cover their faces with the persona so as to show to the world the aspect they think good or suitable.

In Daisy Miller，those Americans who dwell in Europe have actually abandoned their home culture. Coming from America，but adhering strictly to the European culture，they have forced themselves to take on the persona in order to live in Europe. Mrs. Costello，Winterbourne’s aunt，is a widow with a fortune and who has lived in Europe for a long time. Though an American herself，she has adopted the stereotype of Europeans with high status in society，which has a strong sense of hierarchy. In judging Daisy’s intimate and friendly relations with the courier，she criticizes Daisy’s improper behaviour：“［t］hey treat the courier like a familiar friend—like a gentleman. I shouldn’t wonder if he dines with them....He sits with them in the garden，in the evening”(James 528). According to her，a courier belongs to the lowclass people，which indicates her arrogant attitude as a highclass member. On hearing that Winterbourne will accompany Daisy to the Chateau de Chillon，she cried “what a dreadful girl”(James 52)，because according to the European tradition again，an unmarried girl must not go outside alone with a man，which Daisy undoubtedly has violated. Even Winterbourne，who seems to be an openminded young people at first，also has a strong sense of hierarchy and a tendency to look down upon people who is socially lower than him. The first time he sees Giovanelli，for instance，he asserts that “［h］e is not a gentleman，...He is only a clever imitation of one”(James 542). Therefore，people like Mrs. Costello or Winterbourne represents those who have adopted the European culture so as to survive in an entirely different environment from the previous one，namely the American culture.

But there is one question to be solved about the conflicts in this novella. That is those American expatriates can live their life according to their will，but is it necessary for them to be so harsh on Daisy’s behaviour while，after all，they come from the same culture with Daisy? In fact，this point is exactly where Jung’s archetypal analysis works. The American culture differs immensely with the European culture. The Americans advocate equality，democracy and freedom while the Europeans adhere strictly to the rules and hierarchy and have a harsh requirement on social etiquette. The great distinction，or even conflict between the two culture places the American expatriates in a difficult situation. They have to put aside the native culture to accept an entirely different one and behave accordingly to make themselves acceptable by the culture. But the complete abandonment of the native culture is impossible，since the culture has been existed in a form of，to some extent，various kinds of archetypes and “the concept of the archetype，...indicates the existence of definite forms in the psyche which seem to be present always and everywhere”(Jung 42). Therefore，on one hand，the native American culture implants itself deeprooted in their heads as the collective unconscious; on the other hand，the European culture plays its role as one that they have to accept or stick to. The result is that those American expatriates themselves are in a paradoxical and conflicting mental state. Therefore，they are in desperate need of an identification and affirmation from others，especially from those native Europeans，and from themselves. Then，the coming of Daisy and her improper actions in Europe provide them with such a chance. Their severe reprimand on Daisy’s irregular manner actually highlights their own need and hope to seek to identify themselves with the European culture. Mrs. Walker，for instance，is an American lady who has spent several years in Geneva. When she knows Daisy wants to walk outside alone with Mr. Giovanelli，she immediately persuade her not going. Though Daisy doesn’t listen to her，she later tries for the second time to persuade her going back with her，trying to save her reputation. She says to Winterbourne that “it’s a pity to let the girl ruin herself”(James 543) and persuades Daisy that “it may be enchanting，dear child，but it is not the custom here”(James 544). However，innocent Daisy rejects her kindness bluntly，saying that “I never heardanything so stiff! ... Goodbye”(James 544). Becoming angry by Daisy’s action，she pretends to ignore her when her home party is over and breaks her ties with Daisy completely. Her attitudes toward Daisy，first trying to save her reputation，then isolating her，illustrate her cherishing of the native culture and at the same time，her own effort to identify with European culture. So their own wish to seek identity in Europe accounts for the reprimand on Daisy. Besides，Daisy’s appearance reminds them of their long repressed native culture，which makes the conflict inside them even more intense. Under such circumstances，their blame and criticism on Daisy are inevitable.

However，according to Lu，the persona has advantages as well as disadvantages at the same time(Lu 106). Its advantage lies in that it can help people live a much more free life and live consistently with the customs，just like the American expatriates，while its disadvantage is that people may lose his true self and live in a tensional mental state once he himself is too absorbed in the role the persona plays. If one identifies himself completely with the persona，then the other parts of his identity will be completely repressed，which will lead to his undue fascination with the role he plays in society. The American expatriates’ attitude toward Daisy’s is such a consequence. They give themselves the authority to judge others’ behaviour，thinking naturally that they are quite familiar with the European conventions. Therefore，they judge severely on Daisy’s action，authorizing themselves the right of doing so. This kind of their overdue fascination with the persona in European environment has caused Daisy into a difficult situation to be despised and isolated until her death.

Daisy，on the other hand，represents American culture，the innocence，the spirit of equality and so on. She doesn’t realize the great conflict existing between two entirely different cultures. Just as the saying says：when in Rome，do as the Romans do. She chooses to ignore the necessity of adhering to another system of conventions，even when there is someone who has warned her. In her improper actions，Daisy’s weakness is exposed to the reader，that she doesn’t fully understand the importance of the role persona plays in a society and fails to adopt one，which leads her to death.

Therefore，in order to assert their own identity in different cultures，those American expatriates treat Daisy’s behaviour with a severe system of European conventions and their overdue fascination on this role，in fact，accounts partly for Daisy’s death. However，Daisy，on the other hand，fails to adopt persona in European environment and should hold much responsibility for her death.

Work Cited：

［1］ Jung，G. G. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious［M］.Beijing：China Social Sciences Publishing House，1999.

［2］ James，Henry. “Daisy Miller.” Adventures in American Literature［M］. USA：Hartcourt Brace Jovanovich，1989. P519558.

［3］ 陸揚.精神分析文論［M］.濟南：山東教育出版社，1998.