Title

Dresses and Dollars: Domesticity and Economy in Little Women and The Morgesons

Author

Tess Walsh, Lesley UniversityFollow

Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Sonia Perez-Villanueva

Abstract

Although popular discourse in 19th century America sought to divide public and private life into masculine and feminine spheres, a textual analysis of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and The Morgesons by Elizabeth Drew Stoddard, which were both written in the later half of the 19th century by New England women writers, demonstrates that domesticity was informed and shaped by economic forces. Details of characters' clothing, homes, dining habits, and social relationships all reveal that far from being a separate sphere, the American home at this time was perhaps the space in which financial status and economic forces were most apparent.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Walsh, Tess, "Dresses and Dollars: Domesticity and Economy in Little Women and The Morgesons" (2019). Senior Theses. 7.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/clas_theses/7