Abstract:

Little Women is a classic literary work written by American writer Louisa May Alcott. This novel has been very popular for many years, exerting a far-reaching influence on the readers from generation to generation.  It has been successfully adapted into movies on several occasions, which also confirms the unique charm of the novel. Little Women was set in a New England town during the American Civil War. The novel, which is an autobiographical novel about family ethics, describes the daily life of an ordinary family with four daughters. Aiming at analyzing the growth progress of the Marches’ girls in Little Women and exploring Louisa May Alcott’s concept of feminism, this paper is written respectively from three perspectives—love, independence and equality to analyze Alcott’s feminism. Besides, the paper will further study the practical significance of Alcott’s feminism for modern women.

Key words: Little Women; Alcott; Feminism; Love; Independence; Equality

摘要：

《小妇人》是由美国作家路易莎·梅·奥尔柯特创作的经典文学著作，多年来一直备受广大读者的喜爱，也曾多次被搬上荧屏，影响深远，证实了该小说的独特魅力。小说以19世纪美国南北战争时期的新英格兰小镇为背景，描写了一个普通家庭的日常生活与四个女儿的成长历程，是一部带有自传色彩的家庭伦理小说。本论文以《小妇人》为视角，通过分析马奇家四姐妹的成长经历，阐述奥尔科特的女性主义观点。这些观点在马奇家四姐妹身上都有体现。本文从爱情，独立自主，平等三个角度分析奥尔科特的女性主义，并进一步分析了奥尔科特女性主义对于鼓舞现代女性的现实意义。

关键词：《小妇人》 ；奥尔科特；女性主义；爱情；独立；平等

1 Introduction
Published in 1868, Little Women was Louisa May Alcott’s most famous novel. The story concerns the lives and loves of four sisters growing up during American Civil War. It is based on Alcott’s own experiences as a girl with her three sisters, Anna, May, and Elizabeth. Many of the stories in the book are drawn from Alcott’s real life. Vivid characters and touching plots make Little Women widely popular among readers. Each girl has their own growth experiences, temperament and dreams. Through the abundant stories of the four sisters, readers can feel positive force and the true love in the world. Meanwhile, Alcott’s ideas of true love, gender equality and women’s independence have been fully reflected and interpreted in Little Women.
With a view to Louisa May Alcott’s personal experience and the social background of the novel, this paper will analyze the four girls’ growth progress to expound Alcott’s feminism from three perspectives—true love, independence and gender equality.