Little Women Reflection

At this point it is pretty clear that the most consistent and predominant theme throughout "Little Women" is women's struggle between their family duties and individuality. In many instances, we see that the the pursuit of individuality by some of the March girls (Jo and Amy) in particular are heavily restrained by their family obligations. This is especially true for this time period when men were dutifully serving the country at war. While Amy and jo initially attempt to break away from the stereotypes that society at this time placed on all women, they eventually found themselves conforming to the norm by marrying and settling in to more traditional lifestyles. With that said, I believe that there has really not been much change in gendered roles from then to now. Of course women are publicly regarded more as equals and take on many of the same roles that men do, but there are still a vast majority of women who eventually fill the traditional mold. The difference is that the adherence to this traditional role may spring up later in the female life, being that most people today tend to express their individualism during the college years and even through the mid twenties to earl thirties. Eventually, however, women naturally fill their familial duties when they marry and have children.