Domesticity in Little Women by Gavin Budge https://padlet.com/Gavin_Budge/7xudbk01ktcq Logbook discussions en-us 2016-11-14 06:24:39 UTC 2025-12-14 16:46:39 UTC hello@padlet.com Jo's "masculinity' Gavin_Budge https://padlet.com/Gavin_Budge/7xudbk01ktcq/wish/137271947 The two main contrasts to the stereotypical gender types of the 19th Century are seen in the characters of Jo and Laurie.

Jo is the second eldest of the four March sisters and considerably the more masculine one. Her appearance alone does not create the image of a conventional female character. Her hair is reserved in a bun and her ‘round shoulders…big hands and feet’[1] make her clumsy and of course her Christian name of Josephine is shortened by choice to the male name, Jo.
]]> 2016-11-14 06:28:15 UTC https://padlet.com/Gavin_Budge/7xudbk01ktcq/wish/137271947 Character and marriage Gavin_Budge https://padlet.com/Gavin_Budge/7xudbk01ktcq/wish/137272184 As well as suggesting religion as a means of controlling one’s temper, Jo’s mother also emphasises the way in which her husband has also helped to greatly curb her own anger. By emphasising the role of her husband, Jo’s mother is arguably presenting the idea of marriage as a means of bettering one’s character, perhaps even suggesting that marriage is a necessity in life in order to become a well-rounded individual. ]]> 2016-11-14 06:31:21 UTC https://padlet.com/Gavin_Budge/7xudbk01ktcq/wish/137272184 Repression of female identity Gavin_Budge https://padlet.com/Gavin_Budge/7xudbk01ktcq/wish/137272351 When Jo has a conversation with her mother, you can really see how women are expected to behave in society [...] But these expectations restrict women from expressing and fulfilling their true identity; they hide they’re feelings and parts of themselves in order to fit into this mold created by a patriarchal society. I believe Jo’s anger toward her sister is justified, but it’s her conversation with her mother that bothers me because she is essentially telling her daughter to learn to control herself and her feelings instead of embracing them and dealing with them accordingly.]]> 2016-11-14 06:33:29 UTC https://padlet.com/Gavin_Budge/7xudbk01ktcq/wish/137272351 Female anger as normal Gavin_Budge https://padlet.com/Gavin_Budge/7xudbk01ktcq/wish/137272657 When Jo speaks to Marmee about her anger, Marmee explains that she too gets angry but she has ‘been trying to cure it for forty years’ and has only just ‘succeeded in controlling it.’7 This suggests that Alcott is portraying female anger as being normal; women are human and feel a range of emotions. For women to have spent their lives in the home, trying to represent the ‘angel in the house’ and be a good wife and mother would have led to them feeling repressed; how they felt inside was not allowed to be displayed outside for everyone to see. ]]> 2016-11-14 06:37:00 UTC https://padlet.com/Gavin_Budge/7xudbk01ktcq/wish/137272657 Education and personal development Gavin_Budge https://padlet.com/Gavin_Budge/7xudbk01ktcq/wish/137273409 Harriet Martineau puts forth an interesting argument proclaiming that adults must allow young people to ‘win their own experience’ and the ability to do so, would allow youngsters to find characters for themselves. Parents are advised to just witness and have patience when raising their children and, Mrs March is an excellent example of a parent showing admirable patience. [...]Her children’s exasperated response of learning their lesson, suggests that her ability to allow them to learn for themselves, rather than preventing them, was a successful method of teaching.]]> 2016-11-14 06:47:45 UTC https://padlet.com/Gavin_Budge/7xudbk01ktcq/wish/137273409