Abstract

Little Women, written by an outstanding American writer Louisa May Alcott, is famous for its vivid description of March’s family life during the Civil War. Because of her unique ways of family education, Mrs. March helps her girls cultivate lots of good qualities. During the changing of them from little girls to little women, Mrs. March play a really important role in this family. She is a successful family educator in this novel. By analyzing the ways how Mrs. March educates her girls, this paper tries to prove that Mrs. March has formed her own educational ideas like essentialism and pragmatism unconsciously under the influence of American spirits --- democracy, equality and pragmatism. Meanwhile, this paper also aims at offer some suggestions for modern family education.

Key words: American spirits; essentialism; pragmatism; family education

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-2

2.1. Different views about this novel from home and abroad-2

2.2 Studies of essentialism and pragmatism-3

3. Mrs. March’s family education-5

3.1 The situation of the Marchs-5

3.2 Ways of education in the novel-5

3.2.1 She creates a good family atmosphere-5

3.2.2 She becomes a good listener to her girls-6

3.2.3 She sets a good example for her girls-7

3.2.4 She lets her girls learn through their own experiences-7

4. The effectiveness of Mrs. March’s education -------- Changes to March sisters-9

5. Analysis of Mrs. March’s Family Education Practice in Light of Modern Educational Theories-10

5.1 Essentialism-10

5.2 Pragmatism-11 

5.3 The causes of Mrs. March’s educational principles-12

6. Conclusion-13

References-14