The Little Women is a literary text written by Louisa May Alcott. This novel depicts the lives of four young women-Meg, Beth, Jo, and Amy. These women are forced to overcome financial obstacles to achieve their goals and happiness. The set and plot took place in Massachusetts when Americans struggled to overcome the effects of the Civil War. Ideologically, the War had separated this country into the Northern Union and South Confederacy. At the same time, many men left their families to join the army in the North, which seriously impacted their families. As seen in Little Women, Meg and her sisters are forced to take responsibility and overcome various obstacles to live meaningful lives after their father joins the Union’s army. On this note, Alcott’s novel is a literary text significantly influenced by the consequences of the Civil War, especially family separations and changing gender roles.
The Civil War caused social effects that greatly influenced Alcott’s literary text, Little Women. As mentioned, this novel depicts the lives of four sisters that must deal with their father’s absence. Mr. March is away from home to serve as a chaplain in the Union’s army, and Mrs. March is left beyond to take of Meg and her sisters (Alcott 14). Mrs. March is kind and loving and motivates her daughters to overcome obstacles they face in different situations. She also teaches her daughter to help the poor and build a good relationship with their neighbors. They interact positively with their neighbors, especially Mr. Lawrence helps them financially (Alcott 79). He understood that March’s family was facing financial struggles because of their father’s absence and support them. At some point, he offers some money to Mrs. March to enable her to go and look for her husband after she receives that he is seriously sick.
Jo also makes a big sacrifice by cutting her hair and selling it to help her mother to bring their ailing father back home. Mr. March is poor, and even though her daughters are still young, they are forced to look for means of getting money to sustain their lives (Alcott 18). For instance, Meg works for a wealthy family, while Jo works as a companion to an old widow. These are odd jobs, and they can hardly sustain their lives, but they do not have other options. They cannot rely on their mother, and their father is not coming home soon. On this note, the impacts of the Civil War have significantly contributed to the financial hardships that March’s family faces. If their father had not left to serve in the army, he would provide for his family, and his young children would not have been forced to take up odd jobs to meet their needs. Therefore, the impacts depict the situation many families faced during and after the War. Women and children were forced to look for means of survival and succeed in the future (Miftahul 2). At the same time, this historical context greatly influenced the setting and plot of Alcott’s text. It is more than a narrative about March’s sisters; but is about how the Civil War changed their lives.
The changing gender roles associated with the Civil War also influenced Alcott’s text. As noted, Mr. March left his family to serve in the army as a chaplain (Alcott 14). His family faces financial problems forcing his daughters to look for work. They become breadwinners, a role that was traditionally associated with men. However, during the War, men left their families, causing a notable change in gender roles. For instance, women were forced to take extra roles to support their families financially. As seen in March’s family, some children were forced to look for work to support their mother. For instance, Jo is depicted as a tomboy who takes her father’s roles more than her sisters (Islam 3). Her mother expects her to demonstrate feminine characteristics, but her father’s absence drives her to behave differently. She even sacrifices selling her hair to help her mother go to Washington and bring their sick father home (Alcott 75). In this case, Jo is a young girl, but the effects of the War force her to act as a man who must earn money to support his family. She sacrifices her beauty to ensure that her father will come back home. The situations show that the War did not cause financial hardships when men left but also changed gender roles (Islam 5). Alcott has used March’s family and Jo’s sacrifice to explain how the War changed traditional gender roles where women become the breadwinners.
On a different, the gender roles during this period influenced Alcott to write her text. On the one hand, she depicts the societal expectations of women, but on the other hand, she explains how women’s roles changed during the Civil War. In this case, Alcott has used four sisters to depict both situations (Islam 5). For example, Meg and Beth conform to societal expectations about their roles and women’s status. Although they also try to help their families overcome financial struggles in their father’s absence, they do not ignore their roles in a traditional society. They are dutiful, obedient, and submissive. Alcott emphasizes, “Like most other young matrons, Meg began her married life with the determination to be a model housekeeper (Alcott 478)”. However, Amy and Jo attempt to break away from traditions and pursue their interests. Jo is even portrayed as a tomboy who replaces her father and sacrifices for her family. In this case, Alcott attempts to show how the War changed the social norms and paved the way for women to work toward achieving gender equality (Desmawati 92). Its effects showed that women could participate in economic activities to earn a living for their families.
Gradually, society started to view women’s roles from a different perspective and allowed them to engage in economic sectors. In this text, Amy is an example of how the status of women started to change during this period. She is married and a dutiful wife, but she also becomes a professional artist. Therefore, this implies that Alcott had noted these changes, and they greatly influenced her writing. She proves that women can meet social norms and achieve personal and career growth. Towards the end, Jo manages to publish her novel after meeting a German professor, Mr. Bhaer, who helps her meet the publishers’ demands. She later marries Bhaer and opens a school on the Plumfield (Alcott 850). Jo’s and Amy’s success shows how the War set the path for women to pursue big dreams. Although initially, they faced financial challenges because their father could not support them financially, they overcame the challenges. However, their status could have taken longer to achieve in the absence of the War. For instance, if Mr. March did not leave to serve in the army, her daughters would not have been forced to sustain their families. They would continue with their domestic and familial responsibility, and probably, nothing would push them to pursue professional growth.
On a further note, Alcott’s text is based on the historical context of the Civil War and its effects. Besides changing gender roles, it also helps to address stereotypes relating to the same, which also lead to the rise of feminism later (Desmawati 93). In this society, men are portrayed as breadwinners while women engage in domestic work. However, during the War, women were left behind when men joined the army. Women had to provide for their families, as depicted by the four sisters. Their engagement in different jobs helped to address stereotyping of gender roles. For instance, Jo sacrifices to provide for her family. This was a man’s responsibility in a patriarchal society. Her effort was seen as unconventional, but she still chose to do what she believed was necessary.
Similarly, Laurie is a man, and he wants to learn and pursue a music career (Alcott 95). However, this, too, is unconventional and seen as a female pursuit. His society expects Laurie to pursue a more demanding career. Nonetheless, Alcott uses Jo’s and Laurie’s success to break the stereotypes related to gender roles. As the Civil War forced women to go beyond their everyday responsibilities, it also became necessary to stop dividing roles based on feminism and masculine ideologies. The March’s sisters had proved that women could also take roles conventionally associated with manhood. More importantly, the effects of the War depicted the necessity of work. Female roles and domesticity were intertwined during this period, forcing women to focus on domestic roles alone. As the War progressed and men left their homes, women started to provide for their families. Alcott used the March’s sisters to show how the Civil War changed gender roles and influenced women to choose different professions.
Alcott’s text not only tells a story about sisterhood but also depicts a significant historical context that directly influenced its plot. Its social and economic effects greatly influenced Alcott in writing her text. When men left to serve in the army, their absence drove their families into poverty (Alcott 18). Such effects influenced Alcott to explore the War from a sociological approach. For example, when her father left, Amy dropped out of school, and her mother could not afford to pay for her education. Her sisters also struggled to earn a living, but they stayed together as a family, and in the end, their lives changed (Putra 33). In this case, Alcott used March’s sisters to depict two issues: social problems caused by the War and family. The War created social problems such as family separations and poverty. Some children like Amy did not complete their education because their families could not afford to pay for their education (Alcott 4). However, despite the challenges, the four sisters were united. They embraced their mother’s virtues of empathy and kindness toward others. Despite their simple way of life and without riches, the March’s family remains united. Eventually, they overcome the struggles and become successful. Their mother is happy for her daughter’s success and remarks, “Oh, my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you greater happiness than this (Alcott 861)”. Therefore, this implies that the War disrupted many families and drove them to poverty, but these families that stayed together managed to overcome these issues. Alcott observed these issues during the historical Civil War, and their influence on her work cannot be ignored.
Summarily, the effects of the Civil War influenced Alcott’s text, Little Women. First, the War forced men to serve in the army, leaving women and children behind. Their absence meant that women had to take responsibility for providing for their families. Secondly, gender roles and women’s status changed considerably, and feminism was no longer tied to domesticity alone. As demonstrated by Amy and Jo, women faced severe financial struggles, but they worked hard to overcome them. In the end, they engaged in successful careers. Their success also depicted that the effects of the War set a path for women to achieve professional growth. It was no longer necessary to set roles based on masculinity or femininity. However, in the absence of the War, these changes would take a long time to happen. Women’s roles would still be tied to domesticity. A patriarchal society would still exist and depict men as providers and women as caregivers. Therefore, this implies that the Civil War’s consequences significantly influenced Alcott in choosing the setting and plot of her text. As a result, Little Women provides the sociological and economic lenses for understanding the effects of this War.
Works cited
Alcott, Loiusa May. Little Women. 1868. Web.
Desmawati, Eka. “Analysis of feminism in the novel of little women by Louisa May Alcott.” Journal of Language and Literature 6.2 (2020): 91-96.
Islam, Munia. An Analysis of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women Through a Feminist Lens. 2021.
Miftahul , Jannah. “The Struggle For “Family Existence” An Analysis Of Little Women: A Novel By Louisa.” 2018.
Putra, Emil Eka. “AN ANALYSIS IMAGE OF WOMEN IN LITTLE WOMEN NOVEL BY “LOUISA MAY ALCOTT”.” Journal of Education, Linguistics, Literature and Language Teaching 3.02 (2020): 29-36. Web.
Journal of Language and Literature 6.2 (2020): 91-96.