Introduction
Among well-known coming-of-age novels in the world’s history, Little Women has just been recognized by academics as one of the most powerful Bildungsroman novels for its ability to depict the growth and maturity of the characters. The work by Louisa May Alcott, written in the 19th century, is a collection of heroines and their life experiences. Among such heroines is Jo March, who transcends the tomboyish phase and turns into a young woman who settles down. While being considered a radical novel in the century of its publications, the novel still can be considered somewhat revolutionary considering the feminist theme and disruption of old dogmas of the patriarchal world. Therefore, the heroine, Jo March, not only matures from a rebellious adolescent into a married and calm woman but grows in terms of her education, improving her skills in writing. The purpose of the paper is to illuminate the Bildungsroman nature of Little Women with Jo March’s analysis, with the audience being peer students.
Jo March
In the novel Little Women, Jo March significantly emphasizes Bildungsroman’s presence. First, she decides to go against the flow of her society and discover her potential and follow her goals, and then finds her true self and learns to live in these conditions. Jo demonstrates her non-conforming nature from the start of the book, especially in her desire to become a renowned author and support herself via her artistic endeavors (Wadsworth). Jo, a fifteen-year-old young woman with a short temper, a strong sense of purpose, and persistence, expertly mixes both stereotypically “feminine” and “masculine” personality qualities as they have been viewed in the past (Bender). Since Jo chooses the more masculine-sounding variant of her name, Josephine, she is resisting traditional feminization (Trumpener). Even Jo’s attitude to her name reflects the fragmentation of binaries. Jo fights against the patriarchal expectations for women set forth in the book.
Appearance Rebellion
It is important to think about how Alcott stresses the difficulties Jo faces as a result of being under compulsion to adhere to patriarchal norms in order to see the whole transformation of Jo March and the catalysts that cause her character to change between gender preferences. Jo appreciates “boy’s games, and work, and manners,” and “it’s bad enough to be a girl,” when contrasting the liberties and rights of females with those of males, as can be observed from her remarks (Alcott, 3). The dissatisfaction that comes from one’s gender, being made one gender, although desiring to be a person of another gender, is among the complex and subversive themes in Little Women (Deboeck et al.). As a consequence, one can sense Jo’s internal difficulties as she tries to go beyond gender stereotypes.
Furthermore, the only other place wherein the protagonist feels comfortable being herself is in how she looks. Jo resides with three sisters who happily follow social conventions and take pleasure in the variety of clothing possibilities bestowed upon their gender. On the other hand, Jo’s clothing reflects her views on female sexuality and the unfairness of being a woman (Rioux). Jo acknowledges that she is “perfectly miserable” when getting dressed up by Amy, and each time she is made to wear something attractive to appear respectable, all she can do is sigh (Alcott 553). Jo has to pretend and be someone she does not have any desire to be and has no other opportunity, as was before described (Smith). “It’s bad enough to be a girl, anyway, when I like boy’s games and work and manners! I can’t get over my disappointment in not being a boy”, Jo once remarked (Alcott 3). I’m really disappointed in myself for not being a male (Alcott 3). Even when she nearly outright declares that she would want to be a man, she nevertheless considers the inequity frustrating and unpleasant.
Maturity in Attitudes
However, by the end of the novel, Jo’s character has undergone a considerable change. She supposedly retains her character strength while changing into a much more feminine persona. As a result of being divided between two personas, Jo’s inner life first appears chaotic. However, in the end, Jo learned how to combine the two personalities successfully (May Degener). Jo March’s versatility is thus shown by fusing the two gender essences together rather than sticking to just one (Ekasanti and Hernawati). In Jo’s example, while caring for her family and doing household duties, she exhibits stereotypically masculine traits, including an outgoing personality, assertiveness, ambition, and progressive thought.
Scholastic Development
Regarding Jo’s scholastic development, the reader may detect the challenges and changes in the young woman’s writing during her lifetime. Alcott goes into considerable length in the early section of the book about how vivid Jo’s imagination is and what sort of tremendous skill and ambitions the aspiring author has (Mailloux). A “magic inkstand” and “rooms piled with books” are how Jo describes her “castle” (Alcott 188). Her family respects and admires her ability and sees her as a modern-day Shakespeare. In this sense, Jo hones her craft in order to have a career and money.
In turn, Jo’s writing develops into her own therapeutic sessions as soon as she begins to see it as a way to express her feelings and thoughts in adulthood. She uses writing as both a form of self-expression and a kind of treatment. Jo eventually writes two poems that express her feelings and ideas about all that is going on inside of her (Šesnić). The first poem expresses her sorrow over the loss of her cherished sister Beth and emphasizes that she had a meaningful life and imparted much wisdom to everyone. Jo describes her feelings of emptiness and her longing to love and be loved in one of her poetry pieces (McWilliams). Even though she acknowledges that her poetry is not flawless, she finds peace in them. Writing “has done its duty” to express feelings, in Jo’s opinion (Alcott 904). Jo uses poetry as a method to express her emotions and opinions, but she also finds solace and comfort in it.
Femininity Perceptions
As for femininity development, in her younger years, there are more instances where Jo feels as though the social expectations of femininity are stifling her genuine self. Another instance of this is when Meg and Jo are getting ready for Gardiner’s party and must overcome several obstacles to seem aesthetically appealing. The decision is made for the women to wear one clean glove while holding the muddy piece in the other hand because they only have one pair of damaged gloves (Hubler et al.). This event exemplifies the level of social scrutiny that women in this era faced. Alcott makes it obvious how young women always had to appear poised, wear lovely gowns, and pay attention to every step to avoid judgment (Gardiner). In this situation, Jo expresses her disgust with the norms and does not desire to comply with the rules and dress up. Jo March clearly stated that she would not wear gloves, exclaiming, “I don’t care what people say!” (Alcott 27). This, once again, shows the rebellious nature of the heroine.
The Change of Perspective
On the contrary, toward the end of the book, Jo March almost drastically changes her perspective. While in the beginning, she saw the passion for clothes and desire to become married as pathetic and overly miserable for women since she was an ambitious individual, in the end, the reader sees that she took the role of a wife. Initially, she said, “I don’t believe I shall ever marry,” stating that “I’m happy as I am, and love my liberty too well to be in any hurry to give it up for any mortal man.” (Alcott 142). Still, later she became married to a professor and saw him not just as a husband but as a friend, which shows her reconciliation with the marriage concept (Asriyanti et al.). It was stated that her “ friend Friedrich Bhaer was not only good but great” (Alcott 139). Therefore, she was not embittered, instead, she found support in her partner and was grateful for it.
Conclusion
Hence, in addition to becoming a married, content lady from a rebellious youth, Jo March also advances in her schooling and sharpens her writing abilities. To understand Jo March’s overall evolution and the factors that lead to her character changing between gender preferences, it is crucial to consider how Alcott emphasizes the challenges Jo suffers as a result of being forced to follow patriarchal conventions. Since she does not wear clothes at first, the protagonist’s appearance is the only other setting in which she feels free to be herself. She apparently keeps her character strength at the end while transitioning into a much more feminine demeanor. Regarding Jo’s scholastic development, the reader first sees that Jo hones her skills to make money. However, in the end, Jo starts to write poems as therapy. As for her femininity perceptions, the reader initially sees her as a tomboy who does not believe in marriage. Still, in the end, Jo March marries and feels content with her lie.
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