Abstract:Little Women has become a timeless classic which explores the spirit of feminism, of which the main character Jo, an outspoken tomboy with a passion for writing, has become numerous readers’ favorite character and received much more attention than her sisters, both as a feminist icon and as a much beloved childhood friend. Jo displays both good and bad traits in equal measure and thus becomes a very unusual character in 19th century didactic fiction. Jo’s bad traits------her rebelliousness, anger, and outspoken ways------do not make her unappealing; rather, they suggest her humanity. Jo is a charming character among lovably flawed heroes and heroines of children’s books, among them Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer. Jo, the great woman, who has realized her dreams, supported her family and found her true love based on genuine feelings not fortune, not only offers much to young women at the turn of 19th century, but still offers much to young readers today and will go on to accompany them to grow up from generation to generation.
Key Words: Tomboy Heroine; Analysis; Jo’s bad traits
Little Women, written by Louisa May Alcott, is regarded as one of the most famous feminist novels of 19th century. Alcott herself is quite a prolific writer with over 270 poems, plays, short stories, novels and sketches. Confronting a society that offered little opportunity to women, Alcott determined, “I will make a battering-ram of my head and make my way through this rough and tumble world.” (Nina 18)
Published in 1868, Little Women has become the climax of Alcott’s writing career. It chronicles the passages of the March sisters -Meg, Jo，Beth, Amy- from adolescence to womanhood. During the first half of the novel, the girls' father is away from home, serving as chaplain to Union troops during the Civil War. Virtually the only masculine figures with which the girls come into contact are their neighbors, the Laurences. In the Laurence household, there is the elder Mr. Laurence, his grandson Laurie, and Laurie's tutor John Brooke. In the second half of the novel, the March girls are happily married, one by one, in a procession only occasionally broken up by Jo's trip to New York, Amy's stay in Europe, and Beth's melodramatic death. On the surface, it is a simple story about the four March girls’ journeys from childhood to adulthood, but in a deeper side, it also centers on the conflict between two emphases in a young woman’s life—one she places on herself, and the other she places on her family. In the novel, an emphasis on domestic duties and family forces some women to give up their own personal growth. For Jo and, in some cases, Amy, the problem of being both a professional artist and a dutiful woman creates conflict and pushes the boundaries set by 19th century American society.
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