"Fun Forever"? Toys, Games, and Play in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women"

Autor/in	Phillips, Anne K.
Titel	"Fun Forever"? Toys, Games, and Play in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women"
Quelle	In: American Journal of Play, 2 (2010) 4, S.401-418 (18 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1938-0399
Schlagwörter	Novels; Play; Toys; Games; United States History; Females; Social History; Social Influences; Nineteenth Century Literature; United States Literature; Classics (Literature) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Novel; Roman; Spiel; Toy; Spielzeug; Game; Spiele; Weibliches Geschlecht; Sozialgeschichte; Sozialer Einfluss
Abstract	Nineteenth-century literature offers insights into the history and sociology of play in American life. Louisa May Alcott's novel "Little Women" contains especially rich period depictions of childhood games and amusements and provides some of the earliest scenes of American girls at play. The author discusses the various depictions of play in the novel, places these in the context of Alcott's life and work, and contrasts them to other works of the period. She contends that "Little Women," detailing and celebrating play from start to finish, demonstrates how play was both valued for itself and served a socializing function. She also presents scenes from "Little Women" to illustrate specific aspects of nineteenth-century American play--its use of furniture and the place of dolls, for example. In short, the author treats "Little Women" as a privileged example to discuss play more generally, and she uses the study of play to look more carefully at the novel itself. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01