Little Women in America

1
Little Women in America

• English 505
• Dr. Roggenkamp

2
Mid- to Late-19th Century Publishing Trends for
Children

• Realismstories set firmly in real world
  (e.g. didactic fiction, school stories, domestic
  tales, most adventure novels)
• Fantasticstories involving some impossible
  thing (e.g. talking animals
• or toys, magical events,
• nonsense)
• Englishfantastic
• Americanrealistic
• Image Illustration from Susan Warners 1850
• blockbuster The Wide, Wide World,
  illustrated by
• Frederick Dielman in 1892

3
Childrens Lit in America A Sketch

• Colonial Era children born with depravity
  childhood time to prepare for adult religious
  discernment
• Sample titles
• Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes . . . Drawn Out
  of the Breasts of Both Testaments for their Souls
  Nourishment (John Cotton, 1656)
• A Token for Children, Being an Exact Account of
  the Conversion, Holy and Exemplary Lives, and
  Joyful Deaths of Several Young Children (James
  Janeway, 1700).

4
Childrens Lit in America A Sketch

• 18th Century Exchange religious teaching for
  teaching of more secularized virtuesself-sacrific
  e, republicanism, honesty, dependability,
  charity, thrift
• As in England, rise of didactic literature
• Early 19th Century Rise of Sunday School
  movement, which produced thousands of
  tractshighly idealized children who are
  converted to Christianity and good citizenship
• Message those who strove for improvement,
  whether moral, spiritual, or material, would
  probably be successful (Gail Murray 37).

5
Literature for Children Just Say No to Novels!

• Not a strong fictional tradition until 19th
  century
• Puritan roots of American publishing
  fictionalizing is sinful, a lielikewise fairy
  tales
• Novel-reading (esp. by young) leads to depravity,
  corruption, vice, licentious riot, and senseless
  revolution
• Fails to nurture LOGIC and REASON
• 18th century and even early 19th novels
  condemned by press, pulpit, educators,
  presidents, doctors, etc.
• First U.S. authored novel 1789, The Power of
  Sympathy (William Hill Brown)

6
Just Say No!

• A great obstacle to good education is the
  inordinate passion prevalent for novels, and the
  time lost in that reading which should be
  instructively employed. When this poison infects
  the mind, it destroys its tone and revolts it
  against wholesome reading. Reason and fact,
  plain and unadorned, are rejected. Nothing can
  engage attention unless dressed in all the
  figments of fancy . . . . The result is a bloated
  imagination, sickly judgment, and disgust towards
  all the real business of life.
• (Thomas Jefferson)

7
Breakthrough of Domestic Fiction

• Out of Sunday School tradition emerges more
  acceptable fiction for children (girls in
  particular) domestic fiction (mid 19th century)
• Enshrine home and family as place of
  character-building and moral reformation
• Women/girls as superior moral forceguide men to
  reformed character
• Model piety, charity, comfort, self-sacrifice,
  gentility, innocence, etc.
• Twin ideals of home and Jesus
• Strong didactic function
• Image Illustration by May Alcott for
  first edition, Little Women

8
Concord, Massachusetts, 1850
9
Alcott HomesConcord, Mass

• Left The Wayside, owned by R. W. Emerson, lent
  first to Alcotts (during LMAs early childhood)
  and then to Hawthornes.
• Right Orchard House, home of Louisa May Alcott
  as older child and young woman. Photographed
  1910-1920. (Library of Congress, Print and
  Photographs Division)