Lidia is scarred from her last marriage and views the whole idea of marriage as a burden or an escape for the weak. I agree with the responses of several people that Giovanni was indeed nothing more that a distraction, a means to make Winterbourne jealous. Cope, the American, disrupts the quiet atmosphere with her loud and public ways that is frowned on by all of the residents of Monte Rosa. He goes through a courtship with her (I guess you could call it that) but never outwardly talks of marriage because he doesn't know how Daisy would take to it, and he doesn't know what the social impact would be. What I mean is, she continued to flirt after she found out that it was deemed "inappropriate,"(although I still hold to the opinion that she didn't know what she was doing wrong until that point) which indicates rebellion, at least to me. I would like to point out one thing that I don't think anyone else noticed, or at least if they did, didn't talk about. She doesn't travel alone; she travels with Gannett, who is her partner in crime. She views Marriage as such an evil thing that she is willing to lie to her peers for the sake of avoiding it and to save face. I also believe, however, that Giovanni was a way for Winterbourne to get distance enough between he and Daisy that he might observe and ascertain her true nature. Daisy is a free spirit in a society that discourages outrageous behavior and this is commented on by more than a few "socially superior" individuals. Both the beginning and the end of the novel refer to some woman (a
foreign lady) in Geneva whom Winterbourne is "extremely devoted".
Daisy Miller and
Souls Belated shared the same ideas about marriage and the impact when one culture meets a different one. In "
Souls Belated" Lidia just got out of a terrible divorce and is out exploring the world and trying to figure out what to do with her life now.
