The narrator explains that Winterbourne is attached to Geneva, metaphorically referring to it as "the little metropolis of Calvinism." At the core of this metaphor is an allusion to John Calvin, a central figure in the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland and France. Calvin spent much of his life and did much of his work in Geneva.
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system that emphasizes God's sovereignty. Though it is a complex religious tradition with a range of doctrines, "Calvinist" as a label is often associated with Puritanism because of Calvin's strict religious standards. For example, one of Calvin's leading ideas was that of total depravity: that sin is unavoidable because all humans are inherently driven by evil thoughts and intentions.
Geneva is never a setting of the novella's action, but it is an important background setting. As Americans seeking to assimilate to European culture, characters like Winterbourne and Mrs. Walker have to carefully observe and adjust to the attitudes and behavior they witness around them. By linking Geneva with Calvinism early in the novella, James imbues the city with a severe, pious, and moralizing atmosphere. These values stand in stark contrast to the uninhibited behavior of American travelers like the Miller family. Moreover, the link between Winterbourne and a place designated as Calvinist provides important characterization. The young American man may not be a Geneva-native, but his fondness for the place suggests that he has absorbed some of the norms and expectations that reign in the Swiss city.
Both Winterbourne and Mrs. Walker are based in Geneva. The baseline of expected etiquette in Europe is, to begin with, more elaborate and limiting than the baseline found in America. The designation of Geneva as a metropolis of Calvinism suggests that it occupies a spot on the more extreme end of the spectrum of European propriety. In other words, Winterbourne and Mrs. Walker have embraced some of the more rigid and orthodox values found in Europe.
Throughout the narrative, it is clear that the norms and expectations that exist in Geneva define these two characters' frames of reference when they scrutinize Daisy. Although Daisy shocks Winterbourne, a part of him is fascinated by her because of the way she refuses to conform. His attraction to and judgment of Daisy are complexly intertwined, which leaves him confused, frustrated, and obsessed. As Winterbourne gets to know Daisy, he struggles to interrogate the distinction between his personal prejudices and the customs of the place in which he lives.
Unlike Winterbourne, Mrs. Walker is not charmed by Daisy's resistance to European standards. She seems to view Daisy's behavior as a rejection of the unspoken pact that exists between upper-class American expatriate women. In her view, Daisy's behavior poses a threat to the worldview and system that she has spent years assimilating and contributing to.
It is significant that, despite his attachment to the "metropolis of Calvinism," Winterbourne leaves Geneva for Rome halfway through the story. He may feel attached to the Protestant way of life, but not so much so that he is unwilling to leave it for the home of Catholicism in pursuit of a lively young lady.
When Mrs. Walker invites Winterbourne to her party despite their disagreement, the reader discovers Mrs. Walker's reason for being attached to people like him. The narrator compares Mrs. Walker's friends to textbooks through a metaphor:
Mrs. Walker was one of those American ladies who, while residing abroad, make a point, in their own phrase, of studying European society; and she had on this occasion collected several specimens of her diversely-born fellow-mortals to serve, as it were, as text-books.
This metaphor indicates that Mrs. Walker puts great effort into assimilation, as she pays close attention to how other people in her position behave to make sure her own behavior will be seen as appropriate. Hailing from America but residing in Geneva, she collects fellow American expatriates as specimens and textbooks. The main use she has for these textbooks is her own study, but the fact that she's hosting a party suggests that she also enjoys putting them on display. It seems that any American in Rome who is relevant and respectable would receive an invitation to Mrs. Walker's party.
It's worth noting that Mrs. Walker doesn't collect actual Europeans as specimens and textbooks. The people whose behavior she seeks to study and mimic are those with which she can most closely compare herself. American expatriates don't try to transform themselves into Europeans, but they do try to mute whatever parts of themselves that would make them stand out as American. This is what makes Daisy such a threat to Mrs. Walker and her peers: the young woman has no desire to stifle her American attitudes or behavior. Less interested in observing other people, she seeks to live in a way that is authentic to herself.
The metaphor of Mrs. Walker's textbook acquaintances is related to the idea of Winterbourne "studying" his lady friend in Geneva. At the beginning and end of the narrative, the narrator suggests that Winterbourne's main activity in Geneva is his affair with an older woman. In these moments, studying is used euphemistically.
People like Winterbourne and Mrs. Walker are caught between two cultures and ways of life. This ambiguous position leaves them devoting much time and effort into scrutinizing other people, so they know how—or how not—to behave. Mrs. Walker watches her textbooks and her textbooks watch her; Winterbourne studies without learning. Simultaneously differentiating themselves from locals and from Americans, these cosmopolitan characters make every effort to fit into their exclusive, self-curated community. Their goal is not to genuinely learn about or engage with the people around them, but to emphasize their untouchable superiority to anyone who is too American or too local for their tastes.
