So Contrary and Provoking
Love in Louisa May Alcott’s An Old-Fashioned Girl (1869)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6187581 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sirpa Saleniu (0000-0003-1051-2483, University of Eastern Finland, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2022-10-26 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Journal of American Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1991-9336 • E-ISSN: 1991-9336 |
| Publisher | OpenEdition (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.4000/ejas.18637 |
| OpenAlex | W4308106313 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
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
Art · Developmental psychology · Girl · Literature · Psychoanalysis · Fashion and Cultural Textiles · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · History · Psychology
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |