Daisy Miller book club questions

The reading plan

Meeting 1: Part 1

1. How much weight should Winterbourne give his aunt's refusal when deciding what he thinks of the traveler?
2. What might explain the gap between Winterbourne's attraction and his aunt's resistance?
3. When, if ever, is refusing to receive someone a fair way to set a social boundary?
4. What would you want to know before trusting Winterbourne's favorable impression?
5. What choices does Winterbourne have when someone who charms him is unwelcome to his aunt?

Meeting 2: Part 2

6. How should Daisy Miller weigh expectations of proper behavior against her freedom to choose?
7. Why might spending more time with someone make them harder, rather than easier, to understand?
8. What would make Winterbourne's uncertainty reasonable, and what would make it unfair to Daisy Miller?
9. How might the reunion in Rome change what a reader expects from the acquaintance?
10. What is gained or lost when proper behavior becomes the measure of a person?

Meeting 3: Parts 3 to 4

11. Where would you draw the line between offering Daisy Miller advice and trying to control her?
12. What should friendship require when manners and reputation become sources of conflict?
13. How does the public setting of the walk shape your reading of the conflict?
14. Does Daisy Miller's rejection make her resistance to advice seem more understandable, less understandable, or neither?
15. How should readers weigh the final message alongside Winterbourne's doubts about his earlier judgment?

Themes to talk about

Tips for the host

1. Open each meeting with one question everyone can answer, then go deeper.
2. Anyone who fell behind can catch up with the 15-minute summary.