Todd1
Courtney Todd
Prof. Henley
ENGL 302
7 March 2012
Social Dominance and the Difference between Realism and Naturalism
Henry James wrote “Daisy Miller” as the quintessential study of the new woman with a
realist perspective while Frank Norris wrote “Fantaisie Printanière” through a naturalist’s view
on the miseries of two American families. With this, we are able to find that even though the
stories are from two different genres; they are both derived from the concept of the struggles of
American people. Perhaps, realism and naturalism were two of the most significant theories in
the late nineteenth century expressing social dominance.
Realism defined the all is “real” claim in texts explaining the significance of reality
rather than fantasy through specific eras of time. It specifically presents the world as it really is
rather than modifying it through “fake” lenses. It’s possible that Henry James wrote “Daisy
Miller: A Study,” in order to provoke readers to see the changing’s of time in regards to the way
women have changed culturally at the end of the nineteenth century. Realism is normally
centered on a protagonist character like James’ Daisy Miller in order to express an individualistic
triumph in life. As one may read “Daisy Miller,” they will first know it’s a realist story because
of the everyday tribulations the main character presents us with. Realists, such as Henry James
use setting in order to provoke a certain dialect and/or way things should be done in relation to
the stories plot line. For example, Daisy Miller does not act as a rich European would in
Switzerland because she is simply not European. This would leave a flaw in the explanation of
realism because Daisy would be a fake interpretation of an American woman. The quote below is
Todd2
a good example of how James places setting in order for the reader to see how Europeans differ
from Americans:
In this region, in the month of June, American travelers are extremely numerous; it may
be said, indeed, that Vevey assumes at this period some of the characteristics of an
American watering-place. There are sights and sounds which evoke a vision, an echo, of
Newport and Saratoga. There is a flitting hither and thither of “stylish” young girls, a
rustling of muslin flounces, a rattle of dance-music in the morning hours, a sound of
high-pitched voices at all times (421).
Furthermore, in a realist perspective, James explains the way a man may fall to the
traditions of a country; “He felt that he had lived at Geneva so long that he had lost a good deal;
he had become dishabituated to the American tone” (427). As Winterbourne is faced with the
foreign nature of Daisy Miller, he expresses his dismay by realizing that he has been away from
American customs for so long. Winterbourne does not know how to act in front of a lady who
believes that, “There isn’t any society; or, if there is, [she doesn’t] know where it keeps itself
(426). In her essay “Daisy Miller: A Study of Changing Intentions,” Carol Ohmann explains that;
“Winterbourne’s mode of speech suggests that extent to which he has become Europeanized”
(3). Ohmann suggests that as Winterbourne has stayed in Geneva for a great period of time, he
has lost touch with the traditions that a typical American would come by. This exemplifies the
way James puts realism in his plot in order to invoke a change that the “new woman” is making.
Throughout the story, Daisy Miller is the product of realism. She provokes us to think of
woman as being able to make their own decisions without feeling remorse. In the nineteenth
century this was very unusual and some took it as far as breaking a sort of “moral code.” If Daisy
is the version of a “new woman,” than Mrs. Costello is the version of an “old woman.” Carol
Todd3
Ohmann states, “[Daisy] does what she likes because she hardly knows what else to do. Her will
is at once strong and weak by reason of very indistinctness of her general aims” (2); Daisy does
not obey by political norms in Europe because she does not believe that there should be any
political norms. James has made his protagonist character live her life as an American because in
reality she is an American woman who knows what she wants:
Daisy turned her quickened glance again from one of the gentlemen beside her to the
other. Mr. Giovanelli was bowing to and fro, rubbing down his gloves and laughing very
agreeably; Winterbourne though it a most unpleasant scene. “I don’t think I want to know
what you mean,” said Daisy presently. “I don’t think I should like it” (446).
The bicker between Daisy and Winterbourne suggests that she was not going to lower her wants
in order to satisfy European society. The character of Mrs. Costello represents the complete
opposite of the character that Daisy is. Perhaps, James wrote Mrs. Costello as the traditional
European woman while Daisy was the traditional American woman. Ohmann claims, “Her
principles of value have long been set—she need only apply them. Whatever is vulgar, whatever
is improper, she condemns out of hand, and shuns” (4). Ohmann’s quote may suggest that James
wrote Mrs. Costello as the old European way. She has inherited these views because she has
been taught of them as being vulgar by a country thousands of years old. However, as Daisy
Miller comes from a country that has not been established for a long time, she is redirecting the
way a woman may act in order to establish new political norms or get rid of ones in place.
As realist’s work is normally plot driven, we find Daisy Miller dead at the end of James’
story because she was out late at night with Mr. Giovanelli; the same night Winterbourne asked
her to come with him. This clearly suggests that Daisy was in control of her own life which a
Todd4
realist writer wants to convey. The society in Europe did not triumph over the American girl’s
demise; James simply wanted the end to be realistic of the troubles of being out at night due to
mosquitoes.
On the other hand, Frank Norris has expressed naturalism in his story “Fantaisie
Printanière,” but we are still looking at the struggles of American people. Naturalism tends to be
very similar to realism in the sense of keeping things “real.” Naturalism presents life as it really
is, as we see from Norris describing two American families’ hardships in the late nineteenth
century. The difference between the American views in these stories is that: as James’ realist
story “Daisy Miller: A Study” focuses on the tribulations and triumphs of the new woman,
“Fantaisie Printanière” looks at the economic struggles of two American families. This may be
the first clue to the story being a naturalist concept because naturalism typically does not follow
an individual and how they are “changing norms,” but follows people in the world as a whole
struggling with inner and outer problems. Norris first presents us with the struggle of Mr.
McTeague:
McTeague had once been a dentist, and had had “parlors” up at the respectable end of the
street. But after a while the license office discovered that he had no diploma; in fact, had
never attended a college of any sort, and had forbidden him to practice. So McTeague
had taken to drink (921).
As this is one of the first excerpts of the story, we find naturalism intruding. The
economy is hard on Mr. McTeague as he has had to practice dentistry with no license in order to
become a respectable man of society. Norris also tells us that McTeague began to drink which
expresses the inner forces that are taking control of his life. As the economy plummets, so does
Todd5
the desire to do well in society which makes McTeague want to drink in order to hide his misery.
As I stated earlier, naturalism looks at more than one individual’s troubles so Norris, a true
naturalist, has expressed the same views through another character:
Ryer, some years back, had been a sort of mall stock-dealer on the out skirts of
Butchertown, and had done fairly well until the Health Board reported him to the
Supervisors because he had fattened his hogs on poultices obtained from the City and
County Hospital. The result was a lamentable scandal, which finally drove him out of
business. So Ryer had taken to drink (921).
Ryer has succumbed to the harsh realities of the economy like McTeague. His profession
is lost as he fed his hogs bloody bandages. The government intervenes and he loses his job. He
tries to make his miseries dissipate through drinking. Although, the naturalism of the economy
and its cause on these particular Americans are intrusive, Norris presents his created Americans
with no hope for human nature by causing them to fight with one another. Naturalism tends to
express how bigger things manipulate people. In this case, Norris shows us that it is the
economic oppression that pins each character against one another specifically the men beating
their wives:
Both men thrashed their wives, McTeague on the days when he was drunk, which were
many, Ryer on the days when he was sober, which were few. They went about it, each in
his own peculiar fashion. Ryer found amusement in whipping Missis Ryer with a piece of
rubber hose filled with gravel, or (his nature demanded variety of sensation, with a long,
thin rawhide, which he kept hiden between the mattresses. He never used fists or boots;
such methods revolted him (922).
Todd6
In his essay, “Frank Norris’s McTeague: Naturalism as Popular Myth,” Donald Pizer expresses
McTeague as “a human beast” (21); which is nothing short of what Norris is trying to portray
him as. I would say that Pizer has hit the “nail on the head” by describing McTeague as a beast
because it is simply how he acts. Perhaps Norris wanted McTeague to be the pivotal character in
the story describing the nature of a person in order to express naturalism. Pizer seems to only
look at McTeague as the archetypical character of naturalism in Norris’ story, however the way
the women behave seems to suggest otherwise:
Suddenly they tore at each other like infuriated cats. A handful of black and gray hair
came away from Missis Ryer’s head. Fingernail marks, long red lines appeared on the
curve of Trina’s cheeks, very like McTeague’s conception of the parallels upon a glove.
Missis Ryer, hustling Trina toward the door, pushed her into the arms of McTeague
himself (925).
The women are attacking each other because of an argument about whose husband beats
them for lack of better words; better. It seems that the women have taken the “human beast”
aspect that Pizer talks about in relation to a horrible aspect of married life between the couples.
However, it is the husbands who lose their dignity which entails them to beat their wives in the
first place. Perhaps Norris turned the plotline on the reader in order to express the human nature
of the women in his story. The women are essentially fighting over who the better woman is
which essentially means who is getting the better beating for no apparent reason. Although this
may seem like a horrible aspect to the story in the eyes of a reader, it may be the best example of
explaining the way human nature exists in the nineteenth century through naturalism. Human
nature is a key concept when expressing naturalism which is conceivably the reason Frank Norris
refutes the women against one another for such a childish reason. Norris ends his story with:
Todd7
However, one particular custom common to both households remains unchanged—both
men continue to thrash their wives in the old ratio—McTeague on the days when he is
drunk (which are many), Ryer on the days when he is sober (which are few) (927).
He is expressing the natural order of things. The way human beings will act because they do not
know any better, or how they take out their individual struggles on people who have done
nothing wrong to them. Norris shows this in his story by explaining how the economy
manipulated these men into beating their wives and how human nature pitted the women against
one another because they knew no better. All in all, “Fantaisie Printanière” explains naturalism
as being the harsh order of things in society and how it manipulates American peoples’ lives in
the nineteenth century.
Looking further into these two stories, it seems that a similarity has appeared. James and
Norris seem to use American people in order to express a sort of social dominance. In “Daisy
Miller,” the dominance of European society has intruded Daisy’s life as she only wants to live as
she believes a woman should. However, people such as Winterbourne and Mrs. Costello express
the way an old structured society puts pressure on people to become a political norm in order to
be looked at as respectable; in this case as a respectable woman. In Norris’ “Fantaisie
Printanière,” we see two American families struggling in an oppressive economy. The societal
dominance places friends against one another in order to succeed over each other. If social
dominance was not apparent in these two stories, we could suggest that realism and naturalism
may not be as prevalent either. While Daisy expresses the individualist who fights tribulations in
order to not become a conformist, the McTeagues and Ryers would not fight with one another
because there would be no “pity” for them.
Todd8
In conclusion, it is important to see the way social dominance affects realism and
naturalism in James and Norris’ plot structure. However, in order to grasp the full intent of these
two stories being similar one must dissect the differences between them. In this case, the biggest
difference is realism and naturalism. If it weren’t for these two theories, then the concept would
not be shaped in order to express the way American people struggled in the nineteenth century.
However, with these two theories a reader is able to see that social dominance plays a key role in
the discovery of realism and naturalism, but one must first find the theory within the text in order
to find meaning of social dominance in the text.
Todd9
Works Cited
James, Henry. Daisy Miller: A Study. Ed. Nina Baym. Norton Anthology of American Literature.
8th. Vol. C. New York: Norton 2012.
Norris, Frank. Fantaisie Printanière. Ed. Nina Baym. Norton Anthology of American Literature.
8th. Vol. C. New York: Norton 2012.
Ohman, Carol. “Daisy Miller: A Study of Changing Intentions.” American Literature: A Journal
of Literary History, Criticism and bibliography 36.1 (1964): 1-11. MLA International
Bibliography. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.
Pizer, Donald. “Frank Norris’s McTeague: Naturalism as Popular Myth.” ANQ: A Quarterly
Journal of Short Articles, Notes, And Reviews 13.4 (2000): 21-26. MLA International
Bibliography. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.