The Reflection Of Puritanist Creed In The Characters In Little Women

As a novel, Little Women is not only the masterpiece of American woman writer Alcott, but also an influential literary classic in the American literary. Heavily influenced by Puritanism, Louisa May Alcott uses the doctrines of Puritanism in her Little Women artistically and naturally. The creeds are the important resources of the novel as well as important qualities for its charm. The integration of the Puritanism conveys the author’s purpose which is to embody American Puritanism spirit in the nineteenth century into her novel, from which we can find the influence of the Puritanism to the American literature. At the same time, the profundity and artistic value of the novel is highlighted.Meanwhile, in order to support this theme, this thesis is roughly divided into five parts. The first chapter of this thesis introduces background of the research which concludes Alcott’s life, character and literary career and summarizes the plot of the novel. And then discusses the significance of the study as well as the overview of the thesis. The second chapter summarizes the creed of Puritanism and the Puritanism in American History. And then lists the related critical reviews about the novel. The third chapter elaborately illustrates how Puritanist creeds are presented in the characters of the novel, especially in the four sisters as well as analyzes how the creed of Puritanism influences the spiritual growth of the four sisters in detail. The forth chapter briefly discusses the reflection of Puritanist creeds in other characters. The fifth chapter is the conclusion, summarizing American Puritanism doctrines reflected in Little Women to show that American literature is built on Puritanism and pointing out the room for further research on this topic.