Marriage Over Materialism: Meg's Transition into Adulthood Ashley Farley College

The influential 19th century novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott expresses didactic tendencies, as well as qualities of sentimentalism, allowing it to be a compelling read for adolescent audiences. Following the story of the March sisters, readers track the growth and maturity of Alcott’s characters. Our first experience of the transition into adulthood being the oldest March sister, Meg. In this paper, we will study the text of Meg’s early stages of her marriage to Mr. Brooke to see her transition into the adult world catalyzed by her own marriage which is used as a showcase of her maturity and growth, leading to her becoming a mother, the ultimate sign of her entering adulthood.

As we are told throughout the novel, one of Meg’s more definitive qualities is one of vanity and materialism, supported by her wish to marry into a wealthy family and name. However, as she falls in love with the poor, orphaned Mr. Brooke, Meg chooses love over financial status, and enters her marriage in such a way, described on her wedding day as such: “Neither silk, lace, nor orange flowers would she have. ‘I don’t want to look strange or fixed up today,’ she said. ‘I don’t want a fashionable wedding, but only those about me whom I love, and to...