An Analysis of the Feminist Theory Reflected by Little Women

吳文勤

【Abstract】Feminism in America has a long history， from the colonial period to the present.Feminism and womens writing have always been closely related because womens writing is a critical category. Little Women is written by an American authoress during the period of the first wave of American feminism. On the surface， Little Women is a simple story about four March girls journeys from their childhood to adulthood. However， from the heroine Jos characteristic we can find out some spirits such as freedom， equality and independence， which have close relationship with feminism. This paper will relate Jos life experience and analyze her characteristic and to show how the issues of feminism have been engaged by the writer.

【Key words】feminism； experience； characteristic； spirits

Ⅰ. Jos Pursuit of Freedom， Equality and Independence at Every Stage of Her Life

A. Supporting Herself and Her Family by Contributing Her Works to Some Presses

When the March girls were sitting working， Laurie joined with them. Then these five friends began discuss their own dreams. Jo confidently describes her challenging dream which was different from the typical dreams of her sisters. In order to accomplish her favorite dream， she was busy with writing her stories in the garret. After finishing the manuscripts for two stories， she brought them to newspaperman in town. She did not get paid， for she was a beginner. But she never gave up and continued to write. Delightfully， she wrote a story， submitted it， and wins. With the money， she provide financially for herself and the family. She felt wonderfully independent.

In her eyes， an all-female world is a paradise and she can support herself on her own. She becomes independent through her work， both in terms of her income and her creativity. In addition， the struggle for individual success conflicts with the duty and affection she feels for her family and with the domestic sphere that most women of the time accept. Through the description of Jos dream and behavior， we can deeply feel that Jo is a prototype of feminism.

B. Jos Refusal of Lauries Offer of Marriage

March family went to see Lauries graduation ceremony from college. He had done well there， having spent the last year working hard， probably to impress Jo. He finally confessed his love to Jo when he returned home， but she rejected his marriage proposal. Jo has realized the observable differences between them. She knows they are not suited to each other and her quick tempers and strong wills would probably make them miserable. She knows what she is different from Lauries.

Unlike Laurie， Jo seems more reasonable than Laurie. Jos reasonability conquers her sentiment. This is totally contrary to the stereotype of the society in which men always reasonable while women are sentimental. On the deep level， Jos refusal is a scorn to the stereotypically masculine rules and a symbol of objecting to traditional femininity in nineteenth century.

In that time， society did not look kindly on women who turned down eligible men. Women were expected to accept as their destiny the roles of wife and mother， and to dismiss any ideas of living an independent life that rejected these conventional roles. For this reason， very few female characters in literature from before the twentieth century display the sort of assertiveness and expression of individual desires in that modern society. It is therefore extremely significant that Jo rejects Laurie despite the fact that he is handsome， kind， loving， and rich， and that she rejects him for no other reason than that she does not love him as she wants to love a husband.

C. Jos Demonstration of Her Independence in New York

Jo concluded that Beth might be in love with Laurie， but Jo was afraid that Laurie was in love Jo herself， so she want to go away for a while in an attempt to broaden her horizons and to escape Lauries growing love. She told her mother her strong desire for flying into a new world， in which there were no relationships， close friend. Jo expects the unknown and wonderful prospect and is eager to go， for the home nest is growing too narrow for her restless nature and adventurous spirit. To some extent， this is a real beginning of her adventure.

In New York， Jo supported herself as a governess and writer. She continued to write and contributed sensationalist stories for a publication called the “Weekly Volcano”. The name of the magazine suggests intense， even dangerous creativity. Like a volcano， Jo possesses a wild unpredictable temperament， and she is never really at ease. She is ready to erupt with her writing， and this magazine serves as the perfect outlet for her creativity. The novel always revolves around Jos writing experience， and gives readers the impression that Jo never gives up her dream and the duty of supporting herself and her family in any circumstance. In other words， it reflects womens self-reliance and self-fulfillment.

D. Jos Decision of Turning Aunt Marchs House into a School

Jo received Bhaers proposal under the umbrella and decided to marry him. In contrast to the traditional proposal occasion， the scene of their love confession is touching and more grown-up. When he proposed， the rain and mud prevented him from going down to his knee or giving her his hand， so they stood literally in an equal footing. Jo， furthermore， looked nothing like a romantic feminine heroine； she was bedraggled with rain and mud， but it made no difference. This marriage， which begins with equality and primacy of the heart rather than primacy of appearances， is promising.

Jo resisted the marriage in their family when her sister Meg planed to get marriage. She thought “its dreadful to break up family”. However， Jo receive Bhaers proposal. This obvious change seems that Jo has submitted herself to the conventions. Nevertheless， Jos marriage is different form Megs. When Bhaer told Jo he had some work in Europe， Jo said： “You can do your part out West， I can do mine here.” It seems to tell us their marriage is different from others in that time. They neednt give up their own affairs for their marriage， and just do what they used to do， for they respect each other. Thus， we can conclude that their marriage bases on equality， which is regarded as a huge challenge to unequally conservational marriage.

Ⅱ. Conclusion

Through the description of Jos life experience and preliminary analysis of her characteristic， we can see that Jo tried her best to pursue freedom， equality and independence at every stage of her life. She created new roles for herself， supported herself and her family by contributing her works to some presses， went to New York to learn more new things， refused Lauries offer of marriage， and turned Aunt Marchs house into a school. As a woman， all these challenging things were hard to obtain in that time， but Jo did. Finally， she obtained her own career and equal love through her efforts. From her body， we can see lots of valuable qualities， such as braveness， adventurousness and independence， which represent the essence of feminism. Therefore， we can label Jo as an animated embodiment of feminism conclusively.

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