Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women"

Paper Summary:

This paper relates the story of "Little Women" which centers around the character Jo who is Alcott's impersonation. This paper points out that Alcott uses certain symbols to heighten her message in the novel such as umbrellas, used by men to protect women from inclemencies of the outside world. The author feels that, through her works, Alcott advocates feminism, political equality and the dignity of work, represented by her feminist and psychosexual themes, which jibed with the American social reformers of her time.

From the Paper:

"Alcott first wrote sensational short stories from the 1840s to the 1860s, published anonymously through a pseudonym in New England periodicals. The publishers were in agreement that the characters are colorful and well conceived and the plots, tightly woven and complex. In most of her anonymous stories was a mysterious and vindictive woman who seeks to manipulate and to destroy. Alcott also includes ghosts, opium eaters and mercenaries in her series. She took advantage of writing these very popular works as means of steady income for her family. Then she wrote the series on "Little Women", which was most successful in illustrating the life-sized struggles between adolescence and maturity among the sisters. It was the novel's faithful and lifelike depiction of the March family in a realistic way and Alcott's representation of New England manners and beliefs with accuracy that brought it fame and victory. Critics ascribed its success to the organization of the novel, wherein each chapter had an entire episode with a moral commentary, as one whole treatise on adolescent psychology. These critics praised Alcott's characterization and viewed as the strongest basis for its popularity then and even now."

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