Little Women, a Satire of Traditional Girls' Literature History tends to be full of incredible ironies, as when authors are widely remembered only for a work they themselves they loathed, as was the case with Sir Arthur Doyle and his creation, Sherlock Holmes. One of the greatest ironies of American literature is that Lousia May Alcott is remembered exclusively for writing the historical fiction novel Little Women. At the time, it was seen as a book written primarily for young female readers, perhaps a type of girls' literature for the time. When it was first published it was also seen as something unique, attributed to its popularity among young female readers. Many today would call Little Women simply chic lit, but looking through the lens of history, the past, and the culture that made up the United States at the time, it becomes clear that this book is more of a satire of young people. women's literature of the time. Little Women is a coming-of-age story about the March girls and their journey to becoming real young civilian women, during the Civil War. Little Women was originally written and published in two separate volumes, as the second volume was written as a sequel to the first. The second volume of Little Women was written as a covert satire on the entire genre of young women's literature. Alcott was frustrated with her publisher at the time and wrote the second volume as a satire of what the publishers wanted, and completely rejecting the overused language. literary tropes of his era. Alcott used her skills as a gothic writer by slowly torturing Jo until her character was broken, and then married her suitor. Alcott's satire on the overuse of common literary elements is seen when she was forced...... middle of paper ...she passed. It is only through careful study in today's society that one can begin to understand what Jo was forced to go through, so that publishers could get the married characters they wanted. While Little Women may have started out as girls' literature, but because of the satire that Alcott hid in the novel, it should not be classified as yet another piece of girls' literature. Little Women, written by Louisa May Alcott, is a historical fiction novel about four sisters and their journey from childhood to adulthood. While Little Women was meant to be just another piece of literature for young women, Alcott's experience writing realistic thrillers and gothic literature, allowed her to create stories about young women, which are full of shock and intrigue when read among lines and you understand the context. of every girl's situations.