ABSTRACT

Henry James (1843-1916), an outstanding American novelist, dramatist and critic in the 19th century, is one of the key figures of Literary Realism and one of the greatest men of letters in the English language. He is primarily known for his international novels, which tell of the encounters between Americans and Europeans to explore transatlantic cultures. The novella Daisy Miller is one of the representative works on the international theme in his early stage and also regarded by James as “the most prosperous child” of his invention. It is through the eyes of a Europeanized American youth Frederick Winterbourne that James narrates an American family’s experience in Europe, with an emphasis on their intercultural communication with Europeanized Americans.  

Intercultural communication is the exchange of information between individuals from different cultures. It is not only an academic focus in various disciplines, but frequently seen in our daily life. Especially in recent years, more and more attention has been drawn to intercultural communication studies. Universal among all human beings, ethnocentrism is a block to effective intercultural communication and causes conflicts and misunderstandings between both participants in the intercultural communication. Therefore, cultural relativism is what we should adopt and an open mind to other cultures always comes in the first place. 

This thesis is a cultural study on Daisy Miller through an ethnocentric analysis of the intercultural communication between Americans (Daisy and Randolph) and Europeanized Americans (Winterbourne, Mrs. Costello and Mrs. Walker), suggesting that all the characters are ethnocentric in a way, except the real European Giovanelli as a model to follow. Based on these detailed analyses, it goes on to reflections on Daisy’s death and argues that everyone has responsibility to shoulder for this tragic ending, which is to some degree enlightenment about the right way to deal with intercultural communication, that is, avoiding ethnocentrism.

KEY WORDS: Daisy Miller; Intercultural communication; Ethnocentrism

论文题目：以民族中心主义视角研究《黛茜•米勒》中的跨文化交际

摘  要

亨利•詹姆斯（Henry James，1843-1916）是19世纪美国伟大的小说家、戏剧家和批评家，也是美国现实主义运动的代表人物，更是英美文学史上的一大文豪。他早期以创作国际题材的小说享负盛名，通过讲述欧洲人和美国人的交往来展现欧美两种截然不同的文化。《黛茜•米勒》是詹姆斯早期探索国际题材的代表作之一，也被其认为是最成功的作品。这部短篇小说以一个欧化的美国青年温特伯恩的视角来叙述米勒一家在欧洲的经历，着重描写了女主人公黛茜•米勒同其他人物之间的跨文化交际。

跨文化交际是指具有不同文化背景的人们传递信息，它不仅是人类学、社会学、传播学等多个学科的研究焦点，也频现于日常生活的不同场合。近年来，学术界掀起了跨文化交际研究的热潮。其中，民族中心主义对跨文化交际至关重要，可能会使交际双方产生文化冲突和误解，进而阻碍跨文化交际的有效进行。因此，我们应该以一种开放的姿态对待其他文化，并在跨文化交际中采取文化相对主义的态度。

本文旨在从民族中心主义视角分析《黛茜•米勒》中美国人（黛茜和兰道夫）与旅欧美国侨民（温特伯恩、考斯特罗夫人和沃克尔夫人）之间的跨文化交际，说明其在跨文化交际中表现出的民族中心主义，进而探讨黛茜交际悲剧的根源，并表明避免民族中心主义是跨文化交际的首要态度。

关 键 词：《黛茜·米勒》；跨文化交际；民族中心主义 

Contents

ABSTRACT VII

摘  要 IX

Contents XI

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

1.1 Henry James and the Novella Daisy Miller 1

1.2 Significance and Aim of this Study 3

1.3 Overview of the Thesis 3

Chapter 2 Literature Review 5

2.1 Studies Concerning Daisy Miller 5

2.1.1 Studies Abroad 5

2.1.2 Studies in China 6

2.2 Intercultural Communication 7

Chapter 3 Ethnocentrism and Intercultural Communication 9

3.1 The Concept of Ethnocentrism 9

3.2 Characteristics of Ethnocentrism 10

3.3 Ethnocentrism and Intercultural Communication 11

Chapter 4 An Ethnocentric Analysis of the Intercultural Communication in Daisy Miller 13

4.1 Americans in the Intercultural Communication 13

4.1.1 An Ethnocentric Analysis of Randolph 13

4.1.2 An Ethnocentric Analysis of Daisy 14

4.2 Europeanized Americans in the Intercultural Communication 16

4.2.1 An Ethnocentric Analysis of Mrs. Costello 16

4.2.2 An Ethnocentric Analysis of Mrs. Walker 17

4.2.3 An Ethnocentric Analysis of Winterbourne 18

4.3 Giovanelli as a Model 20

Chapter 5 Conclusion 21

5.1 Reflections on Daisy’s Death 21

5.2 Avoid Ethnocentrism in the Intercultural Communication 22

5.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Study 23

References 25

Acknowledgments 29