‘Little Women’ will forever be one of my favourite classic novels of all time. This is for a multitude of reasons but principally due to the awe-inspiring conveyance of girlhood, family and female ambition. At the forefront of the text, are four very different yet closely connected women. Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy differ greatly in nature and strive for opposite goals, yet are all united in the struggles that they experience.
Throughout, Amy longs for wealth and social respectability which contrasts deeply with Jo’s passionate resentment towards societal constructions and rules. Thus, the two are highlighted initially as antagonising forces but as the novel progresses so does their understanding of one another. Both women fight for their own dreams, struggle against what is expected of them and act with heart and emotion. This similarity in their ambition, individualism and defiance of expectation enables the perception of these two characters as “opposite sides of the same coin.” Amy’s recognition of marriage as an economic construct, in which love is not always possible, is highly modern for the time period and demonstrates a type of self-awareness in what a woman must do in order to succeed and thrive. Her determination to make it in a world dominated by men, is echoed in Jo’s rejection of Laurie and prioritisation of independence and individual creative success.
Another character opposition within the text is that Meg strives for love and a family whereas Jo moreover prioritises independence, freedom and her career as a writer. Within both ‘Little Women’ and its sequel ‘Good Wives’, both of their aspirations are validated and accepted despite being deeply paradoxing. This in itself, highlights the concept that ‘femininity’ and what it means to be a woman, is a multitude of diverging things. It disputes the false idea that a woman who desires traditional gender roles and marriage is dismantling the progress the feminist movement has made. It moreover displays that the outcome of feminist protests and fights is for women to be able to choose what they want for themselves.
This concept is heavily intertwined within the stories of these four women, as each chooses their own unique path and takes what they desire, regardless of the social barriers of sexism and poverty. They all possess hobbies, interests and ambitions that dismantle inherent contemporary ideas that women exist for men and only care about what society encourages them to. This individualism highlighted in the characterisation of the female protagonists, allows for each character to be empathised with and understood on their own basis. Within ‘Little Women’ the March sisters act not only as a collective but also as significant individuals, which argues against the grouping and stereotyping founded on gender that forms the 1860s.
Overall, the well-developed characters and their individual plotlines enables ‘Little Women’ to be a truly heart-warming and poignant novel. The messages around femininity and the union of the sisters in their ambition, heart and determination is inarguably significant in both a male-dominated past and present. If you want to read a novel that encapsulates girlhood and female success, this is absolutely one to go for.
“Little Women or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Part Second. [Title page and frontispiece]” by Boston Public Library is licensed under CC BY 2.0