This essay focuses on Louisa May Alcott's Little Women as a feminist novel and explores the representations of feminisms in the text. First, I argue Little Women is a novel that presents writing as feminist practice from a Künstlerroman perspective, which highlights Jo March's subversive feminism in the time. Next the essay shows how Jo’s gender fluidity helps her reconcile/negotiate her artistic aspirations and social expectations as part of her creative path. Finally, my essay also goes beyond Jo March's character to show how minor characters like the forgotten Beth March and emerging artist Amy March are a reminder of the text’s Künstlerroman focus, how patriarchy attempts to erase women like Beth who do not seem to fit into the stereotypes of the time due to their sickness or gender.

Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women in 1868 and the novel has been loved and praised ever since. Throughout the years, Jo March is the character that has been viewed as the heart of the novel, celebrated both as a tomboy and a feminist icon. In the novel, she is initially portrayed with gender-nonconforming traits, with strong ambitions of becoming a writer, and she longs for independence rather than to conform to the norms of femininity prevalent in the 19th century. However, Jo’s character arc takes a surprising turn when she marries Mr. Bhaer in the end, leaving her extensive declarations of independence behind. This essay argues that there is a question of literary ambiguity in the breakdown of Jo’s character arc, questioning the authenticity in her declared happiness at the end. It furthermore offers a psychological analysis of Jo March’s character arc by using Sigmund Freud’s concept of sublimation to examine Jo’s struggle with anger and internal conflicts, revealing that she redirects her excessive emotions into creative processes of writing and ultimately into marriage. The analysis further examines the discrepancy in the portrayal of Jo at the beginning of the novel and at the end, arguing for the “happy” ending as unconvincing and unresolved. Through close readings of the novel with support from Freud’s concept of sublimation, the essay reveals unresolved tensions withing her character that questions the conventional interpretation of Jo’s journey from tomboy to traditional woman. Never before has the character Jo March been analyzed through a psychoanalytic perspective, making this essay contributing to a more extensive dialogue on the unresolved nature of her story.