从《小妇人》中分析乔的女权主义毕业论文

滨江学院本科生毕业论文（设计）

The Study of Jo in Little Women from the Prospective of

Feminism

Contents

1.Introduction (5)

2.Literature Review (5)

2.1 Definition and Features of F eminism (6)

2.2Relevant Studies of Jo’s Feminism in Little Women (6)

3. A comprehensive analysis of feminism on Jo in Little Women (8)

3.1 Pursuit of F reedom (8)

3.2 Demand of True Love (10)

3.3 Desire for I ndependence (11)

3.4 Embodiment of Equality (13)

4. Enlightenment of feminism embodied in Jo in modern times (15)

4.1 Modern Expression of Feminism in P rofessions (15)

4.2 Modern Expression of Feminism in Marriage L ife (16)

5. Conclusion (18)

References (19)

Acknowledgements (20)

毕业设计（论文）原创性声明和使用授权说明

原创性声明

本人郑重承诺：所呈交的毕业设计（论文），是我个人在指导教师的指导下进行的研究工作及取得的成果。尽我所知，除文中特别加以标注和致谢的地方外，不包含其他人或组织已经发表或公布过的研究成果，也不包含我为获得及其它教育机构的学位或学历而使用过的材料。对本研究提供过帮助和做出过贡献的个人或集体，均已在文中作了明确的说明并表示了谢意。

作者签名：日期：

指导教师签名：日期：

使用授权说明

本人完全了解大学关于收集、保存、使用毕业设计（论文）的规定，即：按照学校要求提交毕业设计（论文）的印刷本和电子版本；学校有权保存毕业设计（论文）的印刷本和电子版，并提供目录检索与阅览服务；学校可以采用影印、缩印、数字化或其它复制手段保存论文；在不以赢利为目的前提下，学校可以公布论文的部分或全部内容。

作者签名：日期：

学位论文原创性声明

本人郑重声明：所呈交的论文是本人在导师的指导下独立进行研究所取得的研究成果。除了文中特别加以标注引用的内容外，本论文不包含任何其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写的成果作品。对本文的研究做出重要贡献的个人和集体，均已在文中以明确方式标明。本人完全意识到本声明的法律后果由本人承担。

作者签名：日期：年月日

学位论文版权使用授权书

本学位论文作者完全了解学校有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，同意学校保留并向国家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和电子版，允许论文被查阅和借阅。本人授权大学可以将本学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检索，可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等复制手段保存和汇编本学位论文。

涉密论文按学校规定处理。

作者签名：日期：年月日

导师签名：日期：年月日

从《小妇人》中分析乔的女权主义

摘要：《小妇人》由美国作家露易莎·梅·奥尔科特所著，她是美国文学史上最突出的作家之一，也被认为是以为女权主义者。《小妇人》是她最成功最著名的作品。《小妇人》是一部以美国南北战争为背景，以19世纪美国新英格兰地区的一个普通家庭四个姐妹之间的生活琐事。此小说与1868年出版后受到了极大的关注。本文旨在通过分析《小妇人》分中的女性乔，阐述奥尔科特的女权主义观点。这个观点在主人公乔的身上体现的淋漓尽致。乔，酷爱写作与阅读，独立勇敢。不甘心做一个家庭主妇，选择自己喜欢的工作-写作，厌恶社会无理的要求--女性权力不及男性。本文分别从自由，爱情，平等，独立四个角度，分析乔的女权主义思想。并结合现代社会，剖析乔这种女权主义在现代社会中的意义。

关键词：《小妇人》; 乔; 女权主义

The Study of Jo in Little Women from the

Prospective of Feminism

Director：Wu Sufang

（College of Foreign Languages, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou,

Zhejiang, 310053）

Abstract: Little Women is written by an American author, Louisa May Alcott, who is one of the most prominent writers in American literature as well as a feminist. Little Women is one of the most successful and famous works of hers. It is a novel which is set in the Civil War, and based on the four sisters’ family life in New England in the USA in the 19th century. It received a lot of attention when it published. This thesis is aimed at analyzing Jo in the Little Women to state the point of Louisa May Alcott’s concept of feminism. This view is ref lected incisively and vividly on the heroin Jo. Jo, who has a passion for writing and reading and her characters are independent and brave. She is not content to be a housewife and chooses her favorite job—writing. Disliking the unreasonable request of the society—women’s power is less than men’s. The article is written respectively from four perspectives—freedom, love, equality and independence to analyze of Jo’s feminism ideas. And combining with the modern society, it dissects the significance of Jo’s fe minism in modern society. Keywords: Little Women; Jo; feminism

The Study of Jo in Little Women from the Prospective of

Feminism

1. Introduction

Louisa May Alcott was born on November 29, 1832, the second daughter of Amos Bronson and Abigail Abba May Alcott. She was raised in Concord, Massachusetts, a small town to the north of Boston that was home to many great writers of the day.

Little Women is a novel published in 1868 and written by American author Louisa May Alcott. The story concerns the lives and loves of four sisters growing up during the American Civil War. It is based on Alcott's own experiences as a child in Concord, Massachusetts with her three sisters, Anna, May, and Elizabeth. The novel tells of their progress into young womanhood with the additional strains of romance. It is a story of their growing maturity and wisdom and the search for the contentedness of family life.

In this situation, the paper tends to analyze the pursuit for freedom and demand of true love, embodiment of equality, and desire for independent personality and independent rights to make special analysis of feminism on Jo in English. In doing so, the readers might have a deep understanding of the feminism.

2. Literature Review

Little Woman, one of the classics of American literature, was written by American woman——Louisa May Alcott. Woman in the 19th century were still limited to traditional opinions that they were opposed to belong to the family, obey their husbands’ orders .They could not have the chance to compete equally with men in many fields of society. However, Louisa May Alcott did not look upon herself as the adjunct of the men. She was determined to break the fetters on the women, and tried to choose a profession to make a living on her way through this rough and tumble world. Hence, there is no doubt that Little Women occupies an essential position in the history of American literature in the 19th century.

2.1 Definition and Features of Feminism

As to the meaning of feminism: “most people think ‘feminism’ is about equality of

the sexes, and activism to achieve equality of women”. (Johnson, 2011, p30) This theory is called: “Socialist feminism and was used increasingly during the 1970s to describe a mixed theoretical and practical method to achieving w omen’s equality. In addition, this theory analyzed the relation between the oppression of women and other oppression in society.” (Linda, 2011, p22)

In the Cambridge dictionary, the definition of feminism is the belief that women should be allowed the same rights as men and be treated in the same way, but also when it is used to describe a man that means the behavior of man is similar to women. “According to MS magazine, feminism sounds like a negative word for most women. T hey don’t like it or use it”. (Karol, 2011, p28) However, a very interesting article which is from Men in Feminism said: “some men seem to be interested in Feminism; they prefer to acquire more knowledge of it and encourage more of them to realize that fem inism benefits everyone.”(Lizzie, 2003, p19) Therefore, to some extent, the readers can find that males and females still have different attitudes to this word.

For the features of feminism, the first one is to stress women’s gender differences and their expression in literary texts and texts interpretation, that is, gender poetics and gender reading. Secondly, it puts emphasis on the expression of gender symbol difference, advocating women’s discourse and maternal instinct discourse. Besides, it establishes women’s equality of political r ights on the basis of female social difference and discourse difference.

2.2Relevant Studies of Jo’s Feminism in Little Wome

There are many scholars who throw some light on the feminist interpretation of Litter Women.

Although the book is filled with submissive women who are content with domestic life, a great deal of feminist attention concentrates on women’s influences on men. For example, in “The Influence of Little Women”,Carolyn Heilbrun argues that the fascination Little Women holds lies less in Jo’s ease in adopting male manners and behavior , than in the facility with which her whole family restructures itself on a female

pattern.(Kress,1997,p23)

G. K. Chesterton noted that in Little Women, Alcott "anticipated realism by twenty or thirty years," and that Fritz's proposal to Jo, and her acceptance, "is one of the really human things in human literature."(Fritz, 1987, p67)Gregory S. Jackson argued that Alcott's use of realism belongs to the American Protestant pedagogical tradition that includes a range of religious literary traditions with which Alcott was familiar. (Jackson, 2009, p14) The nineteenth-century images he produces of devotional guides for children provides an interesting background for the game of "playing pilgrim" that, in part, comprises Book One's plot structure. Elbert argued that Little Women did not “belittle women’s fiction" and that Alcott stayed true to her “Romantic birthright.”( Sarah，1987，p11)

As we all known, Jo is the representative of Louisa May Alcott in the Little Women, so in “Closing the Garret Door: A Feminist Reading of Little Women”, scholars Deborah Thacker and Jean Well mention that the women writer’s place has been marginalized and consigned as “the attic” (Thacker & Well,1989，p3) the room of her own where a woman could express and liberate herself undisturbed. In Little Women Louisa May Alcott playfully enabled her girls’ readers to look within her inner room, her center of repressed imagination.

The heroine Jo is a unique woman in this book. Her unconventional opinions and deeds differ much from her sisters. The first chapter talks about Jo’ process of forming the sense of self-identity. It consists of four parts in self-shaping, self-reflection, self-fulfillment and self-control. The second chapter details about Jo’ sense of responsibility to play four different roles in her life. As a new woman, she flourishes personality. The third ch apter discusses Jo’s equality thoughts, and her struggle to get her properly rights.

Based on the summaries of the previous researches, naturally, a new woman in Alcott’s Little Women should independent, self-identity and self-denial; a new woman should have her ability, and create her career; a new woman should live an equal life with her husband; the combination if family life and independent existence can open various

probability for a new woman’ individual development.

3. A comprehensive analysis of feminism on Jo in Little Women

3.1 Pursuit of freedom

From the ancient period to modern society, all the people are seeking freedom, no matter what the person is man or woman, old or young. The author of Little Woman—Louise May Alcott who also wants to own freedom. In her famous novel Little Woman, through the main actor—Jo express the pursuit of freedom.

Jo is a girl who wants to be a boy. “I wish I was a boy,” s ays Jo. “Then I could go and fight beside father.” (Alcott, 1987, p38) Jo wants to escape from the full dress and puts on the uniform to fight beside her father. Meg always says to Jo in this way, “You’ve been running, haven’t you? Jo, when will you start to behave like a young lady?”(Alcott, 1987, p98)Although at that time, every girl want to behave like a young lady, Jo behaves like a boy. For her perspective, a boy can do many things that the girls also can do, such as skating and then talking about the skating with them. She never fells shy to play with boys. She believes that boys possess freedom and they can do everything they want to do. In the book, Jo does many things which can only be done by boys.

The reason why Jo stood out can be best illustrated by her characteristic. It is her characteristic that makes her different from all the other girls in the family. Unlike other girls who behave like quite water, Jo was neither soft nor gentle. She is just like a vigorous flame giving endless happiness.

In the beginning of the book, she claims that:

“I hate to think I’ve got to grow up and be Miss M arch, and wear long gowns,

and look as prim as a China Aster. It’s bad enough to be a girl, any way when I

like boy’s games and work and manners. I can’t get over my disappointment in

not being a boy, and it’s worse than ever now, for I’m dying to go and f ight with

papa, and I can only stay at home and knit like a poky old woman.”(Alcott,

1987, p43)

Jo also likes literature, both reading and writing them. She composes plays for sisters to perform and writes stories that published. She imitates Shakespeare, and when she doesn’t need to do chores, she reads a book in a corner of the attic, or outside, completely absorbs a good book. She also says: “Not being a genius, like Keats, it won’t kill me…when I am ready, I will up again…”Jo is not the oldest daughter in the family, but she put herself in the position of the man of the family when her father is absence. She devotes her literature works to support the family. When her father is hurt during the war, she cuts her lovely, sick, long hair to help her mother to look after her father. She says: “I just want to do something for father, and selling my hair was the only thing I could think of doing.”(Alcott, 1987, p105)

Because of her character –boyish, Jo has intense equality thoughts, and her struggle to get her properly rights. When she is young, her unique behaviors express her desire to break the fetters on the women. Her choices of career stand for her dreams of being equal as men. She does not obey the traditional view on marriage to find a rich husband, but establishes her love on an equal base. On work, Jo has achieved her dream and become a writer. In life, she is not the only one to do the housework and her husband will also undertake it. For example, her husband prepares the cakes for dinner and look after their children. Jo also appeals to the equality of, so do she and her husband. Though she returns home, Jo gives a new definition of new women that the combination of career and family is the best home for a new woman.

At the same time, she is a girl who has the courage to pursuit her ideals. She believes that a new circumstance has advantages for her writing; she follows to New York to teach children, or sometime stays in the bookroom to read books to absorb new knowledge. She accepts new things and comes being into new ideas.

All of her characteristics and her behaviors show that she pursuits of freedom and doesn’t care about others’ vision. She just does the things she wants to do, not bind by secular.

3.2Demand of true love

As a girl, Joy is lucky because of a boy, Laurie, who loves her; as a little woman, Joy is beatific because of a man, Bhaer, who loves her; as a mature lady, Jo is felicific because of a gentleman, Bhaer, her husband.

As a female, Jo knows clearly that she is going for a true love rather than a rich life.

Most people who read the Litter Woman always think that Jo ought to marry Laurie, who is her childhood sweetheart and has a happy marriage with Jo. However, it is unbelievable that she turns down his offer and gets married with Professor Bhaer, an old, poor man. A host of people take the view that Jo is foolish for she has done, but Jo is certainly understand what she really needs than anyone else.

For Laurie

Jo’s fell in love with Laurie at the first sight of Laurie and the true love is pretty pure and beautiful. Without a doubt that she loves Laurie, and many mothers are willing to small Mr. Laurie becomes her son-in-law, but when she finds Laurie is like guileless elegant girl, don't mention how happy she is.

Actually, Laurie loves her, but Jo has a sober understanding of the differences between them:

“I'm homely and awkward and odd and old, and you'd be ashamed o f me, and we

should quarrel—we can't help it even now, you see and I shouldn't like elegant

society and you would, and you'd hate my scribbling, and I couldn't get on

without it, and we should be unhappy, and wish we hadn't done it, and everything

would be horrid!" (Alcott, 1987, P278)

Jo realizes that they are not suited to one another, although they are too much alike and too fond of freedom.

After Jo refusing Laurie, Jo knows that would never come again because he leaves her without a look. And Jo decides to cut off the relationship, because it’s impossible for people to make themselves love other people and she does not believe that is the right sort of love and would rather not try. In addition, she can not accept marry Laurie only for a fine mistress for fine house.

For Professor Bhaer

Professor Bhaer who comes from Berlin is well-educated, but poor as a church mouse, and gives lessons to support him. At Mrs. Kirke’ house, Bhaer leaves a favorable impression to Jo, but at that time, Jo does not love him, she just thinks he is interested.

As time goes by, Jo is addicted to love him. His patience, ability, wise, knowledge even his dress is attracted her much more. This time she apparently knows her own heart when she comes to a little message written in the Professor's hand, and she sets looking at the friendly words: "Wait for me, my friend. I may be a little late, but I shall surely come", “as they took a new meaning, and touched a tender spot in her heart”. (Alcott, 1987, P334)

These words take a new meaning, and touch a tender spot in her heart. Then, the Professor visits her family and they confess sincere love to each other in the end. For the love with Professor, Jo has confirmed her firm attitude to him:

"I'm glad you are poor. I couldn't bear a rich husband," said Jo decidedly, adding

in a softer tone, don't fear poverty. I've known it long enough to lose my dread

and be happy working for those I love, and don't call yourself old forty is the

prime of life. I couldn't help loving you if you were seventy!" (Alcott, 1987,

P368)

They get married, have two children and even found a school. Yes, Jo is a very

happy woman there, in spite of hard work, much anxiety, and a perpetual racket.

She also says "I don't think I ever ought to call myself `unlucky Jo' again, when

my greatest wish has been so beautifully gratified.”(Alcott, 1987, P374) Married with a professor can not only give Jo an abundance life style, but Jo gains her happiness. She is a true lucky woman.

3.3 Desire for independence

With the vigorous development of the American feminist, American emerges a large number of women who spare no efforts to campaigning for women’s rights.In Little Women, the author Louisa May Alcotthe uses a special lady, Jo, who owns independent

thoughts and distinguished behavior to expound Feminism.

Jo has a strong desire for independence; firstly, her characteristic is presented by unique thoughts.

In the first place, in Little Women,the biggest characteristic of Jo is self-renewal independence; she isn’t an ideal image of fair child in her childhood. When Jo turn s to be a little girl, she just plays with boys and even wants to be a boy. She changes her feminine name to a masculine name "Jo". Because of her firm mind, as a result, she fails to be a traditional woman in fact. While hearing that her father needs to go to the frontline, she forces herself as a leader of the four sister s. In order to reduce her mother’s pressure and support the family, Jo works for Aunt March who likes complaining a lot.

Jo and her other sisters build up Pickwick Club and Postbox which almost is not allowed by women limited by time. But Jo does not bow her own life to cater to the traditional customs. Instead, she is more reluctant to restrain her hobbies to conformity with social norms.

In the second place, when the day of darkness is coming, Jo does not flinch, but bravely enough to face terrible things. After hearing the bad news that her father suffers from a disease severely, all of the family numbers have already gave up all hopes except Jo. Jo struggles against difficulties intrepidly and obviously has realized that her father needs a great quantity of money to go through the serious disorder. Hence, she sacrifices herself, cutting her hair for 25dollars. How surprise it is. As far as we are known, during that time, woman’s appearance meant for everything.

In chapter 29, the obvious evident can be proved that Jo is a new–style women. Jo says,

“I do like them, and I shall be one if I can, for in spite of the laughing the worl d

would never get on without them. We can't agree about that for you belong to the

old set, and I to the new. You will get on the best, but I shall have the liveliest time

of it. I should rather enjoy the brickbats and hooting, I think.”(Alcott, 1987,P227）From the passage, we find that Jo is a woman who has own consciousness, with the spirit of independence. In depressive female space she rushes out of the bondage of

tradition, doing the things which the majority of women couldn’t reach at that time. What’s more, she pa ys more attention to freedom and independence. In the early 19th century American feminists think that men and women should be equal, women should depend on herself and had own job.

From the above narrations, Jo has independent thoughts; we also need to give several reasons to prove Jo’s distinguished behavior.

Frankly speaking, Jo is a lucky girl that she lives in a warm family, the family members are all kind-heart. Once Jo makes up her mind to write articles, none of her family says no. And when Jo’s first work is published, not only her parents but also her other sisters support her with all their hearts. Each of them pride of her, it is her strongest power to stick to writing. Once Jo wants to go out and finds a job to raise the family, they all respect her choice.

Although Jo finally gets married, having equal state with her husband, she shares the family obligation with her husband and plays a significant important role between him. The manor Jo inherits from Aunt March is transformed into a school where poor children also have the opportunity to study. At last, Jo not only makes plenty awards in writing but also achieves remarkable fame in education system.

3.4 The embodiment of Equality

Jo March is the second daughter of Mrs. March. She loves writing, dreaming of being a famous writer and making money to have her family live a better life. She is a unique woman. Her unconventional opinions and deeds differ much from her contemporary women. At that time, girls are taught to be ideal women who look upon her husbands and children as the whole meaning of life. Jo, however, has the strong sense of self-identity, dares to break the fetters imposed on her by the society and arranges her life according to her own will. She looks like a boy, and reacts with impatience to the many limitations placed on women and girls. This character has a deep influence on her demand of equality.

When Jo is a little child, she's a tomboyish, hot-tempered girl. She loves activity