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Metaphor
Explanation and Analysis—Textbook Acquaintances:
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.
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