The novella "Daisy Miller" opens with a scene located at the Castle of Chillon , the subject of a famed poem by Byron, and closes with an allusion to "Manfred" also a poem by Byron. We discussed the relationship between these allusions and the theme of the novel. The narrator of both poems is an outcast from society and, like Daisy, has beliefs that threaten the existing social order. We then continued to compare Daisy Miller to Hester Prynne of "The Scarlet Letter" noting the parallel allusions to prisons in the beginning of both books as a metaphor for the social conventions and restrictive rules especially impacting women. Toward the end of the. session, at Olivia 's request, we also worked on an outline for her college application essay. For homework: Study for tomorrow's test on Daisy Miller.