Erikson's Developmental Theory Apllied to the Novel "Little Women"
INTRODUCTION ~“The only constant thing in life is change”~, François de la Rochfoucald.(year unknown) As we mature in age and become older we may notice changes in our personality and our perception of the world around us. Throughout our course of life we change as individuals, we develop and mature. Many psychological theories attempt to explain how and why we change and develop in the ways that we do throughout our lifetime. One such theory is Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, which says that each stage of our lives is marked by a conflict which must be resolved to ensure proper personality development. This conflict/resolution scenario can easily be seen in the characters of the novel ‘Little Women’. Therefore in this paper, Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory will be applied to the characters of the novel ‘Little Women’ to see if it can provide some insight into the changes and developments which occurred in their lives.
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SCENARIO: Little Women (1987) Louisa M. Alcott. ‘Little Women’ is a coming of age story set in 19th century New England. The main characters of the book are the March sisters, Meg, Josephine (Jo), Beth and Amy. They each face their individual struggles and moral challenges as they enter into adulthood. The book explores the sister’s relationship with each other their mother (Marmee), the boy next door Laurie and other friends and acquaintances. The girls grow to become responsible young women though they were not wealthy and lived in financially difficult times. They are a close family despite their tragedies and disagreements. During this time they also have their first experiences with love and the opposite sex as Laurie, the boy next door becomes an integral part of their lives. It is a story of resilience, romance, family and friendship.
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THEORY: Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory. The Psychosocial Theory of
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SCENARIO: Little Women (1987) Louisa M. Alcott. ‘Little Women’ is a coming of age story set in 19th century New England. The main characters of the book are the March sisters, Meg, Josephine (Jo), Beth and Amy. They each face their individual struggles and moral challenges as they enter into adulthood. The book explores the sister’s relationship with each other their mother (Marmee), the boy next door Laurie and other friends and acquaintances. The girls grow to become responsible young women though they were not wealthy and lived in financially difficult times. They are a close family despite their tragedies and disagreements. During this time they also have their first experiences with love and the opposite sex as Laurie, the boy next door becomes an integral part of their lives. It is a story of resilience, romance, family and friendship.
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THEORY: Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory. The Psychosocial Theory of
References: 1) Alcott, L. M. (1987). Little women. London: Dean & Son Ltd London. 2) PsychPage¦perspectives on psychology in daily life. (n.d.). ¦perspectives on psychology in daily life. Retrieved April 19th, 2011, from http://psychpage.com. 3) Sigelman, C. K., & Rider, E. A. (2009). Life span human development (6. ed., international student ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.