The roles of women and how they were treated during the 1800s are depicted in Little Women, also demonstrating how the main characters deal with these norms of conformity. Through the 4 sisters, Alcott describes the different ways they approached being a woman during 19th century expectations. While two conform, the other two attempt to rebel against the standards. Alcott does not imply that one way is necessarily better than the other, but he shows that one is more realistic than the other. Author Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1832, which is the same time she set the book. to. She grew up in a small town north of Boston called Concord, which was also home to many famous writers of the time who greatly influenced her and her writing. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne were neighbors of the Alcott family. All of these writers were part of the Transcendentalist movement during the New England Renaissance. During the 1800s, especially in the early 1800s, American society was run by men. They were considered superior to women in almost every way. They received the best education, were paid the most, had the only voice in the family, and had complete control over the women. Especially at home, women were not respected. The father was the loudest voice and everyone was expected to listen to him. A woman's roles at home included taking care of children, cooking, cleaning, and doing whatever her husband asked of her. A woman's money belonged to her father if she was not married. If she was married, the money belonged to her husband. It was for these reasons that men looked for rich women to marry so they could have more money... middle of the paper... in our opinion. At the time of writing the novel, society and women's rights were slowly increasing. Through the four March sisters, Alcott describes how women faced the norms of the time. Meg, marries young and starts a family; Beth is respectful towards her sisters and parents; Amy focuses on herself, her beliefs, and her tastes, which Amy does at first, but later adjusts to life as a woman; and Jo's struggle to find a professional life, but also to live a dutiful family life. While Meg and Beth conform to the expectations of women in the 1800s, Jo and Amy attempt to break away and be individuals. Eventually, both settle into a usual lifestyle. Alcott does not suggest that a woman is stronger or weaker, nor does he suggest that one must always ultimately rebel or conform, but he does acknowledge that one is more realistic than the other..