The underlying feminism in the famous classic ‘Little Women’ by Louisa Alcott is a topic widely discussed since the novel’s publication in 1868, just after the first wave of the feminist movement. The real discussion revolves mainly around the main protagonist ‘Jo’ Josephine March and her character traits that are very clear to critics and readers alike; however, it seems that the endings of the sisters are what is truly up to subjective interpretation. Throughout the course of the story, it is very evident to the readers that Jo is the more ‘tomboyish’ of the four sisters. She is always the one to defy the so-called ‘proper manners’ set within the March family’s community and the overall society at the time with her ‘unladylike temper’ and burning passion for writing. Jo very openly voices her displeasure with societal obligations on women straight from the beginning of the novel, when she says in the first chapter “It’s bad enough to be a girl, anyway, when I like boys’ games and work and manners. I can’t get over my disappointment in not being a boy.” Alcott characterizes each of the sisters from the first chapter as well in a one-paragraph description of each; this helps the readers get a better understanding of the sisters before the story progresses. She begins by characterizing ‘Meg’ Margaret March “Margaret, the eldest of the four, was sixteen, and very pretty, being plump and fair, with large eyes, plenty of soft brown hair, a sweet mouth, and white hands, of which she was rather vain.” this portrays meg as the more feminine and ‘proper’ sister. In the mid-1860s being ‘plump’ and ‘fair’ was a show of elegance, wealth, and overall a positive attribute to a lady. Alcott moves on to Jo, “Fifteen-year-old Jo was very tall, thin, and brown, and reminded one of a colt, for she never seemed to know what to do with her long limbs, which were very much in her way. She had a decided mouth, a comical nose, and sharp, gray eyes, which appeared to see everything, and were by turns fierce, funny, or thoughtful. Her long, thick hair was her one beauty, but it was usually bundled into a net, to be out of her way. Round shoulders had Jo, big hands and feet, a flyaway look to her clothes, and the uncomfortable appearance of a girl who was rapidly shooting up into a woman and didn’t like it.” Jo’s description is almost that of an adolescent boy, and gives a clear visual of her as well as an insight into who she is as a person; she doesn’t care about looks or fashion, much to her sister’s dismay, and is very adventurous and lively. She also foreshadows Jo’s later apparent attachment to her family and resentment for growing up. The next sister ‘Beth’ Elizabeth March is the polar opposite of Jo which is quite ironic considering that throughout the book we see that Jo and Meg are almost what one would call “mentors” to the younger ones, except usually, Jo handles Beth while Meg handles young Amy. Alcott’s description of Beth is “a rosy, smooth-haired, bright-eyed girl of thirteen, with a shy manner, a timid voice, and a peaceful expression which was seldom disturbed...she seemed to live in a happy world of her own, only venturing out to meet the few whom she trusted and loved” and that of Amy “Amy, though the youngest, was a most important person, in her own opinion at least. A regular snow maiden, with blue eyes, and yellow hair curling on her shoulders, pale and slender, and always carrying herself like a young lady mindful of her manners.” this gives the image that the two youngest sisters are similar in nature yet different in behavior, both somehow a mix of their elder sisters.
Through the situations the sisters are put through and their process of growing into women, it is quite clear that each character symbolizes something within the community. Their mother, Mrs March, is the voice of wisdom throughout. She is always letting the girls learn lessons through their lives and experiences rather than confiding them like most mothers in that time period would have. In fact, it can be argued that she is the true root of feminism in the novel; she raises the girls to be humble, responsible, and passionate about what they love. She raises them to pursue their dreams and to maintain their morals. She raises them to marry for love, not for money; evident when Meg marries the ‘poor’ Mr.Brooke for love, and when Jo turns down Laurie’s marriage proposal, for she did not feel the same way and was in no way ready to become a wife. Meg symbolizes the intermediate, gray space between the societal norms imposed at the time and the fun, adventurous, nature of all children. Before meeting their neighbor ‘Laurie’ Theodore Laurence, Meg was always very proper and would tense up and try to pressure her sister Jo into being perfectly prim in front of everyone. However, in the confidence of their own home or Laurie’s company, Meg found herself enjoying her time and loosening up, much to her family’s pleasure. Jo, obviously, represents the raging feminism burning in women at the time, with their innocent yet defiant nature her. Jo‘s male aspirations are caused by the suffocating society she finds herself in. Indeed, she does not want to be confined within her home and does not want to a be [perfectly feminine lady, as she associates women with domestic confinement, submission, and restraint, whereas men are independent, empowered, and can be writers. As Janey Tracey stated in her critical essay ‘The Conflicted Feminism of Little Women’ “ If Little Women has a rebellious, feminist spirit, it’s contained in the character of Jo March…Jo is described as having a “gentlemanly” manner, which includes using slang words and whistling with her hands in her pockets like a boy.” Jo March is a rather complicated character, although she may seem simply a bit too masculine, there is way more to it than that. Within herself, she experiences the true definition of what could be described as ‘conflicted feminism’. Her character is painfully human and relatable to women at that time up until today’s generation. Tracey writes, “Alcott’s depiction of Jo is complex, subversive for her time, and, perhaps most importantly, palpably human. At one point in the novel, Jo cuts off all her hair, both to sell and because “It will do my brains good to have that mop taken off.” When Meg finds her crying in the night, Jo admits that a “vain part of [her]” misses her long hair—a feeling which dissipates by the next morning” this specific moment in the novel is truly a turning point, for it showed how she would truly do anything for her family. Comparing this moment to when Jo accidently burned a bit of Meg’s hair while curling it at the beginning of the novel, we can see that a girl’s hair was a symbol of her femininity at the time and represented their state; and the fact that Jo was able to cut it all of hers off and go on with her daily life proud, shows the underlying feminist in her character.
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The younger sisters, Amy and Beth, symbolize a clean chalkboard on which society draws. Their elder sisters, Meg and Jo, leave some big marks on said chalkboards. Amy is a lively, beautiful, young girl, who longs for luxury and fancy things. She dislikes her nose and wants to be at all the parties. One would say she’s the replica of Meg minus the humbleness. Beth is more the quiet, happy, domestic little girl, who’d rather stay with her ‘marmee’ at home and help old Hannah with their house chores. Again, the replica of Jo without the outgoingness. We see through young Amy how society affects the learning of life in these children. In chapter 7, the setting is in Amy’s school, where she is punished, for sneaking ‘contrabands’ into the school. Pickled limes are the forbidden items much longed for by Amy, who still owns her fellow classmates' “debts” in the form of these pickles. Meg, being the oh-so-understanding older sister, lends Amy money to buy the limes. Indeed, Amy seems to understand social conventions and very cleverly plays along these lines. She symbolizes how easily a woman‘s desire for such advancements can become tragic, as is the case in this chapter. One of her classmates ‘snitches’ and poor Amy had to be punished. This leaves in her a lesson that she will never forget concerning such social advancements. ‘Marmee’ further settles in the moral when she lectures Amy “You have a good many little gifts and virtues, but there is no need for parading them, for conceit spoilt the genius. There is not much danger that real talent or goodness will be overlooked long; even if, the consciousness of possessing and using it well should satisfy one, and the great charm of all power is modesty”. Meg is undoubtedly portrayed as the most domestic sister, but she has her pride and vanity too, which are her major character flaws. She voluntarily wanted to work outside of her home, as a governess at the Kings (a rich family) where she is constantly reminded of what she could have. She also acquires the same lesson as Amy when she is invited to the Moffats, rich friends of hers. Although Meg is generally a very proud young lady and is not ashamed of her family’s state compared to her friends, She still lets them dress her up for the ball, and is living to her heart’s content until she runs into Laurie and is reminded of her morals.’The queer feeling‘ did not pass away, but she imagined herself acting the new part of a fine lady, and so got on pretty well, though the tight dress gave her side-ache, the train kept getting under her feet, and she was in constant fear lest her earrings should fly off, and get lost or broken. She was flirting with her fan, and laughing at the feeble jokes of a young gentleman who tried to be witty when she suddenly stopped laughing and looked confused; for just the opposite, she saw Laurie. He was staring at her with undisguised surprise, and disapproval also, she thought, for, though he bowed and smiled, something in his honest eyes made her blush, and wish she had her old dress on” . Although mortifying, the situation helped Meg learn what is expected from her and she knows now how to “behave”. However, when we dig deeper into the situation, the Moffats and the rest of the higher-class girls do what Meg had done almost every night of their lives; but once Meg does it, she’s suddenly the talk of the night and everyone gossips about her. It just goes to emphasize the double standards society has for women. Once again, with her kind words, Marmee shaped her daughter‘s identity, which is to be beautiful, a good person, an accomplished lady, loved, respected, admired, wisely married, etc..( just as the patriarchal society expects, it seems ) but Marmee expects even more. She wants her daughters to lead useful lives and not idle ones like Annie Moffat certainly will. As the symbol of innocence and happiness in the house, Beth’s death at such a young age was a turning point in the novel. It symbolized the death of pureness in society and also marked an end to the girls’ somewhat dreamy childhood. Evident When Beth is dying, Jo undergoes a fundamental shift. She “sees the beauty and the sweetness of Beth’s nature… and acknowledges the worth of Beth’s unselfish ambition to live for others.” The narrator goes so far as to tell us that Beth’s “submissive spirit” essentially transfers to Jo upon her lost soul “Jo laid her wearied head down on Beth’s little brown hood, which no one had thought of moving from the table where she left it. It must have possessed some magic, for the submissive spirit of its gentle owner seemed to enter into Jo.”
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