Little Women is a historical drama novel written by American author Louisa May Alcott which was published in the year 1869 ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"izzkZb9C","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(\\uc0\\u8220{}{\\i{}Little Women}\\uc0\\u8221{})","plainCitation":"(“Little Women”)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":208,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/93B8YLSR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/93B8YLSR"],"itemData":{"id":208,"type":"entry-encyclopedia","abstract":"Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888), which was originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. Alcott wrote the books over several months at the request of her publisher.\nFollowing the lives of the four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy—the novel details their passage from childhood to womanhood and is loosely based on the author and her three sisters. Scholars classify Little Women as an autobiographical or semi-autobiographical novel.Little Women was an immediate commercial and critical success, with readers demanding to know more about the characters. Alcott quickly completed a second volume (titled Good Wives in the United Kingdom, although this name originated from the publisher and not from Alcott). It was also successful. The two volumes were issued in 1880 as a single novel titled Little Women.Alcott wrote two sequels to her popular work, both of which also featured the March sisters: Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). Although Little Women was a novel for girls, it differed notably from contemporary writings for children, especially girls. The novel addressed three major themes: \"domesticity, work, and true love, all of them interdependent and each necessary to the achievement of its heroine's individual identity.\"Little Women \"has been read as a romance or as a quest, or both. It has been read as a family drama that validates virtue over wealth,\" but also \"as a means of escaping that life by women who knew its gender constraints only too well.” According to Sarah Elbert, Alcott created a new form of literature, one that took elements from Romantic children's fiction and combined it with others from sentimental novels, resulting in a totally new format. Elbert argued that within Little Women can be found the first vision of the \"All-American girl\" and that her various aspects are embodied in the differing March sisters.The book has frequently been adapted for stage and screen.","container-title":"Wikipedia","language":"en","note":"Page Version ID: 931142185","source":"Wikipedia","title":"<i>Little Women</i>","URL":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Little_Women&oldid=931142185","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",12,18]]},"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019",12,17]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“Little Women”). Little Women gives an autobiographical account of the life of a family living in Concord, Massachusetts. The family consists of a father who is serving in the Civil War, a mother called “Marmee” who is a working woman, and four sisters Meg, Jo, Amy, and Beth. Meg and Jo are the older sisters with a Job. Jo works with a wealthy aunt while Meg serves as a Governess ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"lHMLkAPU","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Alcott)","plainCitation":"(Alcott)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":206,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/TIJRPQLA"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/TIJRPQLA"],"itemData":{"id":206,"type":"book","abstract":"The illustrations for this series were created by Scott McKowen, who, with his wife Christina Poddubiuk, operates Punch & Judy Inc., a company specializing in design and illustration for theater and performing arts. Their projects often involve research into the visual aspects of historical settings and characters. Christina is a theater set and costume designer and contributed advice on the period clothing for the illustrations. Scott created these drawings in scratchboard an engraving medium which evokes the look of popular art from the period of these stories. Scratchboard is an illustration board with a specifically prepared surface of hard white chalk. A thin layer of black ink is rolled over the surface, and lines are drawn by hand with a sharp knife by scraping through the ink layer to expose the white surface underneath. The finished drawings are then scanned and the color is added digitally. The beautiful Meg, artistic tomboy Jo, doomed Beth, and selfish Amy: since the publication of Little Women in 1869, these four sisters have become America’s most beloved literary siblings. Louisa May Alcott’s rich and realistic portrait has inspired three movies and stirred the emotions of countless young girls. Set in New England during the Civil War, the novel follows the adventures of the March sisters as they struggle to pursue their dreams.","ISBN":"978-1-4027-1458-0","language":"en","note":"Google-Books-ID: 9Sjs_5m7vcsC","number-of-pages":"546","publisher":"Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.","source":"Google Books","title":"Little Women","author":[{"family":"Alcott","given":"Louisa May"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Alcott). The Novel mainly depicts how these sisters grow up and earn their rightful place in the world. Throughout her novel, Louisa May Alcott depicts the main idea of gender roles and feminism in society. By representing the life struggles of appreciated and admirable women, Little Women tries to reflect the role of women in society. This essay focuses on how the theme develops throughout the novel.
As the novel progresses, different possibilities for integrating women in society keep on emerging which highlights the significance of feminism. The theme develops throughout the novel by depicting the wide range of areas where women can contribute such as home, literature, art, and ethical culture. At the beginning of the novel, the theme is prevalent in the fact that the March family has overcome the domination of patriarchy by working independently in society. All men such as Mr. March, Mr. Lawrence, Laurie, Publishers, and Suitors seemed to play a second role. Three of the lead characters, Mamee, Amy, and Jo happily earn their living by doing different kinds of Jobs ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"qdplGXVq","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Alcott)","plainCitation":"(Alcott)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":206,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/TIJRPQLA"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/TIJRPQLA"],"itemData":{"id":206,"type":"book","abstract":"The illustrations for this series were created by Scott McKowen, who, with his wife Christina Poddubiuk, operates Punch & Judy Inc., a company specializing in design and illustration for theater and performing arts. Their projects often involve research into the visual aspects of historical settings and characters. Christina is a theater set and costume designer and contributed advice on the period clothing for the illustrations. Scott created these drawings in scratchboard an engraving medium which evokes the look of popular art from the period of these stories. Scratchboard is an illustration board with a specifically prepared surface of hard white chalk. A thin layer of black ink is rolled over the surface, and lines are drawn by hand with a sharp knife by scraping through the ink layer to expose the white surface underneath. The finished drawings are then scanned and the color is added digitally. The beautiful Meg, artistic tomboy Jo, doomed Beth, and selfish Amy: since the publication of Little Women in 1869, these four sisters have become America’s most beloved literary siblings. Louisa May Alcott’s rich and realistic portrait has inspired three movies and stirred the emotions of countless young girls. Set in New England during the Civil War, the novel follows the adventures of the March sisters as they struggle to pursue their dreams.","ISBN":"978-1-4027-1458-0","language":"en","note":"Google-Books-ID: 9Sjs_5m7vcsC","number-of-pages":"546","publisher":"Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.","source":"Google Books","title":"Little Women","author":[{"family":"Alcott","given":"Louisa May"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Alcott). Although Jo has a passion for writing and wants to pursue her dream of becoming a renowned artist, she struggles in a patriarchal society as her writings seem to be hardly acknowledged ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"NeIHdszg","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Alcott)","plainCitation":"(Alcott)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":206,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/TIJRPQLA"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/TIJRPQLA"],"itemData":{"id":206,"type":"book","abstract":"The illustrations for this series were created by Scott McKowen, who, with his wife Christina Poddubiuk, operates Punch & Judy Inc., a company specializing in design and illustration for theater and performing arts. Their projects often involve research into the visual aspects of historical settings and characters. Christina is a theater set and costume designer and contributed advice on the period clothing for the illustrations. Scott created these drawings in scratchboard an engraving medium which evokes the look of popular art from the period of these stories. Scratchboard is an illustration board with a specifically prepared surface of hard white chalk. A thin layer of black ink is rolled over the surface, and lines are drawn by hand with a sharp knife by scraping through the ink layer to expose the white surface underneath. The finished drawings are then scanned and the color is added digitally. The beautiful Meg, artistic tomboy Jo, doomed Beth, and selfish Amy: since the publication of Little Women in 1869, these four sisters have become America’s most beloved literary siblings. Louisa May Alcott’s rich and realistic portrait has inspired three movies and stirred the emotions of countless young girls. Set in New England during the Civil War, the novel follows the adventures of the March sisters as they struggle to pursue their dreams.","ISBN":"978-1-4027-1458-0","language":"en","note":"Google-Books-ID: 9Sjs_5m7vcsC","number-of-pages":"546","publisher":"Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.","source":"Google Books","title":"Little Women","author":[{"family":"Alcott","given":"Louisa May"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Alcott). Moreover, a society which has strangely developed a notion of how a woman should act and behave is continuously addressed in the novel. The character Jo is depicted to have a personality different from society's perception of women's behavior and roles. With her broad ambitions of becoming a writer, she roams around the neighborhood in leather boots suggesting that women have various roles to play than just serving the tea hot.
In the middle of the novel, the theme is prevalent when Jo refuses to marry the wealthy teenager Laurie. When Laurie sends a proposal for Jo, she rejects it for several reasons. Firstly, she believes that she and Laurie are not made for each other because of a class difference ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"JNGLIGN4","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Alcott)","plainCitation":"(Alcott)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":206,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/TIJRPQLA"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/TIJRPQLA"],"itemData":{"id":206,"type":"book","abstract":"The illustrations for this series were created by Scott McKowen, who, with his wife Christina Poddubiuk, operates Punch & Judy Inc., a company specializing in design and illustration for theater and performing arts. Their projects often involve research into the visual aspects of historical settings and characters. Christina is a theater set and costume designer and contributed advice on the period clothing for the illustrations. Scott created these drawings in scratchboard an engraving medium which evokes the look of popular art from the period of these stories. Scratchboard is an illustration board with a specifically prepared surface of hard white chalk. A thin layer of black ink is rolled over the surface, and lines are drawn by hand with a sharp knife by scraping through the ink layer to expose the white surface underneath. The finished drawings are then scanned and the color is added digitally. The beautiful Meg, artistic tomboy Jo, doomed Beth, and selfish Amy: since the publication of Little Women in 1869, these four sisters have become America’s most beloved literary siblings. Louisa May Alcott’s rich and realistic portrait has inspired three movies and stirred the emotions of countless young girls. Set in New England during the Civil War, the novel follows the adventures of the March sisters as they struggle to pursue their dreams.","ISBN":"978-1-4027-1458-0","language":"en","note":"Google-Books-ID: 9Sjs_5m7vcsC","number-of-pages":"546","publisher":"Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.","source":"Google Books","title":"Little Women","author":[{"family":"Alcott","given":"Louisa May"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Alcott). Secondly, she disapproves the society’s notion of women belonging to their homes and husbands without any sense of having a life of their own. Moreover, this theme is presented in an act of transcendentalism. Jo takes a step towards her self-discovery as a writer, which prevails in the middle of the novel.
Towards the end of the novel, the idea of women's role in society is more weighed towards the responsibility of women as protectors of a home and family. After spending the little part of her life in New York the way she wanted, Jo decides to return and acknowledge her responsibility as a protector of a family ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"fRKSol7D","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Alcott)","plainCitation":"(Alcott)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":206,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/TIJRPQLA"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/TIJRPQLA"],"itemData":{"id":206,"type":"book","abstract":"The illustrations for this series were created by Scott McKowen, who, with his wife Christina Poddubiuk, operates Punch & Judy Inc., a company specializing in design and illustration for theater and performing arts. Their projects often involve research into the visual aspects of historical settings and characters. Christina is a theater set and costume designer and contributed advice on the period clothing for the illustrations. Scott created these drawings in scratchboard an engraving medium which evokes the look of popular art from the period of these stories. Scratchboard is an illustration board with a specifically prepared surface of hard white chalk. A thin layer of black ink is rolled over the surface, and lines are drawn by hand with a sharp knife by scraping through the ink layer to expose the white surface underneath. The finished drawings are then scanned and the color is added digitally. The beautiful Meg, artistic tomboy Jo, doomed Beth, and selfish Amy: since the publication of Little Women in 1869, these four sisters have become America’s most beloved literary siblings. Louisa May Alcott’s rich and realistic portrait has inspired three movies and stirred the emotions of countless young girls. Set in New England during the Civil War, the novel follows the adventures of the March sisters as they struggle to pursue their dreams.","ISBN":"978-1-4027-1458-0","language":"en","note":"Google-Books-ID: 9Sjs_5m7vcsC","number-of-pages":"546","publisher":"Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.","source":"Google Books","title":"Little Women","author":[{"family":"Alcott","given":"Louisa May"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Alcott). She decides to fit in the community by serving both as a wife and as a writer. With her decision, she upholds the equilibrium between her dreams of becoming a writer and a domestic duty.
As the book marks the era of the mid-nineteenth century, the historical background limits the role of women in society. However, the way the story emerges as a means of pushing the frontiers of the old-fashioned roles of women in society, depicts the utter need for realization for gender acknowledgment.
