Little Women Critical Analysis Essay
Critical Analysis
The novel Little Women, written by Louisa May Alcott is a well known story of the March sisters. The four sisters; Jo, Amy, Beth, and Meg, go through multiple trials throughout the novel as they reach womanhood. There are multiple themes of the novel, but the most prominent are women's role in the household, and the achievement of individual identity. Women’s role in the home is shown as the sisters and their mother learn to get by and run their household without the presence of their father, whom is away at war. Each sister has her own respective personality, all of which are seen changing and maturing as the novel progresses. In the critical analysis, Little Woman written by Sarah Elbert she explains how in the novel, “men …show more content…
We as the reader see this happen in the beginning of the story as Jo and Meg; the eldest sisters, attend a local party in order to show their social status and in order to socialize with young men. While getting ready for the party Jo states that their dresses are not “exactly comfortable; but, dear me, let us be elegant or die.” This statement reveals that the girls are expected to dress nicely in order to uphold their social standing.Though women were expected to obtain their social standing, they were also expected to stand beside their husband and watch over the children as he ran the household. In the critical analysis Little Women, Novels for Children written by Elizabeth Thomason, she believes that “a home can be run successfully without a man.”(Thomason, pg. 3) This is an idea that is prominently evident all throughout the novel. The March’s father is away fighting in the Civil war, which leaves the March sisters and their mother alone for the better half of the novel. In this time span the girls are able to run the household and get along fine without their father. Personally, I believe that them being alone shows that it is indeed true that woman can get along just fine without a man in their life. Another point that is touched down on by Thomason is the Marches poverty. The March family has very little money, so
The novel Little Women, written by Louisa May Alcott is a well known story of the March sisters. The four sisters; Jo, Amy, Beth, and Meg, go through multiple trials throughout the novel as they reach womanhood. There are multiple themes of the novel, but the most prominent are women's role in the household, and the achievement of individual identity. Women’s role in the home is shown as the sisters and their mother learn to get by and run their household without the presence of their father, whom is away at war. Each sister has her own respective personality, all of which are seen changing and maturing as the novel progresses. In the critical analysis, Little Woman written by Sarah Elbert she explains how in the novel, “men …show more content…
We as the reader see this happen in the beginning of the story as Jo and Meg; the eldest sisters, attend a local party in order to show their social status and in order to socialize with young men. While getting ready for the party Jo states that their dresses are not “exactly comfortable; but, dear me, let us be elegant or die.” This statement reveals that the girls are expected to dress nicely in order to uphold their social standing.Though women were expected to obtain their social standing, they were also expected to stand beside their husband and watch over the children as he ran the household. In the critical analysis Little Women, Novels for Children written by Elizabeth Thomason, she believes that “a home can be run successfully without a man.”(Thomason, pg. 3) This is an idea that is prominently evident all throughout the novel. The March’s father is away fighting in the Civil war, which leaves the March sisters and their mother alone for the better half of the novel. In this time span the girls are able to run the household and get along fine without their father. Personally, I believe that them being alone shows that it is indeed true that woman can get along just fine without a man in their life. Another point that is touched down on by Thomason is the Marches poverty. The March family has very little money, so