Summary
The novel Little Women, written by Louisa May Alcott, illustrates the struggles, difficulties, and characteristics that influence the lives of young women in society. Two characters that have been illustrated as ambitious and persuasive yet struggling to fit into the norm of society at the time are Jo and Amy. Josephine (Jo) was a tomboy, and her older sister made a point to tell her, “You are old enough to leave off boyish tricks” (Alcott 6). Jo’s personality was not commonly accepted in the uptight society in which a woman was supposed to behave a certain way, which illustrates the struggles of the character to fit in. The narrator illustrates that “Jo’s ambition was to do something very splendid” (Alcott 54). The phrase, while seemingly regular, refers to Jo’s strong will and perseverance during a time when all women could seek was a marriage with a successful man from a good family. Thus, the character’s desire to shift the paradigm through personal growth and desires is what makes Jo a strong independent thinker.
Amy is another character with certain traits that would classify her as self-determined. For example, Amy refers to her desires as an aim “to be an artist, and go to Rome, and do fine pictures, and be the best artist in the whole world” (Alcott 203). This exemplifies Amy’s artistic ambitions, which, similarly to Jo’s ones, are not supported within society. The sisters, while strong-willed and passionate about becoming artists, were living in a world in which their dreams could not come true, which created the circumstances in which their characters had to integrate. Amy ultimately was “enjoying other things, meanwhile, for she had resolved to be an attractive and accomplished woman, even if she never became a great artist” (Alcott 359). Thus, while not all her dreams were accomplished, her ambition and perseverance were present in her other areas of life.
Feminism in Little Women
Children’s literature rarely finds simple, everyday stories that keep kids entertained. Some of it promotes a serious problem, such as Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Emily Series, which encourages readers to think about how women were portrayed in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The article provided by Madani intrigues me since it looks at Little Women and Emily in the Emily Series as examples of women’s desire to overcome prevailing biases at the time (59). This study examines how these female authors expressed their views on femininity in the patriarchal culture at the time their novels were published.
Because the books are from two different countries, the United States and Canada, examining the similarities and differences in how they portray feminist beliefs is important. According to Madani, the stories in Little Women and the Emily Series demonstrate that marriage and employment are compatible and that everyone should accept themselves regardless of how society tries to limit and define women’s roles (60). I find the topic of bias related to women very important and essential to discuss.
Talking about women, their qualities, cultural representation, and positions in society are just a few of the topics that have long been disputed. Gender equality is a topic that many communities, organizations, and projects have focused on, where women and men are intended to have equal opportunity in society through equal rights. The feminist movement’s main goal has always been to achieve this. On the other hand, Madani explores feminist concepts in children’s novels throughout the Victorian era (57). The nineteenth century was a time when feminism first emerged and was recognized by society. At the same time, the mid-nineteenth century was a golden age for children’s literature, with a plethora of works for children being published and gaining popularity.
Another point about the article that I have highlighted is that it does not purely discuss the topic of feminism when interpreting the novel. “Little Women and Emily series are not fully a representation of feminism,” claims Madani (58). Rather, the texts contain some elements that speak to feminist values. Readers can follow the development of Jo and Emily from childhood to adulthood as they struggle to overcome the difficulties of being a female in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with stereotypes and conventional ideas (Madani 58). This study aims to see how Alcott and Montgomery portray their ideas on women’s liberty in their children’s novels through character and event descriptions. Through this research, I intend to discover the parallels and variations in how Alcott and Montgomery may encourage and impact readers with the feminist components of their work. According to Madani, both Alcott and Montgomery appear to be telling readers that marriage and having a career at the same time is possible for women (58). Women do not have to choose between being a mother and pursuing their ambitions; they can do both without their responsibilities interfering.
The next interesting claim made by the author in the article is the restrictions regarding self-expression for Victorian women. Women in Victorian times were constrained in their ability to express themselves. They were formed by a culture that emphasized the importance of marriage and a stable family. With Jo’s and Emily’s passion for writing, Alcott and Montgomery aim to disrupt Victorian society’s ideal norm. Little Women establishes Jo as a passionate writer who enjoys reading and is working on a play right from the start. She writes her stories in a particular book and in a special corner of her room. She loses herself in her own world for lengthy periods of time, writing for many hours without stopping when she gets motivated.
I have also admired that the author allocated a lot on the topic of the independence of women. I think that this topic is vital to mention because it is one of the main ideas of Little Women. According to Madani, Jo and Emily also reflect monetarily and intellectually independence in partnerships (60). Jo and Emily are able to make money on their own merits through their occupations. Their stories bring them popularity and offer a comfortable living for their families.
Jo creates an incredibly successful book after Beth’s death that allows her family to live comfortably. She takes responsibility for her family’s obligations and uses the money she earns to reward her mother. This demonstrates Jo’s financial independence, which was rare for Victorian women. She is a trustworthy youngster whom her parents can rely on. Because Meg is busy caring for her own family and Amy is in Europe, Jo is the only child Jo’s parents can lean on after Beth dies. As a result, Jo and Emily are clearly autonomous characters who are financially self-sufficient and reflect the concept of women’s autonomy. Even after Jo and Emily marry, their autonomy is preserved since Jo continues to write until she becomes a well-known novelist, and there is no sign that Emily stops writing after she marries Teddy.
Dismantling Gender Roles and Redefining Womanhood
The next article by Shardai Smith interprets Little Women from the perspective of dismantling gender roles and redefining womanhood. It is compelling how Smith views Jo’s March as a feminist icon. According to Smith, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women provides a nuanced examination of women’s battle to reevaluate womanhood and obtain financial independence in a male-dominated world (9). At the outset of this article, Jo March will be compared to her sisters, Meg and Beth, as well as her mother, Marmee, all of whom give Jo both acceptable and unattractive paths into adulthood. Jo’s childhood fondness for male traits is also used in this thesis to show that Jo’s blending of the feminine and masculine propels her writing career forward and ultimately wins her the financial independence she seeks.
Jo March, a character in Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women, is a model for breaking down the barriers between masculinity and femininity. Jo teaches young girls—and adult women—that being masculine or valuing masculine attributes like ambition and financial independence does not preclude a woman’s ability to be happy and successful in life (Smith 9). This perspective strikes me as particularly pertinent because the problem of gender stereotypes has always posed unique challenges to society’s attitude toward women’s accomplishments.
Alcott’s character Jo “broadens the idea of femininity” and fosters a more diverse definition of what it is to be a woman (Smith 1). Jo discovers freedom, independence, and achievement that are not available to traditional women through her newfound womanhood. Jo uses masculine characteristics to get over the limits she believes come with traditional women. Jo’s writing gives her the financial independence she needs to reanalyze what it is to be a lady once she indulges in her natural proclivity towards tomboy ways. Alcott’s blending of femininity and masculinity in Jo March criticizes antebellum America’s rigid gender roles that cultivated compliant womanhood while also equipping Jo with the masculine attributes she needs to redefine womanhood and gain independence, all while mirroring Alcott’s own journey to success as a female writer in the nineteenth century.
Another noteworthy point Smith makes is her reference to women’s financial independence. Jo has aspired to break free from the constraints of women since she was a child, and she believes that her writing is the key to achieving financial and hence physical independence. Jo strives to “be independent,” a status granted only to men and fulfilling masculine duties in society (Alcott 221). Because of the tight gender stereotypes that are enforced, Jo associates independence and financial stability with masculinity.
The March sisters’ route to adulthood is weak in independence and autonomy (Smith 4). In order to achieve womanhood, females must relinquish the independence they were given as children. Jo’s womanhood is stunted before she reaches her full potential (Smith 4). In a society where values such as independence and freedom are connected with youth, gendered characteristics such as submissiveness and confinement in the domestic family are indicators of females.
Jo’s writing allows her to stray from her predetermined path to womanhood, if only for a brief while. When Jo first publishes her work, she does not receive any compensation, but the recognition that her work is worthy of praise delights her. Jo’s love of writing offers her joy in life, and the fact that she can earn money from her work proves that she can live the life she desires, one in which she can afford to stay single and support her family. Jo understands that she can make money from her work and hence maintain herself without the assistance of a man. Jo’s writing gives her a sense of control over her life that she lacks in traditional womanhood.
Jo accomplishes her ambition to financially support her family and avoids her childhood anxieties that womanhood would bring disappointment since she decides to preserve her manly features in adulthood. Jo finds that her liking for masculine characteristics does not jeopardize her career chances, contrary to popular belief. “The dearest wishes of her heart” are for Jo to be “independent and earn the praise of those she loved” (Alcott 221). This demonstrates that Jo equates pleasure and love with success in life. She recognizes that completing male activities such as employment and publishing her literature is “the first step toward that happy end” (Alcott 221). Jo is a one-of-a-kind individual who defies categorization. Jo respects the feminine ideal of service to family while leveraging her masculinity to gain entry into the male arena and obtain independence.
Feminism Values
The goal of the study by Santi and Rahmi is to use a qualitative method to describe the feminist values represented by Jo, the primary character in Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women. The information for this study was gathered through documentation. After that, the data was evaluated utilizing a feminist perspective paired with a qualitative content analysis technique. The findings of this study reveal that the feminist values in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women include equality, difference, choice, care, time, and experience. According to the essay by Santi and Rahmi, equality is the most prominently feminist value in this story (52). Jo’s fight to protect her women’s rights to equal treatment in terms of women’s nature, societal treatment of women, women’s performance, and equal access to higher education was addressed in the article (Santi and Rahmi 49). The authors discuss women’s freedom and their place in society by understanding Little Women.
I find it fascinating that the writer explicitly admits that there are many beliefs that men in the home and society dominate women and that they are considered as a “second” culture because they are weak and powerless (Santi and Rahmi 50). It is should be noted that “in the globalization era, there are many cases about women and need the attention seriously from the woman itself and also the government in each country” (Sandi and Rahmi 50). Women are meant to be good mothers, and they are only to talk when they are spoken to (Sandi and Rahmi 50). Writers are interested in discussing women because women, like men, should be able to exercise their independence. In the current day, the authors also emphasize the significance of resolving gender inequality.
I find it valuable that the article emphasizes the topic of gender equality through the lens of feminist values. The history of feminist activism documents key movements to enable women to vote, gain access to higher education and have equal pay and working conditions (Santi and Rahmi 50). The notion that women and men are the same as human beings has been at the heart of these initiatives. As a result, women have the right to equal treatment. At first glance, the concept of equality as a global concept, i.e., a collection of rules, standards, and principles that are equally applicable to everyone and can be recognized and accepted by everyone, looks appealing for feminists.
The essay discusses the feminist ideas of equality, difference, choice, caring, time, and experience in Little Women. It is regarded as the best of the works discussed so far. In this work, Alcott creates Little Women characters who struggle with poverty, gender norms, and the marginalization of their rights (Santi and Rahmi 51). The scholars discover some key elements in the feminist study of the novel after performing this investigation. The novel Little Women is mostly about the ideas of equality. In this case, figure Jo is required to achieve gender equality. This novel appears to have a different value at several points and chapters. Alcott intends to show the different values of that period through the figure of Jo, such as psychological differences, style of thinking, and apparently differences. It was a significant value that upheld women’s rights to make their own decisions based on their own preferences.
Explanation of Choice
Josephine March is one of the major characters in Little Women, and Alcott pays much attention to her development and progress as an individual and a writer. Her changes explain her professional skills and strong writing abilities. Since the first meeting with Jo, the reader learns this character differs from her sisters. Compared to other girls obsessed with justice, poverty, and family ties, Jo, “lying on the rug,” thinks about the essence of Christmas and the worth of presents (Alcott 3). She is a 15-year-old girl, “very tall, thin, and brown, and reminded one of a colt” with “a decided mouth, a comical nose, and sharp, gray eyes” (Alcott 7). It seems that the author wants to provide Jo with enough qualities and makes her as close to the reader as possible. Her eyes “were by turns fierce, funny, or thoughtful,” and her sister Beth defined her as a “tomboy” (Alcott 7).
However, the image of “boyish” Jo is not constrained to her appearance. The boyishness, along with the unwillingness to condone heteronormative roles, is manifested through how she looks. When Jo is blamed for her tomboy behavior, such as whistling, she claims that her actions, as well as her looks, challenge her image of a young lady. Unwilling to be perceived as one, Jo claims: “if turning up my hair makes me one, I’ll wear it in two tails till I’m twenty” (Alcott 4). Hence, the opening of the novel demonstrates how the deconstruction of gender drives Jo’s behavior. This behavior, in the form of a rebellion, is later represented in her writing career, as instead of embracing the writing on her journey of womanhood, Jo focuses on creating stories that manifest horror and thrill rather than an emotive reflection on her life.
In the story of the March family, Jo neither follows the same rules nor meets social expectations, showing the possibility of combining female and male biases. Since her childhood, Jo never hides that she hates growing up, being “Miss March, and wearing long gowns” (Alcott 6). She also admits her passion for boys’ games and activities and tries to break the existing predisposition, which defines her writing style and the future implications of her talent. Specifically, by breaking the predisposition, Jo demonstrates how unwilling she is to follow a writing career by pitching ideas related to her family and, most importantly, womanhood. Driven by the idea that the female perspective of the 19th century is tied to household and romance, she moves towards boys’ activities as the absolute opposite of the feminine construct. As a result, her writing career begins with stories and plots opposite to moralism and sensitivity, justifying how youthful maximalism stands in the way of gender construction and self-identity.
Jo is the author of multiple plays the March sisters like to perform for parents. She is an author, an organizer, a performer, and a critic, which is never a girl’s job but a man’s responsibility. Alcott represents Jo as an active girl who cannot stand being left out, ready to burn her frocks, and never thinks about her gloves or other girls’ staff. Even her name is inappropriate for her writing career, and she replaces her feminine name, “Josephine” with a more masculine-sounding “Jo” (Alcott 39). She turns out to be a perfect example of how male and female qualities are mixed within one person and strengthen writing predisposition.
Jo needs some examples to understand that writing is not only her interest but an appropriate career choice. One of her sisters, Beth, is a shy and honest girl, known as a peacemaker in her family, “with such a funny face” (Alcott 5-6). She finds inspiration and motivation in books, which allows her to analyze Jo’s skills in playing and writing and call her “a regular Shakespeare” (Alcott 11). This observation is another evidence for female-male deconstruction in Jo’s writing.
She rejects tragedies or magic in human life, which is usually a female thing but enjoys the killing part (Alcott 11). Her preferences and interests are never the same as those of her sisters, and it becomes a real challenge for Jo’s ambitions to deal with stereotypes and continue writing. It is normal for Josephine to spend much time with her sisters and complete family duties as expected. However, it is difficult for Jo to follow her dreams of writing and being a part of a community. The presence of binary qualities and a perfect combination of female and male behaviors inspire Jo for her serious steps as a writer.
One of the most interesting features of Little Women is Alcott’s intention not to focus on a particular period of the girls but on their development from childhood to adulthood. More than ten years are covered in the story, allowing the reader to admire the progress of Jo as a writer and woman. One should admit that not only gender stereotypes affect Jo’s decisions but also material conditions, people around her, and personal ambitions. When she is a child, Jo fascinates by creating stories for her sisters and their family performances. With time, the girl becomes able to compose her stories and add meaning to every word. Jo underlines that she likes “strong words that mean something” (Alcott 51). Her progress is evident as she sees inspiration in every moment and everything around her.
On the one hand, Jo is a character who does not need to feel support from anyone because she can cope with everything. Beth compares her to the gull, “strong and wild, fond of the storm and the wind, flying far out to sea, and happy all alone” (Alcott 522). Jo also does not want to tie herself with other people because she is happy as she is and enjoys her liberty “too well to be in a hurry to give it up for any mortal men” (Alcott 508). If, at the time, such a strong symbolization of liberty and self-reliance could be perceived as a feminist image, the current prism of gender deconstruction does not justify Jo’s behavior as inherently resistant to gender bias. Conversely, her dedication to creating realistic and thrilling literature in spite of her calling to more moralistic writing undermines her personal freedom as a woman and favors a masculine narrative of social hierarchy.
Despite the radical position in support of solitude, Jo feels lively enough to seek communication and understanding. In fact, her focus on liberty and choice of writing indicates that Jo, perfectly understanding her peculiarities, chooses isolation and radicalism as a defuse mechanism. In the scene of meeting Laurie, Jo repeatedly mentions that her unique nature does not comply to societal expectations. Jo shares that she likes to dance on the condition that she is free enough to dance without upsetting somebody in the audience (Alcott 47). It almost seems as if she is afraid to embrace her vulnerability in personality and writing because she does not want to understand that she is not enough. As a result, she proceeds with writing realistic stories in order to discover her identity in a “male-female” gender paradigm.
Besides, during their first years of friendship, Laurie provides Jo with some understanding of her desire to write. He believes that her stories “are works of Shakespeare compared to half of the rubbish published daily” (Alcott 214-215). He also admits that it could “be fun to see them in print” and “feel proud of our authors” (Alcott 215). At the same time, Jo cannot find support from her family or forgive Ann, who burns her book. It was “the pride of her heart, and was regarded by her family as a literary sprout of great promise” (Alcott 105). People play an important role in Jo’s writing progress because all those lessons prove that she is responsible only for her writing.
The contradictions between the material resources available to Jo and her emotional needs affect the style of writing and the conditions under which she has to work. Despite several bad moments like Ann’s ice accident, the mother’s departure to take care of the father, Beth’s sickness, and unpleasant marriage experiences, Jo finds the strength to publish her stories secretly and gain success. In the context of the 19th century, this behavioral pattern was rightfully considered a breach of a conforming image of a woman. However, when assessing Jo’s actions through the lens of modern gender deconstruction, her emphasis on “otherness” falls into a cliché of gender roles and feminist images.
Thus, by referring to her feminine perspective as a “vain” part of her that misses long hair and is prone to sentimentalism, Joe perceives her life and her writing through a black-and-white lens, with black referring mostly to the feminine side of her. However, once this binary opposition of feminine and masculine perspectives gradually intertwines in Jo’s self-perception, her writing also becomes a part of her identity rather than a tool to gain financial independence. At one point, when she has the opportunity to get published without gaining profit for her work, Jo accepts the offer. In such a way, she finally recognizes that her passion for writing is not about survival but about the willingness to be heard.
Thus, her writing ability has to be developed within the offered and accessible surroundings. She calls it the necessity to “fall into a vortex” and write “with all her heart and soul” (Alcott 371). There is a special “scribbling suit” that consists of “a black woolen pinafore on which she could wipe her pen at will, and a cap of the same material, adorned with a cheerful red bow” (Alcott 371). Jo has enough knowledge, skills, and imagination to cherish her dearest dream and become a great writer. Her steps are logical, from writing secretly, earning a living as a governess, finding a good advisor (Mr Bhaer), and defining priorities. Her transformation amazes the reader and proves that nothing can be predicted.
Jo’s tenacity is one of the most remarkable characteristics of the chosen character. Once she sets her mind to anything, it is impossible to persuade her otherwise. This example can be applied to her interpersonal relationships and her writing career. It is wrong to define her temper as extremely bad or good for that epoch, but her violation of standards and unwillingness to follow social norms and expectations make her exceptional in the story. The identity, however, was exceptional and surprising even for Jo herself, as her journey of self-recognition and self-realization started from a place of confusion rather than a place of principle.
Somewhere at the beginning, Alcott (65) sets the reader up to Jo’s story by saying that she always wanted to do “something very splendid.” Since Jo had no idea about her purpose in life, she resorted to writing as a means of discovery rather than an end goal of her life mission. However, over time, her curiosity, along with a powerful support system of family, Laurie, and Mr. Bhaer, helped Jo recognize writing as a springboard for creating a unique narrative, a narrative that would condemn the opposition between the male and female construct of society. In fact, Jo herself became the embodiment of this opposition once favored her complex identity over gender affiliation.
Jo is a historical figure who stands out as an independent and bold woman who defies gender stereotypes and uses her male and female interests and qualities to succeed. The post-industrial middle-class idea of the right realm of womanhood specified that a woman should be a perfect lady, pleasantly obedient to men and strong in her inner purity. Ideal little women in the mid-nineteenth century were expected to be quiet, attractive, obedient, sensitive, and have an elegant, ladylike demeanor.
Jo has nothing to do with these qualities and never wants to adhere to these moral principles. She is a struggling girl who aspires to be a female writer, and she acts out her nature, whether sad, cross, listless, or enthusiastic, depending on the mood. Jo’s pursuit of her literary profession is aided by her female independence, self-assertion, tenacity, and boldness. There is always something binary in her desire to become a writer, which is a core element in her career growth, which explains her readiness to change her name, neglect gender stereotypes, and address the material conditions. Although not many people support her dreams, she never quits her goals and responds to every character in the most appropriate and respectful way.
Works Cited
Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. Planet eBook, 1868. Planet eBook. Web.
Madani, Rezky. “Empowering the Girls: Feminism in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Emily Series by Lucy Maud Montgomery.” 6th International Conference on Literature, Languages, Humanities and Social Sciences, Paris, 2017, pp. 57-64. Web.
Santi, Novita Yolanda, and Awliya Rahmi. “Feminism Values in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.” Islamic Manuscript of Linguistics and Humanity, vol. 1, no. 1, 2019, pp. 49-66.
Smith, Shardai. “Dismantling Gender Roles and Redefining Womanhood in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.” Locus: The Seton Hall Journal of Undergraduate Research, vol. 4, no. 1, 2021, pp. 1-10. Locus. Web.