Racial and Cultural Stereotypes - Book Report/Review Example

The Racial and Cultural Stereotypes evident in Daisy Miller and Where Angels Fear to Tread Literature has always been social focused and the social themes have often been given pertinent focus in literary works throughout the literary history. The racial and cultural stereotypes evident in Henry James's "Daisy Miller" (1878) and EM Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905) suggest the social commitments of their authors. The novella "Daisy Miller" tells the story of the courtship of the beautiful American girl named Daisy Miller by her sophisticated compatriot Winterbourne. EM Forster, in his Where Angels Fear to Tread, narrates the story of the widowed Lilia Herriton who falls in love with Italy and the handsome travelling companion Caroline Abbott who is much younger than herself. Both the works are important for their representation of the racial and cultural stereotypes. According to Harold Bloom, Henry James's most popular nouvelle "Daisy Miller" has owed its initial prominence as much to the controversy it provoked as to the artistry it displayed. ""Daisy Miller" caused a bitter dispute in the customarily urbane dining room of Mrs. Lynn Linton; it gave American writers of etiquette a satisfying opportunity to chastise native mothers and daughters (Daisy should have had a chaperone; dear reader, take heed); it brought Henry James himself, while he sat in the confines of a Venetian gondola, a round scolding from a highly articulate woman of the cosmopolitan world. The causes of argument, of course, were the character of James's heroine and the judgment her creator made of her. In late Victorian eyes, Daisy was likely to be either wholly innocent or guilty; James, either all for her or against her." (Bloom, 25) Therefore, the novella has been important in the creation of some of the major cultural stereotypes in the American society and today Daisy is taken to be one of the familiars in American culture. In the contemporary society, people are attracted by the character of Daisy who, according to them, will be recognized as an American figure both vital and prototypical in the society. Similarly, the novel by EM Forster presents the cultural and racial stereotypes through the main characters of the work. This paper undertakes a profound analysis of Henry James's "Daisy Miller" and EM Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread in order to compare the racial and cultural stereotypes as evident in these works. There are various factors common to both the novels such as the experience of the major characters in Italy, the lack of awareness about the social and cultural factors in the new land etc. In both these works, the lack of cultural and social awareness leads the main characters to the creation of new cultural stereotypes in the social setting. Through the character Daisy, who is the cultural stereotype in the novel by James, the novelist presents his concepts of the modern American females, whereas Forster emphasises recognition of the good elements of every culture. Henry James in his most famous novella "Daisy Miller" is effective in introducing some of the essential cultural stereotypes of a society through the etiquettes of the heroine Daisy. However, it is in the disruption of the dominant socio-cultural stereotypes that the heroine of the novella is celebrated. Whereas the character dislocates the prevailing representations of the American woman in Europe, Daisy strengthens the provisional social hierarchy that facilitates these stereotypes and the author of the novella introduces his concept of modern woman through this character. "James in "Daisy Miller" introduces Daisy, a character who disrupts the dominant representations of the American woman in Europe, but he works to bolster the restrictive social hierarchy that facilitates these stereotypes. Daisy Miller represents James's idea of the modern woman. She is nearly always in public, often in the company of men, whether it is her courier, Eugenio, Winterbourne, or her Italian friend Mr. Giovanelli. Daisy makes no attempt to conform to rules of propriety even after several harsh warnings." (Spinning Pagans or Americans: Dance and Identity Issues in Stowe, Twain, and James, 17-8) It is important to realise that Daisy mesmerizes Winterbourne in spite of her reckless behaviour, and Winterbourne concludes Daisy is an innocent, "pretty American flirt" until Mrs. Costello and Mrs. Walker intervene. In a reflective analysis of the characters in the novella "Daisy Miller", one recognises that the heroine creates a new stereotype of American woman. Throughout the story, Daisy continues to disregard the social rules and conventions. However, Mrs. Costello as well as Mrs. Walker shows great contempt for Daisy's actions which makes Winterbourne scold Daisy for her behaviour. The author is very effective in creating a performance scene to coagulate the relationship between Daisy, Winterbourne, and his society. Thus, Daisy goes to Mrs. Walker's party with Mr. Giovanelli. Upon their arrival at the party, she encourages Mr. Giovanelli to sing and play the piano which is an intentional act to present her concepts about the social behaviour. When Mr. Giovanelli's performance with music goes on, Daisy makes an important remark to Winterbourne which reveals her cultural identity. "It's a pity these rooms are so small; we can't dance." (James, 44) Winterbourne's reply to her remark about the social custom represents a superior view of the society. "I am not sorry we can't dance . . . I don't dance." (James, 44) Thus, Winterbourne dissolves Daisy's potential for acclimation into his elite expatriate society and she is left with no place in the world as a consequence of her desire to dance. The narrator is able to represent the new ideal of American culture and social living through the character of Daisy who is a prototype of new American culture. "Daisy is a victim of manners. James uses her inappropriate desire to dance in the setting of Mrs. Walker's party to mark her official removal from Winterbourne's expatriate society. He chooses dance because dance, an art governed by strict etiquette, reinforces Daisy's navet. She does not know when it is appropriate to be in the company of men, when to strike up a conversation, or when to dance... James erects the etiquette barrier to exclude Daisy; however, he exposes the often cruel elitism that etiquette reinforces." (Spinning Pagans or Americans: Dance and Identity Issues in Stowe, Twain, and James, 18) The cultural stereotype represented by the protagonist Daisy essentially breaks the social rules and conventions of the society and her social behaviour is not acceptable to the dominant social and cultural ideology of the day. More significantly, the readers come to realise that the violation of the social conduct is not encouraged by the overriding cultural representatives and she receives punishment for her social behaviour. Thus, Mrs. Walker coldly turns her back on Daisy when she approaches Mrs. Walker at the end of the party to tell her that she and Mr. Giovanelli had enjoyed the party. However, the author supports daisy and criticizes Mrs. Walker's behaviour through the observation and reaction Winterbourne who feels sorry for her. "Daisy turned away, looking with a pale, grave face at the circle near the door; Winterbourne saw that, for the first moment, she was too much shocked and puzzled even for indignation. He on his side was greatly touched." (James, 46) Therefore, Winterbourne comes to the rescue of Daisy who is not familiar with the social behaviour in such situations. "Winterbourne feels sympathy for Daisy because he recognizes that in her innocence, she did not know that her violation of social rules would yield such harsh punishment. James, however, does not approve of Daisy's behaviour, but he cannot fault her for lack of experience in elite social circles. She does not deserve Mrs. Walker's rejection." (Spinning Pagans or Americans: Dance and Identity Issues in Stowe, Twain, and James, 18) Therefore, the cultural stereotype as represented by Daisy is not welcome in the social hierarchy of the setting. The character of Daisy displaces the existing representations of the American woman in Europe and strengthens the provisional social hierarchy that facilitates these stereotypes. The novella "Daisy Miller" celebrates one of James's earliest treatments of his most renowned theme, namely, the expatriate or footloose American abroad. Through the theme of Americans abroad which is a subject of the moment in the years after the Civil War, the author effectively treats the social life of people. The visits of the Europe by Americans resulted in the clash between the two cultures and cultural stereotypes. In the clash of the cultures, the author finds a way to represent the cultural stereotype of the characters and bring about the difference in cultural and social living. "James was of two minds about the American character. By temperament, he was more sympathetic with the European way of life, with its emphasis on culture, education, and the art of conversation. Like most Europeans, he saw his compatriots as boorish, undereducated, and absurdly provincial, unaware of a vast and centuries-old world outside their own new and expanding dominions. However, he was also fascinated by the poignant innocence of the American national character, with its emphasis on earnestness rather than artifice." (Themes, Motifs, and Symbols) In the novel Where Angels Fear to Tread by EM Forster, a careful reader recognises the coming together of two different cultural backgrounds which contributes to the novel's sociological interest. There is an important comparison in the novel between the major aspects of the two cultures - the culture of England standing for will and order and that of Italy standing for emotion and erotic love. The reference to comic stereotypes helps the author Forster in promptly sketching in the manners of the upper middleclass suburbia Sawston, and comparing to with the comic juxtaposition to the manners of San Gimignano. "The English culture is inordinately stretched on the line of the rational, and so, as if pathologically, suffers from an absence of affectivity, of emotionality. The Italian culture, as represented by Gino in the novel, on the other hand, is a happy blend, as Forster would like to say, of the rational and the emotional, in the very appropriate proportions the emotional comprising a sense for 'Beauty, evil, charm, vulgarity, mystery.' The Italian culture is therefore, as Forster would like us to understand, humane, and so desirable. Forster believed that the weak and anaemic English culture should have been invigorated and sanguinised with a dose of the vitality of the Italian culture." (Sarker, 381) Therefore, there is definite portrayal of the cultural stereotypes in the novel which coexist in different cultural settings. The cultural stereotype presented in the novel Where Angels Fear to Tread, significantly, corresponds to the cultural insensitivity and the lack of cultural awareness in the various prominent characters. A careful analysis of the plot in the novel confirms that the cultural inattentiveness and the lack of cultural awareness result in the presentation of different cultural stereotypes in the novel. "Snobbishness and cultural insensitivity form the tablet upon which this story is writ. First, you have the English social class difference that leads the Herriton family to patronize (and be embarrassed by) the young harebrained widow in their midst. Then there is the general belief in English superiority over the popish Italians. Finally, you have the total unacceptability of Gino himself, a poor, provincial, and poorly educated Italian. The lack of cultural awareness extends to Lilia herself, who expects an Italian husband to adopt her English middle class values, and the Italian neighbours to transform themselves into an English community." (Coulehan) Here, it is significant to note that the major characters of the novel represent different cultural stereotypes due mainly to their assumptions of the cultural backgrounds and the author is effective in depicting the variations in the cultural attitudes. In the novel, the two characters Philip Herriton and Caroline Abbott come to terms with cultural difference as they are able to respond to Gino as a person, rather than accepting a stereotype. There is change in the cultural stereotypes of both Philip and Caroline who are able to accept the merits of a different culture. Thus, Philip comes to be fond of the Italian Gino and realises his love for the baby whereas Caroline falls in love with the man. The essential change in the cultural stereotypes of the major characters is one of the most illumining themes of the novel by Forster. The influence of a new culture transforms the cultural understanding of the major characters and they are transformed by the power of the new culture. Both Philip and Caroline had an initial revulsion to the new culture which is influenced by the other cultural stereotypes and they change. "In the novel Where Angels Fear to Tread both Philip and Caroline, like Mrs Herriton, had been overly contemptuous of the culture of Monteriano, till they exposed themselves to the salubrious influence of the alien culture, and this was the most potential ground behind their ardent striving to retrieve Lilia's child from Monteriano. Bur after their exposure to the culture of the Mediterranean warm Italy they themselves were spiritually transmogrified, and they could realise that not the cold English but the warm Italian culture should one adulate, and that the English culture would only benefit from its exposure to the Italian, though the Italians were rather wicked, uncouth and brutal." (Sarker, 381) Therefore, there is essential transformation in the cultural ideology of the characters influenced by the cultural stereotypes of Italian culture. In conclusion, there are several similar elements in the racial and cultural stereotypes evident in Henry James's "Daisy Miller" and EM Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread and the latter significantly represent the changes in the cultural stereotypes. Both the novels illustrate the intermingling of different cultures and the stereotypes are created by the lack of cultural and social awareness. Once the characters are able to recognise the difference in the cultural backgrounds of other characters, they are able to appreciate and understand them. Daisy in "Daisy Miller" represents the modern American and culture of the land and there is clash between her cultural ideas and the dominant socio-cultural stereotypes of the region. Similarly, there is an essential clash in the cultural identity of different characters in the novel Where Angels Fear to Tread and the characters in the novel undergo an essential transformation in their concepts about the cultural stereotypes. That is to say, Forster emphasises an essential change in the perception of the various characters about cultural stereotypes, whereas Henry James supports and maintains stereotype of the modern American female through the character of Daisy Miller. In short, both the literary pieces deal essentially with the same concept about cultural variations, though there is important change in the acceptance of the cultural stereotypes in both the works. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Henry James's Daisy Miller, the Turn of the Screw and Other Tales. Philadelphia: Chelsea House. 1987. P 25. Coulehan, Jack. "Literature Annotations: Where Angels Fear to Tread, EM Forster." Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database. 30 Apr, 2009. . James, Henry. "Daisy Miller." New York: Dover Publications. 1995. P 44. Sarker, Sunil Kumar. A Companion to E.M. Forster. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. 2007. P 381. "Spinning Pagans or Americans: Dance and Identity Issues in Stowe, Twain, and James." P 17-18. 30 Apr, 2009. . "Themes, Motifs, and Symbols." Daisy Miller by Henry James. Spark Notes. 30 Apr, 2009. . Read More