k (Shealy 5). The structure of Little Women is written in episodic form, which allots specific chapters to specific characters and problems. Examples such as "Meg Goes to Vanity Fair" and "Jo Meets Apollyon" show that each girl has a chapter devoted her personal problem, and her solution to that problem. The novel was written in two parts, Part I came out in 1868, while the Part II came a year later (Kopacz 43). The process in which the March sisters mature through adolescence and early adulthood is paralleled to John Bunyan's book The Pilgrim's Process (1678,1684) early in the novel. The girls start off with individual problems, and it is up to them to journey onward to find solutions to these problems. Amy has haughtiness written all over her, Beth is painfully meek, Jo is too rough, and Meg is too obsessed with wealth and vanity ("Louisa May Alcott" 9). With Marmee's help, the girls learn that by working together and sharing, they could make the journey of discovery much easier to handle. The growth and coming of age for girls are particularly tough in a male dominated society. As the March sisters first see glimpses of their prospective futures after they leave the safety of home (Elbert 143), they soon realize that much of their present independence has to be sacrificed. Whereas men gain so much from marriage, the woman must be content in giving up once treasured practices. Sexuality also dominates the adolescent period when girls and boys finally notice each other. This was a touchy subject back in the mid-eighteen hundreds because sexuality went up against the pure and celibate Victorian ideal for women (Davidson 11). Little Women has appealed to generation after generation because of one very important reason: the readers have a common bond with the characters. Instead of being flawless, Alcott's work was considered unconventional because of her characters' lack of perfection. By letting her protagonists actually live a life on ...
