Louisa May Alcott

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses some of the writings of Louisa May Alcott, which are some of the most widely read and reproduced of any early American author. The paper looks at her writings that are described as children's literature, for which she is most famous and then focuses on her writing that was published under a pseudonym. The paper describes the connections between the two seemingly incongruent voices of her literature published under her name and that published under a pseudonym.

From the Paper:

"Louisa May Alcott, recently recognized more appropriately as a critic of her time has become even more widely read and popular as a result of the recognition of her pseudonyms. Alcott had a message, not unlike those who came before her, the Mary Wollstonecraft of her day, that the position of people needed to be analyzed and she utilized her pen to do so. (Johnson ii) Within the work she gives her protagonist the power to influence people, almost to a point that she is a mesmerist, the incongruence of these two feared but real characteristics of women give the character a valid representation of female power, in its feared and real state. (Gaul 835)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Butterworth-Mcdermott, Christine. "Behind a Mask of Beauty: Alcott's Beast in Disguise." ATQ The American Transcendental Quarterly 18.1 (2004): 25.
• Dawson, Melanie "A Woman's Power: Alcott's 'Behind a Mask' and the Usefulness of Dramatic Literacies in the Home." American Transcendental Quarterly, 11. 31 (1997)1.
• Elliott, Mary "Outperforming Femininity: Public Conduct and Private Enterprise in Louise May Alcott's Behind a Mask," By:, American Transcendental Quarterly, 8. 4 (1994) 1.
• Gaul, Theresa Strouth. "Trance-Formations: Mesmerism and a Woman's Power in Louisa May Alcott's Behind a Mask." Women's Studies 32 (2003): 835-51.
• Johnson, Claudia L., ed. The Cambridge Companion to Mary Wollstonecraft. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

More papers on Louisa May Alcott:

• Analytical Essay # 26666 : "Louisa May Alcott: Influences in Her Life and Writings"
• Book Review # 93120 : "Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women"
• Analytical Essay # 28316 : "Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women"

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