Abstract

    The novel Little Woman was written by American Author Louisa May Alcott, which was in the background of American Civil War and was based on a completely true story of Louisa May Alcott’s own life. Since it was published in 1868, it has impressed thousands of teenager readers all over the world. The story revolves around four March sisters’ growth. It praises eternal friendship and love, showing scenes of warmth and the joy of life. It has inspired young generations, especially females, to enterprise and pursue their happiness bravely. This paper aims to adopt the feminist perspective to analyze the characters in the novel, in order to argue that the novelist praises the independent spirit in women. The oldest sister Meg is beautiful and stable. The second sister Jo is bright and brilliant. Beth is quiet and sweet. Little sister Amy is smart. They go through various difficulties in their lives, but they accept the challenges with sincerely optimistic minds, and become true fair ladies.

Key Words: feminism  independent spirit  Little Women

摘  要

    美国作家路易莎•梅•奥尔科特的《小妇人》，以南北战争为背景，以自己童年时代生活周遭的人物为背景的故事。自1868年出版后风靡全世界，打动了无数青年读者的心。故事围绕着马奇四姐妹的成长遭遇，歌颂了永恒的友谊与爱情，呈现出一幕幕温馨和乐的生活景象，激励着一代又一代青年女性不断进取，勇敢追求幸福。论文旨在采用女性主义视角对小说中的人物进行分析解读，以此论证作者在该著作中对女性独立精神的赞扬。《小妇人》中大姐梅格标致稳重，二姐乔爽朗有才气，老三贝丝文静内向充满爱心，小妹艾美聪明伶俐，虽然历经生活中的各种困难挫折，但是马奇家的姐妹们用真诚乐观的心态勇敢接受挑战，在一次次的成长中，四姐妹最后都成为了真正的窈窕淑女。

关键词：女性主义 独立精神 《小妇人》

1 Introduction
Louisa May Alcott is one of the most distinguished American writers in the literary world. Louisa May Alcott and her works have been studied by her peers and later generations. In the novel, the four girls go through all kinds of problems, which most females will face in their lives. Numerous scholars have studied Little Women from the perspective of feminism. This thesis will study the independent spirit of these four girls in their growth and progress.