Body/Sexuality Blog Assignment

Sarah Jackson

WST 3015

February 17, 2010

Nina Perez

Little Women, Big Feminists

Little Women is a film based on a novel by Louisa May Alcott. The film follows Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March; four vivacious girls growing up in post civil war America. Abigail Adams, along with other early feminists, tried to better the position of women during the constitutional beginnings of the United States of America when she wrote to her husband to "[r]emember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands..." (Seely 93). But basic American privileges were still denied to women on the sole basis of their sex for many generations. This film brings up many feminist issues because it focuses on the trials and tribulations in these four young women's lives. The March women go against societal norms concerning a woman's body and sex by focusing on education rather than looks and material possessions.

Education is something that is emphasized and given value in the March home. Even though women were not seen as intellectual creatures during the late 1800s, Marmee, the March girls' mother, still saw the importance of educating her daughters. In one scene, Amy is struck by her teacher, Mr. Davis, for hiding limes in her desk. Amy is "perfectly desolated" by the loss of her fashionable limes to which Marmee replies: "I'm not sorry you lost them...You are more intent on reshaping your dear little nose than in fashioning your character," ("Little Women Part 3"). Marmee is raising her daughters to appreciate their character more than trends and material things. Marmee then withdraws Amy from Mr. Davis' school but Amy is still expected to study and learn at home. Jo is put in charge of Amy's studies and later in the film you see that she is still studying algebra and Latin, showing the March family's view on the importance of educating women. The film also shows that although Laurie, the March's neighbor, is capable of going to college because of his gender and his social class, it is Jo who desires to go to college and further her education. Laurie is always shown to be flighty and uninterested in learning. He is distracted during his lessons but because he is a man of the upper class, he is able, and expected, to attend college. Even after he attends Harvard University, Laurie spends his time in Europe wasting his time at parties and with women while Jo goes on to pursue her writing career without formal education. Jo would do anything (even "commit murder") to have the opportunity to go to college. She is interested in literature and writing but is unable to attend college because of her gender.

Marmee works to help her daughters break the generalized expectations of women. When Meg goes to a friend's party and is dressed-up beforehand by the women there, she is given a great deal of attention by the men at the party. She later admits that, although she was obviously uncomfortable in the new, fashionable dress, she enjoyed the attention and praise it got her. Marmee makes a point by saying "I only care what you think of yourself. If you feel your value lies in being merely decorative I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that's all that you really are. Time erodes all such beauty. But what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind and your humor, your kindness, and your moral courage. These are the things I cherish so in you," ("Little Women Part 5"). All of this relates back to issues of today concerning women's "tendency to view one's body from the outside in- regarding physical attractiveness, sex appeal, measurements, and weight as more central to one's physical identity than health, strength, energy level, coordination, or fitness..." (Kilbourne 233). Marmee makes a point that feminists today try to make to all women. She attempts to teach her daughter to value their minds and personalities over their outward beauty and possessions.

Marmee works to raise her daughters against the norms of society by promoting in them a sense of worth that goes beyond material and fashionable things. She seeks to educate them and instill in them a realization that there is more to them than just their looks. All of these are lessons that women still struggle with today.

Works Cited:

Kilbourne, Jean. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. Fifth Edition. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2010. Print.

"Little Women Movie." little_women.jpg. Web. 16 Feb 2010. .

"Little Women Parts 1-11." YouTube. Web. 16 Feb 2010. <>.

Seely, Megan. Fight Like a Girl: How to be a Fearless Feminist. New York: New York University Press, 2007. Print.