Journal entry# 40 Henry James

Siu Faat Jimmy Wong
English 48b
March 7, 2008
Professor Lankford

Quote:

“You were right in the remark that you made last summer. I was booked to make a mistake”. I have lived too long in foreign parts. Nevertheless, he went back to live at Geneva.

Summary:

This is found in the end of the story while Winterbourne admits that Mrs. Costello is right and claims that meeting Daisy Miller is a “mistake”.

Response:

After I read this quote, I realize that the rich people, like Winterbourne, will not care about, or worry about the death of Daisy. I admit that initially, he may feel a little bit sad or regret. However, after that, he can just turn to his usual life again. He can just go back to Geneva and start his life again. Moreover, in the quote, it is easy to notice that he considers the relationship with Daisy is just a “mistake”. I think that if he could choose again, he would never go to meet this foreign lady in his life. I think there are actually several reasons for him to consider it as a “mistake”. First of all, I think that the imbalance of social statuses between Daisy and Winterbourne discourages Winterbourne to keep remember this foreign girl. Perhaps, in his mind, there are still many beautiful girls who are more polite and who are in higher class outsides. He doesn’t have to stay there and feel sorry to this foreign lady for the rest of his life. Another reason is that in the end of the story, when he tells Daisy that “it makes very little difference whether you are engaged or not”, I feel that he is telling Daisy that he is already tired of her (Norton 427). Since he is a rich person, he actually doesn’t have to waste so many times on a lady whom he calls “a flirt”. He has “studied” her for such a long time, he starts to understand that whether she is engaged or not, she will stay go and meet many other men. This is her living style. In the end of the story, Winterbourne starts to realize that it is not worthy to put so much time on this “flirt”. I think that these are the reasons why he considers it is just a careless “mistake” after Daisy’s death.