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An Insight into Children's Literature: A Reading
of Luisa May Alcott's Little Women
Dr. Heba Maher Attia Hashim
Lecturer in English Literature, Department of English,
Faculty of Arts, New Valley University, Egypt.
Abstract
Drawing on the nature and development of children's literature in the English Language, the present paper provides a reading of Luisa May Alcott's Little Women , a book with which young readers have instantly fallen in love. The novel traces the lives of four sisters who belong to a poor but loving family. In this paper, the researcher attempts to show how each of the four sisters is determined to accomplish her ambitions and attain her aspirations. With their father off to war, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March have only their mother left to be an inspiring power for them. The wise mother nurtures her young daughters with love and self-dependence, encouraging them to adhere to their love for each other and become the best version of themselves at all times. Throughout their lives, the four girls go through success and failure, love and loss, and do learn to face life, bear responsibility, and support each other. Alcott vividly depicts the passage of the four sisters from early childhood into adulthood as they remarkably grow into perfect 'little women' who can outstandingly achieve their goals in life. Finally, the paper presents a number of critical issues related to women and their stance in society. More importantly, the example of the four girls in Little Women provides young readers with an insight into how to plan for their lives, achieve the success they yearn for, and accordingly contribute to the stability and happiness of their families.
Keywords :
Children's Literature, Little Women, Luisa May Alcott.
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ( (ISSN : 2536 - 9555)
- اﻷʡﻔﺎل أدب ﻣʨʤʻر ﻣʧ- اءةﻗʛ ﺗﻘʦǽʙ إﻟﻰ اﻟॽʲʴॼﺔ اﻟʨرﻗﺔ ﻫʚﻩ ﺗﻬʙف
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ( (ISSN : 2536 - 9555)
Best known for her children's books, particularly her novel Little Women , Luisa May Alcott is a well-known American writer whose literary production varies including novels, short stories, poems, plays, and children's works. In her children's novels, she "champions women’s rights, questions the way male-dominated society functions, and lets her heroines dream about more than husbands and homes " (Lenahan 3). Alcott is generally recognized as "the greatest and most popular story-teller for children in her generation," Cheney states, pointing out that Alcott "has known the way to the hearts of young people, not only in her class, or even country, but in every condition of life, and in many foreign lands" (III). Children's literature can be defined as these literary works which are composed for entertaining children, instructing them, and instilling the desired behaviour and good values in them. Children's Literature has many characteristics. It is simple, clear, and straightforward. It is characterized by fantasy and has no major concern of reality. Hope and optimism are two important features of children's literature. There is a tone of joy and innocence running through the literary works composed for children. A literary work intended for children usually emphasizes repetition as a major technical device that suits young readers' learning. That is why repetition is a common component of traditional tales, folk tales, and fairy tales (Sweetland). Significantly, subject in children's literature is remarkably "at the advantages of form, language and ways of artistic material," writes Mirjana Stakić, arguing that the "literary text has to be interesting to children and to respond to their large and diverse interests, so that children's literature is characterized by large thematic richness and layers" (243). Children's literature includes actions and events related to childhood and has characters that are children. In other words, children's literature addresses children and is centered around their world. As Barbara Wall states,
All writers for children must, in a sense, be writing down. If they write with an educated adult audience
An Insight into Children's Literature: A Reading of Luisa May Alcott's Little Women Dr. Heba Maher Attia Hashim,
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ(
in mind—their own peers—their stories will surely be, at best not always interesting….Whenever a writer shows consciousness of an immature audience, in the sense of adapting the material of the story or the techniques of the discourse for the benefit of child readers, that writer might be said to be writing down, that is, acknowledging that there is a difference in the skills, interests and frame of reference of children and adults. (15)
In the introduction to his book entitled Understanding Children's Literature , Peter Hunt points out that "children’s books have a long history…, and they have absorbed into themselves elements of folk and fairy tale, and the oral tradition"(5). In the fifteenth century, hornbooks were invented introducing young readers to the alphabet, the numerals, and the prayers. According to Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable , a hornbook is "a former teaching aid consisting of a leaf of paper showing the alphabet, and often the ten digits and the Lord's Prayer, mounted on a wooden tablet and protected by a thin plate of horn" (170). During the same century, precisely in 1476, William Caxton brought printing to England, giving children the chance to read and enjoy printed books for the first time. Two important children's works which Caxton printed and published during that time were Aesop's Fables in1484 and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur or The Death of Arthur in 1485.
In the sixteenth century, the courtesy books and etiquette guides widely spread, teaching children morals, etiquette, and the appropriate bahaviour. A moralistic and didactic focus characterized the works written for children during that time. Outstanding among these works was Erasmus of Rotterdam 's A Handbook on Good Manners for Children, a book that was first published in Latin in 1530 and then translated into English in 1532.
An Insight into Children's Literature: A Reading of Luisa May Alcott's Little Women Dr. Heba Maher Attia Hashim,
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ(
works such as L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess (1905), Hugh Lofting's The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920), A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), and Dr. Seuss's And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937). Other important works that enriched the child's library during that century were Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970). Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree (1964), Patricia MacLachlan 's Sarah, Plain and Tall (1985), Lois Lowry's The Giver (1993 ) , Philip Pullman 's The Amber Spyglass (2000).
The twenty-first century, with its great technologies, contributed very clearly to the development of children's literature. With the wide spread of electronic devices such as tablets, laptops, smartphones, and kindle, digital books became very common and children could use them very easily. Outstanding among the works produced for children in the twenty-first century are Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003), Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007), Jennifer Richard Jacobson's Small as an Elephant (2011) , Michael Morpurgo's Flamingo Boy (2018), and David Walliams' Fing (2019).
Published in 1868, Alcott's Little Women is based on the novelist's own life introducing "a new genre for children. The four March girls aged 16 to 12, named in the subtitle as Meg , Jo , Beth and Amy , present the readers with alternative options for coming of age and finding their identity" (Egeland 316). The more the events of the narrative develop, the more we admire the four girls, appreciate their strong will, and "become "privy to their dreams and disappointments, their squabbles and collective imagination, the immediate world they learn to maneuver" (Smith). Though their father, Mr. March, is away from home, the four girls find compensation in their mother, Marmee, who outstandingly
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ( (ISSN : 2536 - 9555)
succeeds in playing the two roles of mother and father at the same time.
Despite the financial difficulties the family faces, the girls still lead a happy life thanks to their mother who strongly fights for her daughters, instilling in them the spirit of challenge and the insistence to overcome their difficult circumstances and have a distinguished status in society. In his article "The Hidden Feminist Agenda and Corresponding Edification in the Novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott," Shai Rudin sees that Alcott's Little Women is a clear opposition to Adrienne Rich's claims that the relationships between mothers and daughters were marginalized by society and became a story that have not yet been written to this very day. Strongly rejecting this view, Rudin argues that Little Women is outstandingly "a proof of the centrality and eternalness of the connection between mothers and daughters," illustrating how in the novel
Mrs. March challenges patriarchal motherhood that “produces” daughters who internalize chauvinistic patterns of behavior, and…does not educate women to fulfill roles completely distinct from male roles. She even notes that “…better be happy old maids than unhappy wives” ( Little Women , p. 168). She educates her daughters and Laurie, who sees her as a mother, to marry for love so as not to be subjugated to a rich man who would most likely treat them as an object. Mrs. March preaches honest work and does not want her daughters to be mere decorations for male society. (126)
Accordingly, each of the four girls has a dream to pursue and a goal to achieve, looking at their mother as a model and an inspiring figure that supports and encourages them to find their own ways in life and become highly recognizable and ideal 'little women'. Ambition, determination, self-confidence, and love for each other
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ( (ISSN : 2536 - 9555)
Meg looked very like a rose herself, for all that was best and sweetest in heart and soul seemed to bloom into her face that day, making it fair and tender, with a charm more beautiful than beauty. Neither silk, lace, nor orange flowers would she have. "I don't want a fashionable wedding, but only those about me whom I love, and to them I wish to look and be my familiar self." So she made her wedding gown herself, sewing into it the tender hopes and innocent romances of a girlish heart. (278)
Though Meg and John have to live in a modest house and though their economical circumstances are not very high, they lead a happy life which becomes happier and more meaningful after they have three children: Daisy, Demi, and Josie. Even after marriage, Meg remains the shelter, the warmth, and the solidity on which her younger sisters can still rest their heads. As she has successfully proved at the beginning of the book to be an ideal little woman, Meg comes at the end to attract the reader's attention as a highly respectable and recognizable young woman.
The second oldest sister in the March family, Josephine or Jo, is the heroine of Little Women. Her character is mainly based on the character of Alcott herself. Having a great passion for writing, Jo aspires to be a famous writer. From the start, she is determined to work hard in order to satisfy her thirst for knowledge and accomplish her literary aspirations. She enthusiastically expresses her wishes and yearnings stating,
I want to do something splendid before I go into my castle, something heroic or wonderful that won't be forgotten after I'm dead. I don't know what, but I'm on the watch for it, and mean to astonish you all some day. I think I shall write books, and get rich and famous, that would suit me, so that is my favorite dream" (164).
An Insight into Children's Literature: A Reading of Luisa May Alcott's Little Women Dr. Heba Maher Attia Hashim,
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ(
In fact, Jo's dreams go beyond the domestic sphere and show her as untraditional and adventurous. Unlike Meg, Jo is hot-tempered, rebellious, and independent. Alcott depicts her heroine's character in a way that challenges the typical model of women in nineteenth- century America who were completely devoted to purity, piety, domesticity, and submissiveness. Unlike these traditional stereotypes, Jo is ready to break the traditional rituals of society and seek what she herself thinks is correct and acceptable. However, she loves her sisters so much and is keen to see her family coherent and happy.
Jo decides to work in order to earn money and help the family. So, she works as a companion to her rich elderly Aunt March. Later in the book, she loses this job and works as a governess in New York. When her father, Mr. March falls ill and her mother, Marmee, wants to travel to Washington to see him, Jo makes up her mind, without hesitation, to sell her hair, which she regards as her only pride, in order to save her mother the price of the ticket.
Through the character of Jo, Alcott's attracts the attention of young readers that our families should be the most important concern for us. Accordingly, we should do our best to sustain them and respond at once to any call of help from them, simply because families are "The Most Beautiful Things in All the World," to quote the title of Elizabeth Keyser's article inspired to the critic by Jo herself. Keyser points out, "Alcott's conflicted, problematical relationship with her own family…, as well as her choice to remain single, suggest that she viewed the Victorian family realistically, if not skeptically" (50). At the end of Little Women , Jo states, "I do think that families are the most beautiful things in all the world!" (530).
An Insight into Children's Literature: A Reading of Luisa May Alcott's Little Women Dr. Heba Maher Attia Hashim,
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ(
wife” (Chap.7). Friedrich gets some credit from the reader because the reasons he loves his wife are the same reasons the reader loves her: Jo is smart, lively, generous, and good-hearted. (43)
Quiet, sweet, shy, and angelic in nature, Elizabeth or Beth is the third March sister. She always attempts to please others and help them. She loves music and finds great fun in playing the piano. Alcott portrays her as the peacemaker of the March family. She is a rich source of compassion and tenderness for her sisters. Like her elder sisters, she is keen to support her family and hold its members together. The character of Beth embodies an important value which Alcott cleverly teaches for children reading her book; this is the value of home as a place that provides the person with empowerment, self-assurance, and relief. It is the place which makes the person stronger, more confident, and more capable of changing negative feelings into positive ones. Addressing the same issue, Stephanie Foote argues that the characters in the novel "endure a series of mortifying confrontations with their own social inadequacies, and that they therefore experience astonishingly negative emotions" (81). Despite this, Foote further points out,
[T]he novel is not about negative emotions; rather it is a novel that resolves negative emotions without always repressing them. It understands the domestic as a way to transform such negative emotions by understanding the home as a place where social distinctions can be learned, practiced, and reconfigured as 'natural' distinctions" (81).
Remarkably, Beth is very close to Jo and she often tells her about her secrets and plans Critics see that Beth is too angelic and too virtuous to live the realistic world depicted for her by Alcott. Beth's main goal in life is to see her sisters happy and successful.
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ( (ISSN : 2536 - 9555)
Unfortunately, she develops scarlet fever and has to stay at home. Despite her failing health, Beth has never stopped to help other people and make them feel happy and satisfied. These rich doses of love and kindness are not confined to the members of her family but they also extend to include people whom she does not know. For example, she waits for children who pass her family house in their way to school and gives them beautiful things she herself sews for them.
However, innocent Beth finally dies, causing a deep wound inside the March family and leaving a harsh, materialistic world in which her angelic qualities can find no place. Despite her short life, Beth has achieved an important thing in the narrative. She has given a perfect example of the enduring little woman who can give and love– very generously, finding her greatest happiness in keeping others pleased and content. Even in her last breath, Beth never forgets her family. While on her deathbed, she advises her closest sister Jo, saying,
“Jo,…be everything to Father and Mother when I’m gone. They will turn to you, don’t fail them, and if it’s hard to work alone, remember that I don’t forget you, and that you’ll be happier in doing that than...seeing the entire world, for love is the only thing that we can carry with us when we go, and it makes the end so easy.” (459)
The youngest of the four sisters, Amy is the spoiled child of the March family. She is a beautiful child with golden hair and blue eyes. Since childhood, she has been fond of visual arts such as painting, sketching, and sculpting. Her artistic talents make her sisters call her the artist of the family. An artistic beauty, she is a genuine and interesting character who has the skill of influencing other people very easily. The great aim which Amy tries hard to achieve in life is to be a gentlewoman. Perhaps the most important feature of her character is that she knows her goal very precisely.
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ( (ISSN : 2536 - 9555)
highlights women’s position in society. Alcott proficiently presents a range of choices for the four sisters,
from Jo’s desire for a professional writing career to Meg’s preference for a more traditional domesticity. Alcott’s technique of focusing some chapters on one particular sister while creating other chapters that consider all four sisters as part of a family unit provides opportunities to learn more about each sister as an individual but also maintains a sense of shared experiences. (Hubler et al. 454)
Aspiring to "goodness and happiness", as their mother affirms, the girls pass through "many troubles and mistakes," several strains and delights, till they finally accomplish their ambitions, reap the fruits of their hard work, and find what Alcott calls "the peace," self-assertion and satisfaction which they have dreamt of (11). Though the narrative has been disturbed by the tragic event of Beth's death which saddens the family and causes a gloomy atmosphere to hang all over the house, it finally "brings success and contentment to the surviving members of the March family, and by the end of the novel, Jo, Amy and Meg are happily married and are laboring in the fields best suited to the strengths as well as the weaknesses of their personalities" (Foote 69).
Little women provides young readers with an insight into how to face the difficulties of life, discover themselves, and work hard to achieve what they dream of. In the book, Alcott invites these young readers to investigate the world of the March girls who have decided to confront life with love and ambition. In the words of Hayley Lenahan,
Children recognize these values from their own families and from their lives. Because the book supports values they already possess, they wish to share additional, new values…with the “imagined
An Insight into Children's Literature: A Reading of Luisa May Alcott's Little Women Dr. Heba Maher Attia Hashim,
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ(
community” of other readers and also with the Marches’ community, the characters they love from Little Women. Alcott’s use of her art as literary activism to open minds was her greatest contribution to the women’s movement. (28)
As a female author of Little Women , Alcott provides a source of origin and reality in her work, consequently adding an autobiographical dimension to the novel. This is what Kristina West indicates in her article entitled "Who Owns Little Women? Adapting Alcott in the Twenty-First Century." The article raises an interesting point about the novel, namely, the issue of textual origin. West argues that Little Women , like other works of fiction,
had a life prior to the text. Alcott herself claimed that '[w]e really lived most of it,' resulting in an autobiographical reading that still informs most criticism of Little Women. As such, a substantial part of its narrative and the characters that inhabit it are claimed to be drawn from the author’s own life; preexisting, therefore, the ostensibly fictional text" (410).
A significant point to conclude with is that Alcott, in Little Women , challenges women's traditional roles and gives her characters the space to rebel against the female reality and look for new stances for them in life. The novelist has achieved this task sought by her female characters through "celebrating and critiquing their positions in the private sphere and calling for the creation of new roles for women in the public sphere" (Lenahan 6). This is what exactly happens in Little Women. Though the civil war has imposed bad social and financial conditions on the March sisters especially after the father has gone to participate in the war, the mother enthusiastically fights for her striving daughters. On their
An Insight into Children's Literature: A Reading of Luisa May Alcott's Little Women Dr. Heba Maher Attia Hashim,
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ(
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ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺩﻱ ﺍﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺪﺭﺍﺳﺎﺕ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺤﻮﺙ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺮﺑﻮﻳﺔ )ﻣﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺔ( (ISSN : 2536 - 9555)
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