In Louisa May Alcott's Little Women the importance of family is touched upon in every chapter. Early in the novel the four sisters constantly mess up and learn lessons that strengthen their sisterly bond. They use each other a role models and learn to respect one another more and more the older they get. Jo's relationship with the meaning of family is one that she grapples with for the majority of the book. As she gets older, Jo realizes that a family cannot stay the same and will continue to grow and change even if she doesn't.
As a young teenager, Jo doesn't like the idea of her sisters going out to live their own lives. Jo is boyish and interested only in her stories and work. She doesn't see the appeal of marriage and is upset when her sisters begin to pursue it. This is most obvious when it comes to Meg's relationship with John. When Laurie tells Jo that he saw John with Meg's missing glove she responds saying, "I am disgusted, and wish you hadn't told me" (152). She is revolted at the "idea of anyone coming to take Meg away" and breaking up her family as she knows it. Being raised by loving parents has made Jo appreciate her family as it is in the moment and she thinks that if her sisters were to leave and get married, everything would be ruined. Maybe this is why she adores Beth because she has no intentions of leaving the family and doing something for herself. Jo can still find comfort in her idea of family when Beth is alive.
When Beth dies, Jo is struck with an intense loneliness and feeling of abandonment. With Meg married and Amy abroad, the family that Jo always relied on isn't there for her. This is the first time where she realizes that she must make a family of her own to avoid being left behind. When word of Amy and Laurie's engagement returns, Jo admits that she is lonely and that she would've said yes to Laurie if he had asked to be with her again because she "cares more to be loved, than when he went away" (437). Jo knows that if she wants to feel the same love that she felt when growing up, she must go out and find it which she eventually does in Mr. Bhaer. By the end of the book, Jo has a little family of her own and feels happy in the life she created. This is something that 15 year old Jo would've never believed let alone be content with.
I find your take on Jo’s relationship with Beth to be really interesting. I never considered that part of the reason why they are so close may lie in Jo’s desire for their family to remain stagnant. For much of the novel, Jo is so unwilling to accept the fact that family dynamics change as people get older and she often admits to wishing that they could all just stay the way they are. Since Beth is essentially the perfect embodiment of that wish, it makes sense that Jo would enjoy being around her, sometimes more so than her other sisters.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about their relationship in this way, I think Jo’s reaction to and acceptance of Beth’s confession on their trip to the beach really shows how her thinking has changed. While she is very distraught by her sister’s looming death, Jo does not become desperate to save her in any way she can. She realizes that the future brings change and there is nothing she can do to stop it. I believe that the Jo we met at the beginning of the novel would never have considered the possibility of being okay with Beth’s death, yet it is clear that at some point she has come to accept the inevitability of change.
I enjoyed reading your post because I can very much relate to Jo’s perspective and outlook on family life and the importance of staying together as one family unit. I also come from a big family, having four sisters along with my mom and dad. I am right in the middle of the five of us siblings, and I have always wanted everyone to stay together since I enjoyed every one of us being happy and healthy in the same place. In Little Women, the emphasis on family and growing together is very much important to Alcott. The morals of Alcott in terms of loving and passionate work that point to family are present throughout the novel. The meaning of family for Jo in the novel is about being together, supporting one another, helping each other through the stages in life, and having people around you to love you.
ReplyDeleteYou also made a great point about the relationship between Beth and Jo. Through their relationship, it reveals what Jo really cares about in life. Jo especially loved Beth because she lived for her family just like Jo wanted to. Jo felt like she could rely on Beth to be on the same page as her, loving and caring for their family, while she was still alive. However, Jo is sad about both the death of her dear sister but also the truth about each sister going off to live their own lives and start their own families now. This is a turning point in the novel for both reasons. Jo comes to terms with the reality that families grow, which does set her on the path of pursuing a marriage like her sisters, because she values the idea of a close family.