little women





Reading  Little Women is like taking a stroll through the New England countryside. A classic, this book can be shelved in different slots -bildungsroman, semi-autobiography, children's literature, and even in feminist studies.





The novel is oozing with maternal and sisterly warmth, it can be called the "Book of Tenderness". No evil lurks, no jealously sprouts and no negativity lasts in it. Meg the sweet one, Jo the smart one, Beth who is caring and Amy who is spoiled, by the second part titled Good Wives mature into better women.





Keeping apart the dominant themes of moral values, this novel is also very much socially relevant. What caught my attention is how the author subtly brought in the questioning attitude of 1860s American women on their civil rights through some of her characters like Amy and Jo, especially Jo.





Alcott had created Jo foremost as a writer , her gender characteristics were a mix of boyish impulsiveness and sisterly care towards the ailing Beth. Alcott's headstrong character is reflected well in her Jo. Jo never romanticized about settling into wealth, like most of the women of her time were accustomed to. She was a coming of age, new women, one with a passion for writing and was obsessed with honing her writing skills rather than racing in the matchmaking business.





I was quite impressed by Alcott's persistence on not pairing off Jo March and Laurie (a classic idol). She wanted to make Jo unmarried like herself and give a mediocre ending for her readers but later changed the plan by bringing in the overly self-conscious yet appealing Professor to marry Jo.





Gender roles, how much ever old and repeatedly theorized in culture and feminist studies, will always be in discussion till human beings wipe out the social ( not biological) structure of 'man- women' divide. Little Women is one of the many novels featuring gender roles and it conveys the matter beautifully.