“So Contrary and Provoking”: Love in Louisa May Alcott’s An Old-Fashioned Girl (1869)
Although Louisa May Alcott’s An Old-Fashioned Girl (1869) promotes conventional gender expectations and traditional values, at the same time it depicts heterosexual marriage as mercenary and dispassionate. It proposes women’s choice to become self-sustaining as a positive alternative to marriage. Th...
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| Publicat a: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ejas, |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Idioma: | Anglais |
| Publicat: |
European journal of American studies
2022
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| Accés en línia: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Sumari: | Although Louisa May Alcott’s An Old-Fashioned Girl (1869) promotes conventional gender expectations and traditional values, at the same time it depicts heterosexual marriage as mercenary and dispassionate. It proposes women’s choice to become self-sustaining as a positive alternative to marriage. Thus, the narrative seems to destabilize the same conventionality it promotes: “spinsterhood,” independent career women, and same-gender affection all appear in a positive light. Beyond Alcott’s conventional plot, the book proposes some progressive, provocative, and ambiguous scenarios the unveiling of which requires the readers’ collaboration. |
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