Heroines in Jane Austen's novels in comparison with female characters from L. M. Alcott's novel Little Women

Abstract

The overall aim of this thesis is to compare female characters from the novels of the British author Jane Austen with the heroines from the novel Little Women, written by the American writer Louisa May Alcott. Although their works are separated by some 60 years, through this paper the similarities and differences of their heroines will be pointed out. At the beginning, the position of women in Victorian and pre-Victorian England will be depicted. Next, the thesis will focus specifically on Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott, as regards their writings, sources of inspiration as well as their choices of topics. In the main part of the contents their heroines will be described on the background of five issues which are chosen as characteristic for both writers’ works, and consequently, the findings will be compared. In the final part, the analysis will be thoroughly summarized.