At the beginning of the story, the jobs Jo and Meg
perform are briefly discussed. Jo works and tends for her Aunt March, a trying
task to the young girl, while Meg attends to "four spoilt children."
Beyond their 'jobs', the women are expected to sew and perform household
chores. They also aid a nearby poorer family, the Hummels, as their mother sees
it is fitting for them.
While the women perform tasks at the home, Mr. March
is off fighting in the Civil War. He is rarely mentioned in the firs apart of
the book, but Mrs. March implies that it is his duty to go and serve his
country. Laurie is also given a 'male' task, by attending college to please his
grandfather and to act respectfully and with chivalry towards the women in the
story. When Mr. Brooks marries Meg, there is no doubt who will go to work too
provide for the family, and he even had to wait to marry Meg until he had
established himself financially.
Throughout the novel,
the roles between men and women are in very obvious contrast. These roles also
contrast with the roles of life today. No longer is it expected that the man is
the sole provider of the family, and both women and men serve their country in
the military. Similarly, both sexes are encouraged to attend college, and very
few jobs nowadays are gender specific. However, the question must be asked,
though there are so many differences between societal expectations from then
and now, what can we learn from this novel? Why do we still read it and enjoy
today if it is so out of date?
I definitely agree, the roles of men and women, as expected, are very opposite of each other in this novel. It is very reflective of the time period. If I may add something, I see that Jo is a character that, at second glance, embodies the clash of the gendered roles in the novel. As the novel progresses, Jo reconciles with this clash, but in the beginning you can see the difference in the roles of men and women based on what Jo is deterred from doing versus what she is encouraged to do. This struggle within Jo between male and female roles is quite explicitly stated on page 3 of the novel: “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 fight with papa, and I can only stay home and knit like a poky old woman.”
ReplyDeleteJo wishes she had the rights and responsibilities of a man. This is not even just about being able to romp around outside and use swear words. She wishes she could go and fight in the war, something that is not pleasant. Though she wants to, she cannot since she is not a man. So, here we have Jo, a woman who would gladly enlist yet cannot. This is in high contrast with a man who all but is forced to enlist due to the ideals of being a man.
While Little Woman is very gendered, there are some notable deviations from traditional views of femininity and masculinity. Jo for example often described in masculine terms and while her job caring for Aunt March is definitely considered a feminine occupation she also has financial independence from publishing stories. She also published, although she later stops under the guidance of Mr. Bhaer, sensationalist stories for the Young Volcano.
ReplyDeleteMarmee, while obviously feminine, has a more important role than Mr. March. Her absence is more distressing for the sisters and her presence is more appreciated than those of Mr. March subverting the traditional view of the father as the head of the household. She is also the moral head of the family even though the father is a chaplain.
Also, I would disagree jobs today are not gender specific. While being of a certain gender is not a requirement for most jobs, there are often gendered professions. For example, if you ask most people to describe a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or pilot they describe a man. In contrast, if you ask most people to describe a nurse teacher, secretary, or homemaker they describe a woman. Also, women are paid less in the same professions as their male counterparts. When employers are asked to explain this rationale employers often justify this practice saying they pay men more because men have to support their families.
As Jessica noted, it’s important to recognize that gender roles still control much of our society. For example, in the case of the military, women are now legally allowed to enlist and become officers. However, high levels of sexual assault against female soldiers prevents many women from advancing in the military. Many times, the victim is punished more for speaking out than the assailant is punished for the crime. Additionally, if a soldier does not conform to the gender they were assigned at birth, as in the case of transgender soldiers, they are subject to hateful speeches from their commander in chief and the people they’ve sworn to protect.
ReplyDeleteI think this novel is still relatable due to these core issues. While I may not be like Jo, frustrated by a desire to be able to go to war, I am still frustrated that I don’t feel safe walking alone on campus after 9PM (especially when staying in or walking in packs is the police’s only suggestion to women who feel unsafe). I’m still upset that I have to be constantly vigilant when I go out to make sure nobody roofies my drink, even though I can aspire to be a writer without being a novelty. There might not be a one-to-one connection, Things may not be the same as they were when Alcott was writing "Little Women," but the root issues are still there.
Two important reasons come to my mind, besides what was said by the previous comments, on why we still read it and what can be learned. The first is the old saying of history repeats itself. It is important to read literature of the past because it gives us a glimpse into peoples’ opinions, struggles, and expectations in the culture that they live in. If it is something that we do not want to repeat, from violent examples of genocides to social positions such as women being expected to perform certain duties, then we must be aware of what caused these to occur in the first place. Once we are aware then we can analyze our own lives and the world around us and see if we are heading towards this or away. Similarly, simply because it is set in the United States does not mean that it only applies to us. There are many cultures around the world where duties are obviously separated by sex. Sometimes it is opposed by the people there, but sometimes it is not. For example, in many indigenous groups the women weave, collect and raise children while the men farm, hunt, and are heads of households. As a western society we often see this as inherently bad, but they may not see it in the same way. It is important to be aware of other opinions on social standings and not jump to conclusions that they are innately old-fashioned and primitive because other peoples’ cultures are determined by their beliefs and experiences, not ours.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with what you've said. The role of women is definitely made explicit by Alcott throughout the novel. We have to look more subtlety to see the roles that men play in society. However, I would almost argue that by downplaying these roles, Alcott is perhaps making a statement that women's roles are more important than people of the time believed. This isn't to say she was so radical for the time to think that the woman's role was more important than the man's, but perhaps she is suggesting a more equal model. As Jessica mentioned, we can see this a lot through the portrayal of Marmee and Mr. March. Marmee is the girls' conscience, and though they clearly love and respect their father, Mr. March is rarely mentioned. It seems almost that Marmee is the head of the household rather than her husband. This is definitely a deliberate choice of Alcott's - to choose not to focus on what Mr. March has done for his family - in order to shift a traditionally held view of the time.
ReplyDeleteAnd like many people have said before me, I believe there is still a lot we can learn from the novel about society. Gender roles are not nearly as far away from Alcott's time as we want to believe. Yes, women in the U.S. are now able to pursue a career but there are still barriers to that. Women in fields such as science, business, and law all face male-dominated atmospheres which make for a competitive and sometimes discouraging experience. Likewise, I think the pay gap in these and other fields speaks for itself. I think we also underestimate how much women are still pressured to be at the center of the home. Even when they work outside the home, mothers are still generally expected to be the ones who care for their children when sick or cook for the family. While better than Alcott's time for sure, inequality between men and women in the home is still prominent.
I agree with your thoughts, and I even think you could expand it to the social expectations of men and women in the novel. For example, at one point Jo was running around with Laurie in a childish manner when Meg passed by “looking particularly lady-like” and disapprovingly asking: “‘You have been running, Jo; how could you? When will you stop such romping ways?’” depicting that men in society were allowed to be goofy and immature, but women must always be proper, lady-like, and mature little women (152-153). This also demonstrates the differing definitions of independence in relation to men and women, as men may truly do as they please while women must follow societal guidelines at all times. The social expectations can also be seen in the views that men held of women during that time period as they saw women as lesser. Laurie exemplified that when Amy had lectured him, which he refused to own the good it did him long after. Alcott stated that “when women are the advisors, the lords of creation don’t take the advice till they have persuaded themselves that it is just what they intended to do; then they act upon it, and, if it succeeds, they give the weaker vessel half the credit of it; if it fails, they generously give her the whole” implying that men believe womens’ ideas and beliefs are less than those of men and should be taken with a grain of salt (420). Likewise, this depicts how men will never fully credit a women for her idea, possibly due to their belief that they are not worthy of such praise or their disbelief that the woman was able to come up with such an idea on her own, thus why they must convince themselves it was their own idea before acting upon it.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed this theme while reading the novel however, I think it’s important to consider that the roles of the men and women in Little Women are reflective of the time period. The roles of the men and women in this novel would not have been questioned as it is what would have been expected of them to do. For example, Mrs. March stays home to raise her daughters and take care of the home while Mr. March is off fighting in the Civil War. During this time, it was very common for husbands and sons to leave their families to go fight in the war while the wives and children remained at home. Additionally, the two eldest March sisters, Jo and Meg, had jobs in the first half of the novel that would have been considered ordinary for women in this time period. Jo worked and looked after Aunt March and Meg took care of four young children.
ReplyDeleteWhile Jo’s jobs throughout the novel, including being a governess and a writer, do not venture outside of standard gender norms, it is notable to acknowledge that she does not stand up to the standard expectations of femininity and displays masculine traits throughout the novel. This is an interesting component to the character and I think it was Alcott’s intention for Jo to stand out from the rest of the March sisters as well as peak the reader’s interest in her unordinary character.