The idea of "studying" recurs as a motif in James's novella. At the beginning of Part 1, for instance, the narrator writes that when Winterbourne's "friends spoke of him, they usually said that he was at Geneva ‘studying’." At the end of the novella, Winterbourne returns to Geneva, where he is supposedly "'studying' hard," and the narrator explains that this is an "intimation that he is much interested in a very clever foreign lady."
The narrator uses quotation marks around the word "studying," which in part indicates that this is what other people say about Winterbourne. These quotation marks can also be taken as scare quotes, which the narrator uses to express skepticism about Winterbourne's true activities in Geneva. The narrator's sarcastic tone, the scare quotes, and the overall vagueness of the description of Winterbourne's life contribute to the reader's inkling that he is embroiled in a romantic affair.
It is quite clear that Winterbourne's friends know that he is involved with a woman in Geneva, and they therefore come up with creative language to give him the privacy to carry on. This underlines the hypocrisy of Winterbourne and the American community in their judgment of Daisy's actions and character. Their disapproval of the young woman stems partly from the fact that she's familiar with men she doesn't plan to marry and partly from the fact that these men are locals. However, the main issue seems to be her lack of subtlety. It is likely that other women in their circles have close relationships with men they aren't married to, but the problem with Daisy is that she doesn't follow their rules about how to conceal such relationships.
The motif of "studying" shows that, in Winterbourne's circles, extramarital relationships are far from unheard of—one just has to be discreet about them in the right ways. The narrator's intimations make it seem quite certain that he has gone further with his lady friend than Daisy ever does with Giovanelli. Over the course of the novella, Daisy is punished for being a young woman who doesn't follow the unspoken yet firmly enforced conventions of the people around her.
Over the course of the novella, the characters use a wide range of nicknames and descriptors to indirectly refer to Giovanelli. Tracking this motif allows the reader to recognize the ways in which American characters use language to distance themselves from the Italian locals. Characters often play with imagery or metaphor in their nicknames for Giovanelli. In some cases, a character will use Italian when talking about him. Unwilling to use his name, the characters prove intent on dehumanizing people whose language and culture differ from their own.
The first time a character references Giovanelli, Mrs. Costello tells Winterbourne that whenever Daisy goes to parties, "she brings with her a gentleman with a good deal of manner and a wonderful mustache." The mustache imagery, though only a brief detail, remains important. Mustaches come to be linked with both Giovanelli and with Italian men in general. When he imagines Daisy "surrounded by half a dozen wonderful mustaches," Winterbourne feels threatened.
Another piece of imagery that becomes defining for Giovanelli is that he always keeps flowers in his buttonhole. When Winterbourne runs into a friend outside the Doria Palace, he tells Winterbourne that he just saw Daisy in the company of "a little Italian with a bouquet in his button-hole." The narrator lightly mocks Giovanelli for this habit, and Winterbourne's friend seems to as well. He only briefly saw Daisy and Giovanelli, and yet he noticed the Italian's accessory. In the eyes of the Americans, this sort of self-adornment is overly flashy. When the characters refer to Giovanelli by mentioning his mustache or the flower in his buttonhole, they implicitly ridicule his extravagance.
At other times, people forego Giovanelli's name in favor of phrases like "her amoroso," "the brilliant little Roman," "the little Italian," Daisy's "accomplice," Daisy's "cavalier," Daisy's "cicerone," "the handsome native," and "the subtle Roman." It is evident that people often use "little" when they refer to Giovanelli. Besides describing his actual stature, this constant emphasis on his diminutive size underlines the outlook of the people talking about him. In another instance, Mrs. Costello metaphorically refers to Giovanelli as "that little barber’s block." A barber's block is a rounded block used for making wigs. In this disparaging metaphor, Mrs. Costello seizes on Giovanelli's facial hair and his small size. Although the Americans fawn over European standards of etiquette and tastes, he isn't the kind of European they take seriously.
When reading Daisy Miller, it is hard to overlook the shared tendency of the American characters to opt for diminutive descriptors and mocking nicknames when they refer to Giovanelli. While the habit is possibly in part informed by non-Italians' difficulty pronouncing Italian names, it undoubtedly speaks to a desire to separate oneself from the locals. People like Mrs. Costello and Mrs. Walker find it beneath them to show that they remember his name, and they therefore use creative alternatives that further punctuate their disdain.
A recurring detail in descriptions of Giovanelli is that he keeps a flower in his button-hole. This motif contributes to his character development and demonstrates how the American expatriates view Italian men. Driven by a tendency to size up people who deviate from their own norms, the members of the American community in Rome deride Giovanelli through small comments about his appearance.
The first time Giovanelli appears in the novella's action, the reader sees him through Winterbourne's eyes:
Winterbourne perceived at some distance a little man standing with folded arms nursing his cane. He had a handsome face, an artfully poised hat, a glass in one eye, and a nosegay in his buttonhole.
This initial description of Giovanelli differentiates his physical appearance from that of Winterbourne and other American travelers in Rome. Handsome and short, he carries and wears a number of accessories. Although most of these accessories have concrete functions, the narrator implies that there is something excessive to his outfit. This insinuation is punctuated by the nosegay in Giovanelli's buttonhole, which undeniably serves no other purpose than self-embellishment.
Throughout the novella, the narrator and characters seize on this detail of Giovanelli's appearance. It is clear that the Americans find the flower in the buttonhole unusual, otherwise it wouldn't be mentioned repeatedly. In one instance, Winterbourne watches Giovanelli stroll away from Daisy to "pluck a sprig of almond-blossom, which he carefully arranges in his button-hole." Through this observation, the reader gathers that anytime Giovanelli wears a flower in his buttonhole, he has stopped to pick it himself. The comedic yet romantic gesture shows that he pays attention, with great delight, to his natural environment. It also shows that he cares about his appearance, down to minor details.
For the American community in Rome, the flower in Giovanelli's buttonhole becomes a symbol of his flamboyance. This is a characteristic that people like Mrs. Walker and Mrs. Costello disapprove of. Preferring solemnity and moderation, these women take Giovanelli's appearance and adornment as a sign of his foolishness and unsuitability. On the other hand, there can be little doubt that Daisy finds the flower in Giovanelli's buttonhole charming. To her, it reveals the pleasure he takes in his surroundings and in himself. Often complaining about the stiffness of her American acquaintances, Daisy feels refreshed to find some of her own spontaneity, spirit, and ease in Giovanelli.
