"Cliff Notes - Daisy Miller" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)would be. He finds some satisfaction, however, when Daisy
discovers his plans to return to Geneva the next day and is furious that their time together has been cut short. Winterbourne assures her they'll meet again that winter in Rome, where her family and his aunt will be visiting at the same time. Winterbourne arrives in Rome the following winter, expecting to find Daisy pining away for him. Instead, his aunt informs him that Daisy has happily surrounded herself with a large circle of "third rate Italians," and adds that one--a Mr. Giovanelli--seems a particular favorite. The flirtatious behavior that in Vevey brought Winterbourne and Daisy together, now drives them apart. When a wealthy member of the American community, Mrs. Walker, warns Winterbourne that Daisy is endangering her reputation by going out unchaperoned with Giovanelli, Winterbourne tries to stop the couple, only to be treated to a glimpse of them disappearing from view behind Daisy's parasol. Does Daisy's boldness signal innocence or immorality? That's what Winterbourne must figure out. The conservative American community has already made up its mind, unfavorably. Winterbourne does his best to explain to Daisy that people in change her ways. But Daisy mistakes his concern for jealousy, and rejects his advice. One by one, the members of American society in Rome turn their back on the girl, and she is no longer welcome in their homes. Even Winterbourne meets her only by chance. After one of his friends spies Daisy in a gallery's secluded nook with Giovanelli, Winterbourne is determined to make one last attempt to save her. He goes straight to Mrs. Miller to warn her of the bad reputation her daughter is getting. But to Mrs. Miller's untutored eye, Giovanelli is a gentleman and acceptable for Daisy. She even suspects that Daisy and Giovanelli are engaged. Her suspicion shocks Winterbourne, and when he encounters the couple a few days later, he has a chance to ask Daisy if she is indeed engaged. First she says she is. Then she says she is not. While walking home one moonlit night a week later, Winterbourne stops in for a look at the Colosseum. He admires the poetic atmosphere of the place, but he also knows that its atmosphere at night is a breeding ground for malaria, "the Roman fever." The monument has two other visitors--a man and a woman--and when their voices reach him he recognizes the couple as Daisy and Giovanelli. His first reaction is one of horror that Daisy is |
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