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Abstract:
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An aspect of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women that has not been examined is the tension between the public and private spheres within the text . Since the text is semi -autobiographical in nature , issues of public and private occur throughout Little Women where the March family , initially represented within an enclosure of domesticity , move into the public sphere around them . This movement alters the prevailing public discourse before ushering in a second movement : the drawing members of the public sphere into domesticity , adding new influences into the home . By analyzing settings of the novel and the personal journals of the author , complex issues of privacy , agency , and community emerge within Little Women that not only contribute to the separate spheres debate , but also reveal Alcott's place within the literary canon . |