Louisa May Alcott Eight Cousins

The Developing Mind of Her Beauty and Health. What Should Young Girls Do for Beauty? In the fictional novel Eight Cousins, Louisa May Alcott effectively highlights the health and beauty issues that woman in the nineteenth century faced in relationship to gender roles, health education and dress reform which engages with medical discourse. This raises the question: to what degree do social roles and the definition of the “ideal” woman negatively affect young girls’ mental and physical health. Louisa May Alcott’s novel positively reinforces young girls’ self- image through empowering characters like Rose Campbell in a way that effectively provides examples of medical discourse. The novel’s unorthodox engagement in medical discourse during the …show more content…
I agree with Alcott’s point of view because this issue is prominent even in today’s society. In Alcott’s Eight Cousins, Dr. Alec’s role is as an advocate against restrictive clothing and unnecessary vanities. After suggesting that Rose take a run he realized that she was having a hard time breathing and suggested that she loosen her belt. He states “… [Rose] would only learn what real beauty is, and not pinch and starve and bleach yourselves out…a happy soul in a healthy body makes the best type of beauty for man or woman.” This highlights the idea of woman’s suppression in the nineteenth century. Young girls grew up believing that they needed to meet society rules; however, this restricts them from being able to run outdoors, play sports, and be physically strong. The Victorian age was a time period when the dress performed the woman’s “identity kit”. Dress helps define sex roles; however, despite the small anatomical differences in males and females, the dress difference was quite wide (Roberts 555). The woman wore large heavy gowns with extensive undergarments causing great physical stress to their bodies due to the weight of the clothing. One primitive example would be the corset which was extremely popular during this time period. The corset was used to shape woman’s bodies to a much more slender figure; however, the body endured major side effects. …show more content…
It is an entire journey of a young girl that overcomes health issues with the help of her Uncle Alec who is a doctor. I learned that having a healthy body and mind is what truly matters. The saying “beauty is pain” should not be how we see beauty. It should not affect the health of anyone especially the developing mind of young girls who till this day still seem to have a societal