The Absent Male in Little Women
"No gentlemen were admitted" writes Louisa May Alcott in Little Women to describe the all-female private revue the March sisters perform. And as the novel progresses, one cannot help but wonder if this same sentiment does indeed echo throughout the novel, as male characters are conspicuously absent while all the pivotal parts are played by the women characters. This gender imbalance -- in that there are more female characters than male in Little Women -- is especially obvious when male authority figures such as Mr March and Mr Lawrence are markedly absent for most of the novel. When they do appear, they are in need of love and care from the women. Mr Lawrence, who is nursing a broken heart over the death of his daughter, is healed by Beth's gentle manners, while Mr March's broken constitution is nursed back to health by his loving wife and daughters. The only male character who appears prominently in Little Women is Laurie, who, although the richest and most eligible bachelor for miles, is drawn to the motherly smile and warmth of the little cottage, despite the luxuries of his mansion next door. John Brooke, Laurieıs tutor and Megıs husband, too, is drawn to the
In all her novels, the male characters disappoint -- in one way or the other. The women are thus forced to take on varied roles in order to provide materially and emotionally for the family. He handed over the token that he was paid to Alcott with the careless remark: ³Well, Louisa, thereıs little money, but I had a great time and was asked to come again. It is also Aunt March's will which enables Jo and Professor Friedrich Bhaer to set up home in Plumfield. On the contrary, they have to seek the means to bring him home after he is stricken ill while at war, and following that, help him regain his health. With the absence of a father in the house, womanhood -- and in particular, motherhood -- is not obscured by the patriachal values which dominate our culture. This is an about turn for Amy who had originally contemplated marrying Fred Vaughn as he is rich. Is it by chance, or is premeditation, that most of Alcottıs novels feature an absent father? And when he does reappear, he is very often silent, ill or injured. Furthermore, Alcott is not able to describe a situation where love is emoted expressively from men. But in keeping with the period that she lived in, such independence is not an alternative to domesticity, but as a necessary precondition to its success. She and her four daughters survive without a husband and father to provide for them. Once he came back with a new scarf and a dollar in his pocket to a hungry family waiting for the money to buy some much needed bread. "That's my contribution towards making Father comfortable, and bringing him home!" "My dear, where did you get it? Twenty-five dollars? Jo, I hope you haven't done anything rash?" "No, it's mine honestly; I didn't beg, borrow, or steal it. But he was not very successful in that area. Like Marmee, Alcott would never dream of begging her relatives for money.
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Acceptance Essays
