Louisa May Alcott was born on November 29, 1832 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died on March 6, 1888 in Boston, Massachusetts. She lived close to authors , Nathaniel Hawthorne and Thoreau Emerson, who were said to be her literary mentors. Her famous work “Little Women”, was written in under 3 months and is mostly inspired from her childhood memories and family members such as the character Meg who was inspired by her older sister. As well as her third sister, Elizabeth who contract scarlet fever and died 2 years later. During the Civil War Alcott served as a Union Army nurse. She was seen as an early american feminist who fought against slavery and fought for the Women’s right to vote. Due to her activism she was the first women to register to vote in Concord, Massachusetts.

One of Louisa May Alcott’s greatest works is “Little Women.” This novel follows the lives of the four March sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy; and their journey into womanhood. It’s explores how the sisters grow up, find love, and find their place in the world. One famous quote from the book said by character Jo is “Women have minds and souls as well as just hearts, and they’ve got ambition and talent as well as just beauty. And I’m sick of people saying love is all a woman is fit for.”

Louisa May Alcott was the American literary icon for her time. Her work of Little Women was seen as ground breaking. Her novel showed that young women should be educated and women have more to their lives than just marriage. She demonstrates her message through her own life of not being married and speaking out against the stereotypical gender roles.

Alcott’s work challenges the stereotypical roles for women throughout her novels.

Gender roles are cultural and personal. They determine how both female and male should think, speak, dress, and act. Today we still see the typical assumptions of gender roles on women. This can be how “men are stronger than women” or the only purpose in a woman’s life is to be married and have children. Women continue to face such obstacles even when breaking the social norms. (work environments).gender roles not only create assumption but also certain expectations.