Abstract

    Little Women, one of the famous works in American literature, was written by an American woman—Louisa May Alcott. It is one of the best loved books of all time. There are four girls in the book—Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. They are different and Jo represents a new woman. In this paper, an analysis of Jo is made through her traditional and innovative virtues to let readers know more about her and how to be a new woman. From the paper, readers can know that a new woman is not totally different from traditional women and she also has many good traditional virtues—making sacrifice for her family, giving hands to people who need help, loving her husband and children. The difference is that a new woman should be free, independent and brave; a new woman should have her ability and create her own career; a new woman should have rights to pursue her true love; a new woman should live an equal life with men. What’s more, those good virtues of Jo are worthwhile for readers to study, such as independence, bravery and kindness, so that we can make ourselves better to realize our own value.

Key Words: tradition  independence  freedom  career  equality
 
摘 要

   美国作家路易莎•梅•奥尔科特写的《小妇人》是美国文学最有名的作品之一，一直以来都被人们所喜爱。在这本书里有四个女孩，分别是梅格，乔，贝丝和艾米，她们迥然不同，其中乔代表了新女性。在本论文中，从传统和非传统结合的角度分析乔，使读者了解如何成为一名新女性。此外，通过这篇论文，读者还能了解到新女性并不是完全和传统女性截然不同的，她也具有很多传统女性的美德，比如为家人无私奉献，帮助需要帮助的人，爱她的丈夫以及孩子。与传统女性不同的是，作为一名新女性，她应该自由，独立和勇敢；她应该具备创造事业的能力；她应该有追求真爱的权利；她应该和男人平等地生活。并且，乔身上所拥有的美德是值得读者学习的，例如独立，勇敢和善良，只有这样我们才能使自己更加完美从而去实现我们的人生价值。

关键词：传统 独立 自由 事业 平等

1 Introduction
    Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist raised by her transcendentalist parents. Little Women is a novel describing the lives and loves of four sisters growing up during the American Civil War. It is based on Alcott's own experiences as a child in Concord, Massachusetts with her three sisters, Anna, May, and Elizabeth. The novel describes a story about the Marches, a poor family leading a happy life. Father March is away with the union armies, so he leaves the four sisters and his wife at home. Under the education of Mrs Marche, they become kind and elegant girls. Although they have different characters, they make efforts to make their dreams come true. When published in 1868, this novel gained a great success. Thousands of people, especially women liked it and were deeply touched by the four girls.