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Work: A Story of Experience, first published in 1873, is a semi-autobiographical novel by Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women, set in the times before and after the American Civil War. It is one of several nineteenth-century novels that show "the changes in women's work in the new industrial era, as well as the dilemmas, tensions, and ...
- Louisa May Alcott
- 1873
- 1873
- Roberts Bros., Boston
- Transcendental Influence
- From The Personal to The Universal
- War Brings Change
- Subtle Humiliation in Domestic Service
- Evolving, and Choosing to Be True
- Marriage — Another Option Rejected
- The Need For Friendship
- True Womanhood at Odds with working?
- True to Her Friend and to The Ideals of Friendship
- Equality and Love, Short-Lived
According to Elbert, the influence of Transcendentalism with its belief in self-reliance and individual improvement as the means to a better society loomed large in Louisa’s brand of feminism. This is most evident in the last chapter of the book, “Forty” where Louisa sends a lady of fashion, Bella Carroll, on a mission to educate her friends on lea...
In Work Louisa was able to fashion a personal search for meaning through a tale with universal appeal. Elbert points to the Reverend Theodore Parker, a radical preacher (see previous post) whose sermons, “The Public Function of Woman” and “Laborious Young Women” deeply inspired Louisa at a time when she was at her lowest point. He became the Rev. P...
Elbert saw this as a symbolic gesture marking a farewell to the rural way of life, a narrow way which for generations had so shaped a woman’s life. The Civil War had shaken society and the family to its foundations. Because the men were called away, the women stepped up and took their places, as head of households and workers in the public sphere. ...
The obvious place to start was domestic service. By all outward appearances, being a servant didn’t seem all that bad: the work place was in a fine home with many comfortable accoutrements. It was not long before Christie saw the pitfalls: she was expected to serve the family with all the devotion and loyalty of a family member but without any of t...
In her search for meaningful employment, Christie went through a succession of jobs, from actress, to governess, to companion, to seamstress in a factory. Christie grew quite talented as an actress and could have been successful. She felt, however, that the unwholesome temptations and vanities prevented her from being a true woman of character. Lou...
As a governess, Christie was tempted to “marry for a living” with Philip Fletcher thus securing a position in the world of fashion. It was the only alternative to low wage work or slavery. Louisa must remain true to herself and therefore so must her heroine, and Christie refuses his marriage proposal. Elbert pointed out that marriage of this sort c...
Domestic service did not lend much opportunity for friendship. Christie did manage to maintain relations with Hepsey, a freed slave who worked with her as a servant, and chapter 20 demonstrated that she also kept in touch with Helen’s younger sister Bella whom she eventually sent out on a mission (see previous post). True friendship however did not...
Elbert pointed out an interesting scenario created by Rachel’s presence at the factory. Hired because of her “superior” taste, she is subsequently fired when it is revealed that she had an affair. Elbert wrote, “The respectable workshop manager must be intent not only on production but also on maintaining the legitimacy of such a system by hiring o...
Christie’s response to the injustice and harsh judgment visited upon Rachel was swift with her own resignation. She offered to take Rachel in but Rachel insisted on leaving in order to redeem her life and be worthy of Christie’s friendship. Again, Christie stood tall and walked away but her independent stand came at her own peril. Subsequent lack o...
After her bout with despair, Christie met Cynthy Wilkins and through her, the Rev. Power. He sent Christie to the home of a Quaker woman, Mrs. Sterling, and her son, David whom Christie eventually married. The romance between David (an idealized Thoreau according to Elbert) and Christie began with friendship, one of equality based on mutual interes...
Mar 15, 2002 · The Project Gutenberg eBook of Work: A Story of Experience, by Louisa May Alcott This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever.
Dec 1, 2003 · Jun 6, 2021. Copyright Status. Public domain in the USA. Downloads. 159 downloads in the last 30 days. Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free! Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by volunteers.
- Louisa May Alcott
- 1873
Dive deep into Louisa May Alcott's Work: A Story of Experience with extended analysis, commentary, and discussion.
Jun 1, 1994 · Work: A Story of Experience. Louisa May Alcott. Penguin, Jun 1, 1994 - Fiction - 384 pages. A story about a nineteenth-century woman’s search for a meaningful life through work outside...
3.71. 1,024 ratings133 reviews. Alcott's concerns about social justice, women's work, domesticity, and community lie at the heart of this provocative novel. In this story of a woman's search for a meaningful life, Alcott moves outside the family setting of her best known works.
