On November 29, 1832, in Germantown Philadelphia, Louisa May Alcott was born. She is a famous writer whose most popular works are Little Women, Little Men, and Jo’s Boys. She is known for creating characters and themes that feature strong female characters taking on roles that were unconventional in the nineteenth century. Louisa May Alcott’s contributions to the Civil War, her role as a feminist, and changing gender stereotypes, and literature.
Louisa May Alcott described herself as a “red-hot Abolitionist.” Her desire to help end slavery in the United States led her to become a nurse in the Civil War. She wrote about her work as a nurse in her Hospital Sketches in 1863. Her Hospital Sketches are very important because they give us a lot of insight and information about a woman’s role in the Civil War.
Alcott’s role as a nurse was demanding and dangerous, As described in her Hospital Sketches, she had to spend her time “washing faces, serving rations, giving medicine, and sitting in a very hard chair, with pneumonia on one side, diphtheria on the other, five typhoids on the opposite.” Despite the dangerous conditions and the constant exposure to graphic injuries and fatal illnesses, Alcott enjoyed working as a nurse. Her quote “now lighting up with smiles of welcome as I came among them, enjoying that moment heartily, with a womanly pride in their regard, a motherly affection for them all,” shows that she loved taking care of the soldiers and often cared for the, as if they were her own children. However, there were some aspects of her job that she did not enjoy. As stated above, Alcott was an abolitionist. She absolutely despised taking care of the Confederate soldiers. When she was appointed to take care of a Confederate soldier, she was tempted “to put soap in his eyes” and “rub his nose the wrong way.” Unfortunately, Alcott had to stop working at the hospital because she had gotten typhoid, which can cause stomach aches and headaches. After she had recovered, she wrote the Hospital Sketches and was encouraged to put them in a newspaper. The sketches quickly became loved by abolitionists and “readers of the Commonwealth.”
Louisa May Alcott was also an extreme feminist. She was part of the women's suffrage movement and was the first woman to register to vote in Concord, Connecticut. Alcott spent her whole life advocating for women’s rights and changing gender stereotypes. She did this by writing works of literature that centered around strong and empowering female characters. One of her more unpopular works called Behind a Mask; or a Woman’s Power is a perfect example of Louisa trying to change gender stereotypes. Behind a Mask; or a Woman’s Power is about a struggling actress named Jean Muir who is unsatisfied with her social class and financial situation. As a result, she applies to become a governess for a wealthy family called the Coventrys, so that she could steal their fortune.
The reason why the book changes gender stereotypes is that Alcott gives the main character, Jean Muir, the characteristics of ambition and manipulation which were considered as unique and abnormal character traits in a female character in the nineteenth century. The story also makes the male characters seem submissive, simpleminded, and foolish. For example, Jean Muir makes all the male characters in the story fall in love with her. This causes the men to become jealous and hostile towards each other and begin fighting. While the men in the household are fighting, Jean Muir steals Coventry's fortune. The story ends with Jean Muir marrying one of the men in the household just so that she can own the Coventry estate.
Another work of Louisa May Alcott that changes gender stereotypes is her most popular book that has recently been made into a movie. The book is called Little Women. Her book Little Women focuses on four sisters named Josephine, Meg, Beth, and Amy. One of the reasons why this book changes gender stereotypes is because of one of the fan-favorite characters in the story, Josephine March. Josephine March, also known as Jo, is a rebellious and tomboy who aspires to become a famous writer. To a person living in the 1800s, Jo’s character can be seen as strange and unusual. Jo can be considered and seen as strange and unusual because she is the complete opposite of the average, stereotypical woman in the nineteenth century. Not only does Jo despise domestic tasks and swears, but she also refuses to marry someone because she feels that she would be unhappy being a rich man’s wife.
Louisa May Alcott’s biggest contributions are the ones she has given to American literature. She has contributed to literature by creating new types of themes and characters that we can still relate to in the twentieth century. Alcott created and introduced literary themes that were considered foreign in the nineteenth century. During Alcott’s time, popular books mainly centered around feelings of love and romance. Although many of Alcott’s books did include some form of romance, it wasn’t the main focus of the story. Literary themes that Alcott loved to write about were ambition, magic, and a power struggle between men and women.
One of Alcott’s books called The Fate of the Forrests centers around the themes of diablerie, magic that causes violence, and competition for power between a man and a woman. The book is about a woman named Ursula who worships “the Hindu goddess of destruction” and then uses the goddess's power to “strangle their victims.” One man finds the source of the magic and tries to steal the power from the heroine Ursula. Ursula does technically prevent the man from taking the power but ends up dying so that the goddess’s power does not go into the wrong hands. Seeing fights between men and women in which the woman is victorious in books today are frequent and common, but that idea was created and introduced by Louisa May Alcott.
Louisa May Alcott has also contributed to literature by creating new, refreshing, and relatable characters. Alcott is most famous for inventing the characters in her book Little Women. The reason why these characters are so unique and special is because they are realistic and relatable and they remind of people that live and interact with everyday life. The characters have their own passions and ambitions exhibit both negative and positive traits. This can be seen in the Little Women character Theodore Lawerence, also known as Laurie. A lot of readers can relate to the character Laurie with feelings of rejection and heartbreak. In Little Women, Laurie proposes to his best friend Jo. However, Jo rejects his proposal because she could not reciprocate his feelings for her. Laurie is sad and disappointed but eventually bounces back and marries Jo’s younger sister Amy.
Louisa May Alcott lived the rest of her life unmarried and content with her writing career. After writing over thirty works of literature, she died in 1888 due to a stroke that was caused by mercury poisoning, at the age of fifty-five. Her role in the Civil War, feminism, and progressive views shaped her into a well-known and influential writer who created works of literature that not only went against the norm of the nineteenth century and changed gender stereotypes but also relate to our lives today.
Bibliography
Alcott, Louisa May. Behind a Mask; or a Woman’s Power. Boston: Project Gutenberg,
2005.
Alcott, Louisa May. Hospital Sketches. Boston: James Redpath, 1863.
Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. Boston: Robert Brothers, 1868.
Eiselein, Gregory. The Sketches of Louisa May Alcott. New York: Ironweed Press, Inc.,
2001.
“Louisa May Alcott National Women’s History Museum”. Accessed March 7, 2020.
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/louisa-may-alcott.
Reisen, Harriet. Louisa May Alcott The Woman Behind Little Women. New York: Henry
Holt, 2009.
Stern, Madeleine B. Modern Magic: Five Stories by Louisa May Alcott. New York:
Random House, Inc, 1995.
“The Life of Louisa May Alcott - History of Massachusetts”. Accessed March 7, 2020.
https://historyofmassachusetts.org/louisa-may-alcott/.
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