In Nina Baym’s Woman’s Fiction,
she suggests that a writers’ “belief that
suffering and hardship could not be avoided in any human life, and … such
trials, because they called out otherwise dormant abilities, could become occasions
for ‘perfecting’ the character” (36). Little Women closely follows the
outline of this motif, demonstrating that strife always provides an opportunity
to better yourself.
When Beth becomes sick a second
time, Jo immediately begins to deny the implications of her sickness, avowing
that she would soon feel better. Beth makes clear that she has no hope of recovering
this time. When faced with this reality, Jo laments “I’ll keep you in spite of
everything; there must be ways, it can’t be too late. God won’t be so cruel as
to take you from me” (404). She struggles to understand how her perfect sister could
be taken from her, and continues to assert that she will recover. This denial
prevents Jo from comforting Beth fully, and becomes the flaw that she has to overcome.
When it
finally becomes clear to Jo that Beth is not going to improve this time, she
understands that she must put aside her grief and give Beth the best comfort she
can provide. She spent all of her days by Beth’s side because Beth felt stronger
with Jo around. These hours with Beth were very important for Jo, because “her
heart received the teaching that it needed; lessons in patience were so sweetly
taught her, that she could not fail to learn them” (448). Just as Baym argued,
Jo uses the immense hardship presented to her to overcome a personal shortcoming.
Throughout the novel, Jo’s biggest ambition had always been to write novels and
be famous. Shortly before her passing, Beth encourages Jo to take her place in
the family, taking care of her parents and being a light during a dark time. At
this plea, Jo “renounced her old ambition, pledged herself to a new and better
one, acknowledging the poverty of other desires” (451). Even in the face of
immense sorrow, Jo promises to overcome it and use it to improve her character.
After Beth
dies, Jo resolves to keep her promise, but struggles immensely to follow the example
of her sister while she tries to accept her own grief and loneliness. Jo does
not struggle alone, however, and when she misses Beth the most, her mother comforts
her to provide some relief. For Jo, this heart to heart succeeded in “turning affliction
to a blessing, which chastened grief and strengthened love. Feeling this, Jo’s
burden seemed easier to bear, duty grew sweeter, and life looked more endurable”
(465). While Jo is heartbroken at the loss of her sister, she makes use of this
suffering to resolve issues in her character. After this loss, she values love
over money, family over fame, and faith over despair. Baym’s argument that loss
provides opportunity is proven true for Jo’s character.
Although improving or "perfecting" oneself is a common trope, I found it interesting how you identified that Baym's Woman's Fiction includes hardship and suffering as a way to improve the character of these little women. In Little Women, readers can easily see a distinction in Jo's character before and after Beth's long illness. As you mentioned, Jo is much wilder and more ambitious at the beginning of the novel. While not necessarily flaw in themselves, Jo's drive to become a famous author begins to lead her down a dangerous path. When writing short stories for a local newspaper, Jo thrusts herself into dangerous situations with poor company to find excitement and inspiration for these novels. Although Jo quits doing this when she sees Bhaer's disappointment in her, this illustrates Jo's wild side.
ReplyDeleteAfter Beth dies, Jo humbles herself. Instead of working to become the greatest novelist, she turns her attention to the home. First, she focuses on the Marches, but she soon decides to find love and start a family of her own. She channels her passion for language and stories into a school for young boys, which shows her "perfecting" of her character into being more selfless.
Another example of evolving one's character after hardship is Amy ridding herself of her vanity when Beth first gets sick with scarlet fever and having to take care of her Aunt March. Becoming less selfish and more generous, Amy again illustrates how Baym identifies these young women bettering themselves after experiencing trials.