Wonder Woman of the Week: Louisa May Alcott

The spotlight for this week is a classic American author who wrote one of the most well-known pieces of American fiction still read by millions today. But she is not only famous for the fictional heroines of her books. The Wonder Woman this week was a hero in her own right and was spirited beyond the norm for women in American society. Through her powerful use of writing and her own passion for, this novelist inspired- and continues to inspire- budding young authors in the United States today. The Wonder Woman of the Week is Louisa May Alcott.

Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1832 as the daughter of the famous Amos Bronson Alcott. Young Louisa spent her childhood learning from her father’s transcendentalist friends which included Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Theodor Parker. As a young adult, Alcott worked several small jobs from domestic servant to teacher across New England, but when the US Civil War broke out in 1861, Alcott left New England for Washington DC to work as a nurse. [1]

The hospital nurse from New England likely had a significant role during the Civil War since much of her early writing featured the stories of dime-novel detectives and Civil War spies. Louisa May Alcott’s pulp fiction writing was hardly what made her famous though. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Alcott took to a new genre of storytelling- and with this new style came Little Women. The main characters from this novel- the March family- were an impoverished family of farmers living in poverty largely inspired by Alcott’s real-life upbringing. But while Alcott longed for a day when her family would never need to worry about food again, the March family from her book became famous for their heroic optimism. [2]

Part of the success of Little Women came from its core feminist heart. Louisa May Alcott was an avid activist for women’s rights and is often cited as one of the main members of the First Wave Feminist Movement. In her own life, Alcott saw marriage in her time as a way to keep women enslaved to a patriarchal economy, and Alcott’s characters reflected these sentiments in Little Women. [2]

Louisa May Alcott did not only inspire young women of her time through her novel. In 1867, Alcott accepted a job as editor for a girl’s magazine called Merry Museum- through which she would eventually publish Little Women in two parts. Alcott continued to publish novels almost once per year and included An Old Fashioned Girl, Little Men, Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom, and Jo’s Boys. Alcott’s writing also included pieces for the Women’s Suffrage magazine Woman’s Journal which would publish her articles for decades. [3]

Through her novels and magazine editorials, author Louisa May Alcott inspired women in her generation to take to the cause of women’s rights and to challenge the status of women in American society. As a key member of the First Wave Feminist Movement, Alcott helped gain the right to vote for American Women. Along with this triumph, Alcott’s work continues to inspire women across the world today to challenge gender roles in education and employment as well as the role of women in the home.

“Louisa May Alcott Biography.” Biography.com. A&E Television; nd. Web. 12 April 2017.

“Alcott: ‘Not The Little Woman You Thought She Was.’” American Lives. National Public Radio; 28 December 2009. Web. 12 April 2017.

“Louisa May Alcott.” National Women’s History Museum; nd. Web. 12 April 2017.