Daisy Miller

I personally enjoyed the story, I thought it was an interesting look back at how old society used to behave. Some of these norms may persist to our day in the higher spheres of society, but there is a certain old-fashioned quality to the whole treatment of Daisy. All of the different exchanges had little gems of socio-psychological norms that have been embedded in the way of thinking of each character. It was important for me to note how the Roman Fever plays in the story. These are basically cultural norm that develop and tend to stick because they actually provide a survival benefit to those who adhere to it. No one could explain what the Roman Fever was, only that they could get it at night. That little detail was good enough to probably keeps thousands of people alive. It makes me reflect on most social norms and it ends up showing how it is very hit or miss. Sometimes, the social norms actually have some tangible repercussions in our lives, but others, like believing in Jesus, have absolutely no benefit and are as useful as believing in Santa Claus. Other curious examples of this in Daisy Miller are seen with the over protectiveness of the women in the culture. This also has some survival benefit and it is why it is so ubiquitous in world cultures. This type of social norm protects young women from falling prey to overanxious men who would desert them if they were to get pregnant, as well as avoid sexually transmitted diseases which have been ever present.