Love and Independence

Throughout the novel, Jo’s desire for independence and freedom is what motivates her character.  Jo’s actions show that she believes true independence lies in economic freedom and happiness.  It is completely divorced from romantic relationships, but not from love.

            When Jo begins her writing career at home and starts to sell off short stories and novels in exchange for smalls sums of money, she realizes what having money can allow you to do.  She provides money for Beth and Marmee to go to the sea and for various necessary items around the March household, like groceries (Alcott 276).  “Jo enjoyed a taste of this satisfaction, and ceased to envy richer girls, taking great comfort in the knowledge that she could supply her own wants, and need ask no one for a penny” (Alcott 277).  While Beth is sweet, Amy will marry well, and Meg is motherly, Jo believes that the way she can best serve her family is to provide for them financially. 

The theme of “castles in the air” follows the characters closely throughout the book, meant to describe their dearest dreams and wishes.  When Jo travels to New York, in hopes of quashing Laurie’s romantic feelings for her, her time in the city is motivated by her desire for economic freedom to support herself and her family.  She continues to write short stories for the newspaper, and enjoys the economic freedom deeply, “She saw that money conferred power: money and power, therefore, she resolved to have; not to be used for herself alone, but for those whom she loved more than self” (Alcott 354).  Her new ability to provide for her family and purchase comforts for Beth and her parents is Jo’s castle in the air (Alcott 354) and she devotes her time and energy to the pursuit.  Achieving her castle in the air will bring her both independence and happiness, which are helplessly intertwined with one another.  And Jo clearly has a difficult time separating the two, seen during her conversation in the grove with Laurie.

Jo loves her family more than herself, but it is clear that she has no interest in romantic relationships.  She feels betrayed and deserted when Meg decides to leave their family and marry John Brooke, saying, “‘It never can be the same again.  I’ve lost my dearest friend’” (Alcott 238).  Meg’s marriage is traitorous to the March family life that Jo is so used to and comfortable with.  Because of this event, Jo is fearful of anyone inside her family “leaving” her again, and she does not want to someday give up her own economic independence to a husband.  This is why she decides to go to New York in the first place — she has noticed Laurie’s affections for her and wants to quash them, so as not to lose another member of her family (Alcott 337-339).  When she returns from New York, Laurie still clearly has feelings for her.  While Jo desires her own happiness and freedom, she does her best to avoid ruining anyone else’s enjoyment of these things.  She tells Laurie, “‘I never wanted to make you care for me so, and I went away to keep you from it if I could,’” (Alcott 371) and when she is pushed to make herself love Laurie she says, “‘I don’t believe it’s the right sort of love, and I’d rather not try it’” (Alcott 371).  Jo knows that she is incapable of loving Laurie the way that he so wants her to, and she refuses to give up her own happiness, her own freedom, to make herself love him.  “‘I agree with mother that you and I are not suited to each other, because our quick tempers and strong wills would probably make us very miserable, if we were so foolish …’” (Alcott 373).  Jo knows herself and she knows Laurie — she adores her own freedom too much to give up her happiness for someone else, although it would make that someone else exceedingly happy. 

The taste of freedom and economic independence that Jo had in New York follows her throughout the rest of the novel.  She has discovered what independence is to her: the ability to provide for yourself and those that you love and to be happy in your life.  She refuses to give up her happiness at the cost of others, which comes both from her desire to maintain her family as best as she can, and her desire not to give up her liberty (Alcott 374).