Timelessness

The last chapter of the novel is where I really noticed Louisa May Alcott’s tendency to gloss over current events and some aspects of American culture at the time. In class we discussed how this novel seems to take place outside any particular time, and perhaps part of the timelessness of this novel is due to the fact that it does not dwell on subject matter outside of the lives of the little women. In a class discussion we mentioned that Alcott never states that the war Mr. March is fighting in, and the March’s never discuss their stances on slavery and civil rights but we are led to believe that they are anti-slavery.

I really begin thinking about her decision to omit current events and certain important aspects of American culture at the time in the last chapter of the novel. Alcott writes, “…and a merry little quadroon, who could not be taken in elsewhere, but who was welcome to the “Bhaer-garten,” though some people predicted that his admission would ruin the school.” (512) A quadroon is someone who is a quarter black and three-quarters white. American society at the time operated under the “one-drop rule”, meaning if you had a drop of black blood in your ancestry you were considered black, regardless if you looked black or not. We all know that Civil War was happening at the time and that black people were certainly not considered equal under the law; but why did Alcott choose to gloss over cultural details. It’s as if the March’s live in an odd bubble, they are well integrated into society, all well-read and intelligent, but at the same time seem removed from their society.

Jo and Amy are arguably the most worldly of the four sisters, in distinctly different ways. Jo is a witty young women, a writer working to support her family and live for her own satisfaction; and Amy is well bred, well traveled, politely mannered, and somewhat of a socialite. However, both Jo and Amy seem to be a bit naïve about certain things, for Jo its love and her surrounding world, in one chapter she seeks inspiration outside of her own head, and searches through newspapers and books looking to the larger world of which she knows little about. Amy is charming, flirty, multi-lingual and witty but seems to know little about anything else. While the lack of outside opinions and knowledge doesn’t harm the characters or novel at all; I wonder why Alcott chose to do this. Perhaps by barely mentioning slavery and the Civil War, she wanted to reduce any controversy that could surround her views and sell her book; or maybe she felt like her story was strong enough to withstand having a set cultural place in time.