During the Civil War period, women in the United States had few rights but many expectations placed on them. Women could not own land, vote, or sell property. Instead, society expected them to take care of their families by cooking and cleaning, with little to no say in the family's finances and the political battles taking place around them. During this period, many women also began working long hours in factories to support their families and in various war efforts in addition to their domestic roles. In Little Women, Louisa May Alcott used four sisters based on herself and her own sisters to demonstrate the gender roles and expectations of many nineteenth-century girls on the brink of womanhood during and after the Civil War. She showed how, although women knew their expected role in society, they often took a feminist approach and disagreed with society's limitations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay All of the female characters in Little Women have distinct personalities and interests similar to many women in that time period. Since their family has recently lost most of their money, the sisters try to make do with the little they have. With their father at war, their highly religious mother, Marmee, takes care of the girls. As her role as a mother requires, Marmee exemplifies the character of a kind and collected woman. She behaves in a manner consistent with how society expected women to act in the antebellum era, before the Civil War. Her daughters, however, begin to display characteristics of post-war women who have embraced independence and desire a life outside of the domestic. The article “Women in Antebellum America” states that “women and men had very clear and separate roles based on their gender, with the common belief that the differences between male and female were natural and essential. Women were expected to be religiously pious, morally pure, and physically delicate. They were taught to obey their husbands and had to adhere to the coverture system, which stripped married women of all their civil identity” (par. 2). In Little Women, Marmee demonstrates just this. Throughout the novel, she remains cheerful and maternal as she models religion and the importance of being domestic to her daughters. Although Marmee never shows it, she reveals that she has a temper to hide when she comforts her daughter after an outburst. Marmee says, “I am angry almost every day of my life, Jo, but I have learned not to show it, and I still hope to learn not to feel it, though it may take another forty years to do so” (107) ). Marmee's anger suggests that she is unhappy with what society requires her to be, but she knows she has no choice but to conform and behave like a polite, pleasant woman. Marmee is no different than many women of the time desired. for independence from their boring domestic roles and lack of rights. While some women were known to support suffrage movements, the majority held their tongues and continued to be seen as the society of good wives who encouraged them to be good wives and housekeepers (Women in Antebellum America, par. 2) . By admitting her ongoing internal anger, Marmee demonstrates that even the best wife may have been able to mask her true thoughts about her role in the home. the four sisters have different personalities and Jo, a middle sister, is the outspoken tomboy. Jo, who shortened her name from the more feminine Josephine, is the sisterwho protests more aggressively against pre-war era expectations of girls. A self-proclaimed “family man” when her father is absent, Jo has no patience for the vain interests of the other women in her family. With her strong feminist beliefs, Jo hates the idea of ​​marriage and desires to be a successful writer. Alcott used Jo to challenge specific gender roles determined by society in many different ways. One way he did this was by making Jo behave in exactly the opposite way of the girls. For example, Amy, the youngest sister, criticizes Jo for constantly using slang words. In response to this, Jo starts whistling. Amy says, “Don't do it, Jo. It's so childish!” Jo responds that that's why she does it, and then refers to her sister as a "niminy-piminy chit" (5). Jo refuses to conform to her sisters' ladylike behavior and would rather be a boy than follow the rigid expectations of young women. She once again confirms her dislike of all things feminine by saying, “It's bad enough being a girl, anyway, when I like boys' games, work, and good manners! I can't get over the disappointment of not being a boy. And it's worse than ever now, because I'm dying to go and fight with Dad. And I can just stay at home and knit, like an old lady!" (6). Jo protests against the role of the female gender enough to want to fight in the war, an activity reserved exclusively for men. Jo's disagreement with society's expectations of women continues in Little Women as she challenges the belief that women shouldn't do men's work. Furthermore, unlike most women who know how to hide their temper, Jo is consistently outspoken and outspoken her anger at those around her with no desire to be known as a sweet, pleasant woman. As Jane Tompkins argues, "American women simply could not... [rebel] the conditions of their lives because they had no material means. of escape or opposition. They had to stay and submit" (qtd. in Parille 34). The tight constraints other women felt from society did not apply to Jo, who got away with her rebellion against gender roles and expectations by reclaiming the tomboy label Jo fails in her feminine duty by rejecting the marriage proposal of her wealthy neighbor, Laurie, and claims to see the man in love only as a friend. After Laurie declares how long she has loved Jo, she rejects the practical marriage that most financially unstable women of her time would have greeted without a second thought by saying, slightly embarrassed, that, “I wanted to spare you this. I thought you would understand..." (479). The obligation to marry a suitable, age-appropriate man after years of poverty did not interest Jo. Instead, she would rather remain poor and unmarried than accept the rules of a man of who she was not in love with. Jo's refusal to marry Laurie again demonstrates her lack of desire to conform to the societal norm that would encourage a woman to marry a man to increase her social status and wealth. Jo seeks true love or not love at all. While Alcott highlighted the rejection of gender roles through Jo, he demonstrated perfect examples of nineteenth-century women through his sisters Meg, for example, considers Jo's behavior incredibly improper housewife by marrying the man she loves and starts having children, just as society expects her to be. She is married, has children and becomes a housewife without questioning the predetermined gender role of women. 2014.