Changes in femininity in Little Women (2019)

Abstract

Women’s power over their fate was strictly limited in Victorian America. Young girls were brought up to be perfect housewives and home angels. Moreover, they were convinced that the private sphere was the limit of their dreams. Louisa May Alcott challenged social norms by introducing the readers to the life of the women of the March family, whose ambitions went far beyond the standards of that time. The questions raised in the book have not been solved yet, therefore six new film adaptations of Little Women appeared on the screen, each trying to find resolutions for problems raised by Louisa May Alcott. In my thesis, I focus on Greta Gerwig’s 2019 film version of Little Women. I aim to scrutinize the influence of the Civil War on the expectations of femininity by examining the attitude toward cultural norms of Marmee – a member of an older generation and Jo – a wartime child.