Sneaky Feminism

            It is no secret that in the 1860’s women were viewed significantly different than how they are viewed today. The rights of a woman were limited, and her responsibilities were restrained to domestic life inside the home. When reading Little Womenin the 21^stcentury, based on our discussions in class, we support Louisa May Alcott’s attempt to introduce the idea of feminism among young women, and potentially even young men too. An example of a feminist instance throughout the novel is how the daughters pick who they marry, and the fact that none of them marry for money. Even Amy who marries wealthy Laurie claims that she wishes “you [Laurie] were poor so that I [Amy] might show you how much I love you” (Alcott 458). Another example of Alcott’s feminist message is that all male characters, besides Laurie, are small, static characters. When Mr. March is away, Alcott makes an effort to show that the March women carry on and provide for themselves without depending on a male figure.   

Despite these several feminist concepts Alcott provides, my inference is that many people who read this novel today become frustrated when finishing it because the ending does not fit the “feminist mold” that we expect from Alcott. The novel considerably shifts tones as it concludes with a fairytale-like ending when all of the March daughters are happily married. When Mrs. March exclaims “Oh, my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater happiness than this!” (491) Alcott directly emphasizes the message that this is the happiest the daughters will ever be. At this point, Jo has not written her best book, Meg’s sole purpose is to be a good wife and mother, and Amy helps young girls in need, but using Laurie’s money, not her own. How can Alcott admit that each daughter is the “happiest woman in the world” (Alcott 498), when this ending goes against all feminist ideas she previously introduces throughout the novel? 

            It seems contradictory, but I think Alcott was extremely clever by completely diverging from the feminist path in the last few chapters. I believe that while writing the novel, Alcott knew the potential backlash she would receive about her feminist views. Therefore, she took the approach of sprinkling in feminist aspects throughout the lives of the March daughters, while conforming to the typical non-feminist ending expected by readers in the late 1860s. By doing so, Alcott was able to avoid major criticism from society while still relaying a feminist message to young girls. If Alcott would have ended the novel as we would expect- Jo never marrying, Meg holding a job of her own, and Amy not marrying a wealthy man, the novel would have been majorly criticized due to its time, and the small messages of feminism throughout the novel would have been completely ignored.