Abstract

Little Women, written by Louisa May Alcott, is one of the most famous female works in American literature. This novel enjoys great reputation all over the world. This thesis is designed to analyze the feminism reflected in the female characters in Little Women. At first, the paper gives a brief introduction to Louisa May Alcott, Little Women and some literature reviews. Then, the thesis reviews the history of western feminism and interprets Alcott’s views of feminism in brief. After that, detailed analysis of female characters presents the feminism in Little Women. In this novel, women not only live as mothers, wives or daughters but also become independent women. They own traditional characteristics, such as deep love for family members and devotion to family. At the same time, they perfectly play the role of new women who spare no effort to seek for independence, true love and equality. Alcott holds her attitudes toward feminism through female characters in Little Women clearly and perfectly.Through the analysis of characters in this novel, we can find women’s thirst for independence,equality and true love in the condition of keeping their traditional characteristics and Alcott’s views of feminism so that we can know more about the feminism in the 19th century deeply. At the same time, it also exerts great influence on

contemporary women who seek for independence and equality.

Key Words:Louisa May Alcott; Little Women; Feminism

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1 Introduction-1

1.1 A Brief Introduction to Louisa May Alcott-1

1.2 A Brief Introduction to Little Women-2

1.3 Literature Reviews-2

1.4 Thesis and Structures-4

2 Feminism and Alcott’s View of Feminism-5

2.1 Overview of Feminism-5

2.1.1 Definition of Feminism-5

2.1.2 Development of Feminism-5

2.2 Alcott’s View of Feminism-6

3 Traditional Female Characteristics in Little Women-8

3.1 Harmonious Family Relationships-8

3.1.1 Maternal Love-9

3.1.2 Love Among Four Sisters-10

3.2 Devotion to Family-11

4 New Female Characteristics in Little Women-12

4.1 Seeking for Independence-12

4.2 Abandoning the Marriage Based on Wealth-14

4.3 Pursing Equal Rights and Freedom-16

5 Conclusion-17

References-18

Acknowledgments-19