Louisa May Alcott Transcendentalism

Louisa May Alcott

(Biography and Literary analysis) Louisa May Alcott was a woman who wrote many popular books in her life. In her lifetime, she wrote over thirty books. Her greatest work, Little Women, is continually read even by young girls today. Another one of her greatest stories, An old fashioned girl, is an inspiration for numerous young girls to be themselves and be strong. Louisa May Alcott wrote about many things in her stories, including the popular movement, transcendentalism. Born on November 29, 1832, in Germantown, Pennsylvania, Alcott was one of four sisters, like the sisters in her book. Her sisters’ names were: Anna, Elizabeth, and Abagail May, or, May. Alcott’s sisters were the inspiration for the characters in some of

Alcott’s other masterpiece novels, An old fashioned girl, does not have quite as much transcendentalism as Little Women, but it still has some. Alcott portrayed transcendentalism in this book by making her main character a nonconformist to the popular fashion trend of the day. While this could be thought of as a personal style preference, Alcott’s strong background in feminism suggests that it is deeper than just style. Alcott’s main character, Polly, stated in the book, “The emerging women… will be strong minded, strong hearted, strong souled, and strong bodied… strength and beauty must go together” (An old fashioned girl 205). Back in the time that Alcott was writing feminism was a big topic for her and for many female authors. Women that wanted to write were not allowed to because it was considered a man’s occupation this is why many female authors of her time had to revert to pen names. Women of her time also did not have the rights that people do today. Women were not allowed to vote until, “August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted American women the right to vote”

In Proverbs 31: 10- 12 “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life” (Bible). The Bible is talking about being a strong, hard working woman. Ms. Alcott’s characters were not going against what the Bible says a woman should be. They all loved their family and worked hard for them. Louisa May Alcott was a transcendentalist along with many of her famous friends like Thoreau and Emerson. She had an eventful life of taking care of her family and working towards suffrage. Her many books tell of the stories from her childhood and some hard times that she really went through. “Alcott was a best-selling novelist of the late 1800s, and many of her works, most notably Little Women, remain popular today” (Biography). Her stories influenced many young girls of her day and continue to influence more