Gender Stratification in "Daisy Miller: A Study" and "Roman Fever"

Since the dawn of man, societal roles and behavior have differed between the sexes. Even in today's modern and progressive society, women continue to be judged more harshly than men for their behavior, particularly when it comes to sexual impropriety. Not only are a woman's actions judged more critically, but within the American society, we often see other women acting as a woman's harshest critics. This societal characteristic is all too pronounced in two literary works: "Daisy Miller: A Study", and "Roman Fever". In both stories, women are painted as the ultimate judge of morality; but the women, not men, seem to be the only ones judged and held accountable to society for their actions.

Throughout the years, women have been portrayed as the "gentler sex", protected and sheltered by men. Society typically categorizes women into "good girls" or "bad girls", "ladies" or "tramps". This categorization does not apply to the male gender, though. Men are expected to experiment sexually, without risk of being viewed as loose, crude, or anything but a gentleman. However, anything approaching the same behavior in a young lady would instantly receive criticism and the young lady would be ostracized from society. In an article written in 1886, Josephine Butler states, "...we are at once brought into contact with the false and misleading idea that the essence of right and wrong is in some way dependent on sex. We never hear it carelessly or complacently asserted of a young wom
These distinctions are most apparent in Henry James' story, "Daisy Miller: A Study". The central characters, Mr. Winterbourne and Daisy Miller, are both young Americans living and traveling abroad in Europe, socializing with other Americans living abroad. This microcosm of American society allows the reader to clearly see how Daisy is condemned for what is viewed as less than ladylike behavior, while Winterbourne is not held accountable or snubbed in the least because of his actions.