Abstract
Louisa May Alcott, a 19th-century American novelist, became highly celebrated because of her feminist literary piece- the “Little Women”. Modern feminists critiqued the novel for being weak in promoting feminism that it can border on being an ordinary children’s book. The present paper, however, proves otherwise. The paper probes into the embodiment of feminism in the “Little Women” through the use of the review of related literature. To prove the point, the paper first examined the social milieu during which the novel was written and the personal background of Alcott which largely influenced her feminist ideology. Secondly, the main characters in the novel were analyzed. Specifically, the paper looked into the personalities and choices of the main characters that showed feminist themes of independence and gender role equality. Considering that back then women were held subservient to men, the novel, had indeed encouraged women empowerment and consequently laid the the foundations for the first wave of feminism movement in America. The paper also provided the lesson that through contextualization and in-depth character analysis, one would be able to uncover the true themes in a novel. So, without a doubt, the “Little Women” is a bona fide piece of feminist literature of its time and Alcott was among the brave novelists to have ever created and published a legitimate feminist literary piece.
Keywords: Feminism; Alcott; Little Women; Feminist Literature
Contents
1.Introduction………………………………………………………………..……….7
2. Louisa May Alcott and “Little Women”…….………………………..………..… 7
2.1 Louisa May Alcott ………………………………………………………..………8
2.2 “Little Women” ………………………………………………………………...8
3. Novel Contextualization: Examining Feminism ………………………………..…9
3.1 Definition of Feminism ……………………………………………………..….. 10
3.2 Alcott's Feminist Perception ………….…………………………………………10
4. Character Review: Unveiling Feminist Concepts…………………………………12
4.1 Pursuit of True Love………………………………………………………….….12
4.2 Yearning for Independence…………… …………… …………… ……….……13
4.3 Seeking for Equality ………………………………………… ……………..…..15
4.4. Feminist Influence of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women”……………… …..16
5.Conclusion………………………………………………………..………………. 17
References……………………………………………………………………...……19
