It
would be easy to write off Little Women as an idealization of domesticity with three of the main characters, all women, slowly being married off (and another killed off) one by one. However, many
themes throughout the novel(s) prevent the story from being that cut-and-dry. The
March sisters, primarily Jo, demonstrate a level of independence that was
rarely seen in the time period it was written. Louisa May Alcott, the author,
managed to develop a story that is both innovative and forward thinking, as
well as entirely acceptable in the 1800’s. It is an engrossing combination of 19th
century morality and a twisted sense of feminism.
These themes become a lot more obvious when looking at Jo March because, although she isn't the only strong and independent March sister,
she is the most vocal about it. She lived her life the way that she wanted and
refused to be confined to a box by anyone. This revealed itself in many ways
but most notably in how she interacted with those around her. For example, she said
to her rather conservative aunt while visiting her home: “I don’t like favors;
they oppress and make me feel like a slave; I’d rather do everything for myself,
and be perfectly independent.” (Alcott 297). This quality of hers, while
admirable now, often got her into much trouble in her life. Her words in the
previous quote caused her to miss out on a trip across Europe with her aunt,
who chose to bring Jo’s much statelier and more respectable younger sister Amy.
Jo
begins her story with a biting temper and a decided way of doing things. She
was head-strong, confident, and playful. At the end of her story she is much humbler
and understanding, but she never loses her spark. Jo abandons her dreams of writing
fantastical books of intrigue for much lighter and simpler stories. This flip
comes as a result of her maturing and realizing her limitations as well as the effects
of her relationship with Professor Bhaer. This change from independence to
domesticity is the opposite kind of the kind of story line that you’d expect to
see from a feminist novel. However, the value of Little Women lies in who Jo March is rather than what she does. Although
she slowly conforms to societal standards for women after going as far as to announce,
“I don’t believe I shall ever marry; I’m happy as I am, and love my liberty too
well to be in a hurry to give it up for any mortal man” (Alcott 365), she never
changes her fundamental values. Even though she does end up getting married and
basically abandons becoming a writer, she keeps her fiery personality and laser
sharp wit.
It is
a flawed assumption to label Little Women
as a feminist novel on its own for the story too closely aligns itself with
the ideals of conforming and idealism. All the “little women” find themselves
comfortably in domesticity at the end of the book (except Beth of course) and
have all changed themselves into people more fitting to societies standards. Mrs.
March’s speech in which she states that she wants her children to be “loved and
chosen by a good man” (Alcott 97) alone shows that the girls spend their time
living for the gain of other people, rather themselves. However, the qualities
of the March sisters are what make them such important figures in feminist history. All
four of them contain quirks and traits that any young person, male or female, should strive too
achieve. Little Women may not be a
perfect feminist story, but those girls are all representatives of the
qualities that a good woman, or man, should one day hope to possess.
I think you bring up a really interesting point about the role of feminism in 19th century literature. Obviously, women in that time period did not have the same rights or social freedoms that they do in the United States today, which is why Jo is the closest thing we get to a modern female protagonist. I liked what you said about how the girls all change themselves to fit society's standards, and while I think that is mostly true, they each gain some self-actualization from these changes. Jo always loathed her temper, particularly when it led to catastrophes like Amy falling through the ice, and by learning to control that, she finally gets some peace and feels proud of herself.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, this novel is not a perfect example of feminism by any stretch of the imagination. As you said, all of the women end up sacrificing some part of themselves or their independence in order to make other people happy, even though it is framed as self-improvement for their own sake. These women are outliers for their time period (marrying for love and an expressed wish for independence), but in the era this book was written, it was a game-changer for the young women that read it.
I like the point that make about this book, or at least Jo, being ahead of its time. I think Lousia May Alcott does a wonderful job of portraying flawed individuals and giving a depth to women that most authors of this time period did not. I do question, though, how the readers of this novel in the 1800s perceived Jo and her rejection of social niceties, dislike of the idea of marriage, and tomboyish antics at the time this novel was published. Since this book was published as a moral guide for young women, it seems that it could only end with Jo settling for a domestic (but certainly not bland) life.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, while you do make a good point about Mrs. March’s wishes for the girls, Jo and Amy both have more ambitious “castles in the air” than a simple domestic life. Jo wishes for horses, books and to be an incredibly talented and famous author that will be remembered and Amy wishes to gain fame from her artwork. These ambitions are more telling that, while they both settled for domestic lives, they had hopes and dreams of being more than just a housewife. I admire that about this book, but wish that at least Jo had followed though on her dreams.
I love this dive into how the book both conforms to and breaks standards for feminist novels at the time. However, one question I would like to pose, as well as offer an answer myself, is that do you believe that there is a difference in conformity between the first and second half of the novels?
ReplyDeleteI do believe that both halves of the novels idealize conformity, however they go about it in very different ways. The first half follows a sort of 'episodic' format, where each chapter has a plot of its own, just with the same repeated characters. This allows a sense of overall growth over the first part as well as many important morals learned. Of novels I've read from this time period, this is a common structure for books to have. The characters start out as non-conformists and slowly morph their character traits to conform to standards. Alcott portrays many of the less idealistic traits of the characters as flaws that the characters have. For example, Jo's temper and need for independence are portrayed as flaws since they do not conform to the stereotypes associated with women of the time. Many of the lessons she learns in the first half, such as with the ice skating incident with Amy, change many of her fundamental characteristics. However, the first half does give Alcott the liberty to show these traits in a positive light as well. Using the same example of Jo's temper, it allows her to be more impassioned than the other sisters about her goals and aspiration, leading her to much success.
The second half of the novel does away with this episodic structure in favor of a more overarching story of how all four little women grow into women and achieve domesticity. There is a tone shift in this part of the novel that I believe is caused by Alcott's own frustration. Alcott, trying to simply satisfy readers, drastically changes her character's personalities in order to have them end up married (or dead) by the end. To me, many of the romances in this section felt a bit contrived as compared to the relationships of the first part. I believe this is because rather than learning the potential value of conformity (in some circumstances), this part focuses on forcing conformity onto the four sisters. I would love to hear your thoughts on this question