Negotiating Independence: Jo March's Character Arc and the Challenge Against Nineteenth-Century Social Expectations in Little Women (2019)
Keywords:
Jo March, Performativity Theory, Gender NormsAbstract
This study examines how Jo March in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women (2019) challenges and destabilizes traditional nineteenth-century gender roles through her resistance to societal expectations. It specifically analyzes the internal and external conflicts Jo encounters as she navigates her aspiration to become a writer amid prevailing social pressures. Drawing on Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity, the research investigates how the film depicts Jo’s ongoing struggle against restrictive gender norms. Data for this study consist of primary and secondary sources. The primary data are drawn directly from the film Little Women (2019), while secondary data include previous scholarly research, academic articles, and relevant online sources. The findings reveal two central conclusions. First, Jo defies conventional gender expectations by rejecting marriage, resisting conventional beauty standards, and persistently pursuing a professional writing career, thereby constructing an autonomous gender identity. Second, Jo actively resists both her internal desires and the external societal demands placed upon her, highlighting the complex negotiation between personal ambition and nineteenth-century gender ideology
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