When we started to read Little Women, I was fairly excited. The new movie had just come out and I learned about how the story was fairly progressive for its time. I had only heard that it portrayed marriage in a positive light, but I did not know the details of how it did so. After reading the book, I am pleasantly surprised. Aside from the clear times when marriage involves the wife being solely responsible for the household and children, there are many moments when the idea of a cooperative partnership between two people is shown. Author Louisa May Alcott ultimately portrays marriage in a positive, cooperative way.
From the beginning of the novel, the March women are distressed and worry for their father. This implies that he is benevolent and not the type of man who would view his wife or daughters as lower than him. Further evidence includes when Marmee, confides in Jo and explains how Mr. March helps her with her temper. Mr. March puts his finger to his lips and gives Marmee a sign that she is losing patience. This can be seen as a condescending action. However, the idea that Mr. March does this to keep his wife in check or treats her like a baby is refuted when Marmee explains how he does so. She first speaks of him helping her with her patience when she tells Jo: “I asked him to help me so, and he never forgot it, but saved me from many a sharp word by that little gesture and kind look” (81). Mrs. March asked him to help her directly and he never used harsh language or attitude. This is a clear portrayal of a cooperative marriage that involves a couple that helps each other improve.
Nearing the end of the novel, Jo and Amy get married. The relationships between them and their partners are very positive. Amy and her childhood friend Laurie come to see each other in a new light. This leads to them deepening their relationship until Laurie proposes. He does so while they are in a rowboat. The fact that they help each other to row represents the marriage they will have: helping each other through life and responsibilities. Amy remarks: “How well we pull together, don’t we?” (431). When Jo’s older friend Mr. Bhaer arrives in town, they also deepen their relationship. The novel makes it clear that Mr. Bhaer is not much to look at, but it also shows how mature and kind he is. The author display this through Jo’s discovery: “…genuine good-will toward one’s fellow-men could beautify and dignify even a stout German teacher,…” (351). When he asks Jo to marry him and she accepts, the clear picture of a marriage built on love and respect is shown.
Written in a time when marriage was still built on subservience and the placement of men above women, Alcott paints a picture of marriage as a cooperative, positive partnership. One that goes beyond looks and passion.
I agree full-heartedly with this post. While there are certainly some examples in the marriage that show the time period the novel is set in (such as Meg's comments about her responsibility to take care of her children and make the house comfortable for her husband) there is one relationship that practical subverts the husband/wife dynamic: Amy and Laurie. At the beginning of the novel, Amy is "below" Laurie as she's younger and less mature than him. However, once she moves to France she loses her selfish nature and learns to carry herself with grace and dignity. Laurie, however, becomes despondent after being rejected by Jo and shows lazy and unbecoming tendencies. While it can be said that Amy "takes care of" Laurie by speaking bluntly to him and steering him back on the right track, it's different than the typical marriage scenario of the time as Amy has all the power. Laurie even makes the comment that "[Amy] is the sort of woman who knows how to rule well. In fact, I rather like it, for she winds one round her finger as softly and prettily as a skein of silk, and makes you feel as if she was doing you a favor all the while" (361). Perhaps Alcott is making the comment that if a woman makes the effort to educate herself and become more self-sufficient then they will have the opportunity to be equals with their husbands.
ReplyDelete