International Theme In Henry James

”The so-called international theme is a major theme in Henry James ' work - in his fiction and non-fiction, in his novels and stories, and in his more, as well as less, accomplished texts: the American who is longing for Europe, or just to get away from America, and who walks museum galleries of the major cultural capitals of Europe, only to find out that to be rooted in European culture requires more than just looking; but to turn around, forget about the European experience, and return to America as if nothing had happened, is to no avail.” (Larsen 1)The international theme brought fame to Henry James whose main works deal with the differences of mentalities between Americans and European people and the effect they produce on the identity

(Gray 278) This contrast leads to the fact that the American characters cannot adapt to the Old World which seems to be characterized only by

As an effect of not integrating in the European society and being independent and not listening to advice, Daisy Miller gets what she calls ” Roman fever”. She has been affected by the European environment which proves to have been fatal to her: ” There is no doubt that Daisy partially brings about her own downfall because she is blind to the distinction between appearance and reality” (Haralson and Johnson 223) she could not understand who Giovanelli actually was.The setting is also important because Vevey and Rome are two places ” are used to symbolize different systems of values.” (Haralson and Johnson 224) Vevey is associated with Winterbourne and Mrs. Walker – the exiled culture- , while Rome is a place full of history and social etiquettes (Haralson and Johnson 224).The fact that Daisy dies because of the ”Roman fever” which she got within the Colosseum is the proof that Daisy’s identity could not have been kept untouched and disappeared in confruntation with