[Vwoolf] Daisy

[Ellen Moody]

I suggest the name Daisy was associated with servants.  A classic modern
case:  Daisy in Downton Abbey.  In Little Women, the oldest sister,
Margaret or Meg, has
twins and one girl is called Daisy to distinguish her from her mother.  Meg
and Maggie seem to have retained connotations with upper class casualness
as in
Lady Betty for Lady Elizabeth.

Ellen Moody

On Sat, May 7, 2022 at 9:21 AM Jeremy Hawthorn via Vwoolf <
vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:

> For some reason the popularity of the name Daisy in the UK plunged
> dramatically (why?) just about when Woolf was writing Mrs Dalloway. See
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ukbabynames.com/girls/daisy__;!!KGKeukY!ziIwb9ZGTdNB9IM6yLbq4qZCsE1asHz54ANK59CluNGJq4ivUnu1MK3jz1lZbg1WtjH-Sf73V8k6DXxsF1TOAek9n-i1BkMdeg$  This of course may not apply to
> India, and in ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍
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> For some reason the popularity of the name Daisy in the UK plunged
> dramatically (why?) just about when Woolf was writing *Mrs Dalloway*. See
>
>
>
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ukbabynames.com/girls/daisy__;!!KGKeukY!ziIwb9ZGTdNB9IM6yLbq4qZCsE1asHz54ANK59CluNGJq4ivUnu1MK3jz1lZbg1WtjH-Sf73V8k6DXxsF1TOAek9n-i1BkMdeg$ 
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ukbabynames.com/girls/daisy__;!!KGKeukY!1S2yEmBWFgTFAjrMnEvH_JfL9aUkYyh3R_OlksbH7IGauwlvYAiX0dg-FuQ1Q4Q6UH1Nfj5MmKw1-1IiiSBOoq7vwSH3U_bQV5BAy9c$>
>
>
>
> This of course may not apply to India, and in *Mrs Dalloway* Daisy would
> presumably have been baptised when the name was popular.
>
>
>
> I wonder if, in terms of class, “Daisy” suggests the lower end of the
> social scale.
>
>
>
> Peter Walsh is 53 and Daisy is 24, married, and with 2 children. All this
> would raise an eyebrow even today . . . It certainly is striking that every
> time Peter Walsh thinks of her, the word “dark” is used. “Out came with his
> pocket-knife a snapshot of Daisy on the verandah; Daisy all in white, with
> a fox-terrier on her knee; very charming, very dark; the best he had ever
> seen of her.” “And the dark, adorably pretty girl on the verandah exclaimed
> (he could hear her).” “Vainly the dark, adorably pretty girl ran to the end
> of the terrace; vainly waved her hand; vainly cried she didn't care a straw
> what people said.” “(and the dark, adorably pretty face was on top of the
> envelopes)”.
>
>
>
> As for attitudes towards those of mixed ethnic backgrounds, Joseph
> Conrad’s first novel *Almayer’s Folly*, set in Bornean Sambir and
> published in 1895, includes a meeting between Dutch officers, Almayer, and
> his “half-caste” daughter Nina. One young officer is taken aback by Nina’s
> beauty.
>
>
>
> ‘The young sub began to recover from the astonishment and confusion caused
> by Nina's unexpected appearance and great beauty. "She was very beautiful
> and imposing," he reflected, "but after all a half-caste girl." This
> thought caused him to pluck up heart and look at Nina sideways. Nina, with
> composed face, was answering in a low, even voice the elder officer's
> polite questions as to the country and her mode of life.’
>
>
>
> Jeremy Hawthorn
>
> Professor Emeritus
>
> NTNU
>
> 7491 Trondheim
>
> Norway
>
>
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