Father's Influence On The Book Little Women

A father’s influence in his daughter’s life shapes her self-esteem, self-image,

confidence, and opinions of men, according to Michael Austin, associate professor of

Philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University (Quinonez). “Fathers are fathers for life, and

being a good, bad or absent father will affect your child future” (A Bond for Life). In the

book Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott and the 1994 movie by the same title, Mr. March

heads to war and is absent for a large part of his daughters’ lives. Meg (16), Jo (15),

Beth (13), and Amy (12) live with their mother, Marmee in a small New England town

during and after the Civil War. Their father’s absence affects each girl in a unique and

profound way. While the movie deals

with his absence, it is insignificant and only

mentioned briefly. In the book, Mr. Marchs’ absence is a recurring theme and the effect it
has on his daughters’ lives is far more significant
Meg was the eldest March sister. In the book her personality was

depicted as the most traditional, proper, and prettiest of the four girls. Her desire to

please was evident throughout the book.

Meg was attention seeking, and she was

ashamed to admit that she loved being praised and admired. In the first chapter of

the book, Mrs. March reads a letter from Father to all of the girls one night after dinner. After

hearing their father’s words Meg states, “ I think too much of my looks and I hate to work but I won’t anymore, if I could help it” (Alcott 13). In the movie the letter was read to the girls, but Meg’s reaction to it was not included. As a result the character of Meg, was left more to the movie watchers interpretation. While the reader of the book was able to understand that Meg wanted to please her father; however, due to his absence she might be lacking

in a confident relationship with him. “A positive secure father-daughter relationship

allows females the confidence needed to be successful in their effort as well as

achieve their goals” (Quinonez). “Higher education or professional work was out of the question for young women. They were intended to marry and take care of the house and children” (Hughes). This was ultimately Meg’s life, making her a successful nineteenth century woman. However, the book certainly highlighted her struggle to please and need for attention thus outlining the effect her father’s absence had on her

life.
Unlike Meg, Jo was a bit of a rebel for her time. Stated in the article, Women of the Nineteenth Century, “Women were supposed to become timid, dependent, and private” (Radek). Both the book and the movie made it clear that Jo did not want to adhere to societies rules for girls or women. Jo declares in the first chapter that she is the man of the family, now that Papa is away. Additionally, she sates, “I’ll try and be what he loves to call me, a little woman and not be rough and wild, but do my duty here instead of wanting to be somewhere else” (Alcott 14). Jo’s character was the most developed of all the March sisters in the movie. It was obvious that she was a different type of girl. Jo even says to Marmee at one point, “ There’s just something wrong with me. I want to change, but I-I cant and I just know that I’ll never fit in anywhere.” The movie watcher however, was not aware of the profound impact her father had on her life. Again, the movie did not relay Jo’s reaction to Father’s letter where she promised to be more of a little woman. Additionally, in the book, Jo exclaims to the others, “I am the man of the family now that Papa is away and I shall provide the slippers, for he told me to take special care of mother while he was gone” (Alcott 7). This was not said in the movie. The movie does depict Jo as a more masculine girl willing to reject society’s norms, however, it does not focus on her fathers absence and her desire to please him.
The third daughter, Beth, is the least developed character in both the movie and the book, and the most tragic.

The overall impact her father’s absence had on her life cannot be understood since she becomes very sick and dies at the young age of nineteen. The book deals a bit more with her love for her father. In it she states, “ I am so full of happiness that if Father was here I couldn’t hold one drop more!” (Alcott 343). Her illness and death are a central focus of the movie. Only a few chapters of the book cover her demise. The movie focuses on two dimensions of her personality, that she is quiet and shy. The movie also shows that she does not want to leave home and is perfectly content. In fact, when she is dying, she comments that for the first time she will be the first to go somewhere…Heaven. This is not stated in the book; however in the book, her death is far more prolonged. While dying, she describes each sister as a bird, “ You are the gull, Jo, strong and wild, fond of the storm and the wind, flying far out to sea, and happy all alone. Meg is the turtle-dove, and Amy is like the lark she writes about, trying to get up among the clouds, but always dropping down into its nest again” (Alcott 595). The book shows that Beth is thoughtful, caring, introspective, and unselfish. In the book it is clear to the reader that Beth lives in her own world and is content with doing so. However, the movie does not show this as well. The movie only focuses on her

death and how her death affects her family. It also does not deal with the affect that her father’s absence has on her.
Amy is the youngest of the March sisters. At her age of twelve she seems to be the least affected by the absence of her father. She is much more concerned about her surroundings, and being a little girl, than her fathers absence. Both the book and the movie portray her lack of knowledge of what actually was going on with her father and what he has been through in terms of his service in the Civil War. Growing up, Amy admired, and looked up to Laurie who was a much older, male family friend. In fact, Laurie was really her only male roll model throughout most of her childhood. Later on, in both the novel and the movie, Amy decides to accept Laurie’s hand in marriage. She married Laurie to replace her lack of a father while growing up. As stated in the article, What You Must Know Before Dating an Older Man, “ A girl marries a guy that reminds her of her father. Girls are used to being protected and cared for by their father. Such caring and loving attitude is usually found in older men… They need a strong anchor, and older men provide that emotional stability” (What you must know before dating). While the book and the movie do not directly portray the effects of an absent father, there is an indirect correlation by Amy marrying Laurie.
“Women who grow up without their fathers often find themselves longing for acceptance from a male figure” (Daddyless). While both the book and the movie deal with the absence of Mr. March in the girl’s lives, his absence and the effect is more prevalent in the book than in the movie. Little Women is a seven hundred and seventy seven page long novel while the movie is just over two hours long. As a result, the characters and the themes are more fully developed in the book. While it is not clear in the book or movie how old Mr. Brooks is in relation to Meg’s age; it is clear that both Jo and Amy marry older men. Mr. March was an insignificant character in all of their lives and as a result their future lives were shaped by his absence. As stated in the 2013 article in The New Scientist Magazine “A girl whose father is absent undergo personality changes at an early age that make them more likely to interact with males” (Nowak). Louisa May Alcott subtly shows this effect on each of the March sisters in her novel, Little Women. An absence of a fatherly figure can dramatically change a girl’s life, and her decisions. If he is not present for the majority of the girls’ life, she will eventually find someone to look up to and “replace” the father figure that she had lacked.