Researcher ORCID Identifier
0009-0000-8427-1331
Graduation Year
2025
Date of Submission
4-2025
Document Type
Campus Only Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Film Studies
Reader 1
Nicholas Warner
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
2025 Lucy T Goldberg
Abstract
This thesis is a documentary film. In it I examine the figure of the tomboy in American culture as both a threat and symbol of American cultural values, focusing particularly on Jo March from Little Women and the novel’s major cinematic adaptations in 1933, 1949, 1994, and 2019. It argues that Jo's tomboyism has served as a politically charged site of anxiety about women's independence, the stability of the American family, and the meaning of national identity. From her first appearance in Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel, Jo March challenged traditional gender roles, embodying traits — ambition, independence, physical boldness — that directly confronted the economic and social expectations placed on women, especially at a time when marriageability determined family survival.
Through cultural and historical analysis, this thesis traces how adaptations of Little Women have responded to shifting American attitudes towards cultural threats, specifically in regards to gender and feminism. In the 1933 adaptation, Jo’s tomboyism is softened to comfort Depression-era audiences seeking nostalgia and stability during economic hardship. In the 1949 version, post-World War II anxieties about women’s roles in the workforce are reflected in the portrayal of Jo’s eventual domesticity, framing her youthful rebellion as a phase to be outgrown in the service of reaffirming traditional family structures. By contrast, the 1994 film reflects the "girl power" feminism of the 1990s, emphasizing personal ambition and individuality while still framing Jo’s independence within an appealing, highly feminized, and commercially viable image. Finally, the 2019 adaptation directed by Greta Gerwig reclaims Jo’s authorship and autonomy in explicit conversation with #MeToo-era feminism, challenging the traditional narrative arc by foregrounding Jo’s right to tell her own story and questioning the compulsory marriage plot altogether.
The thesis also situates Jo’s character within broader political and cultural conflicts, including the North-South divide following the Civil War, the rise of the Southern Belle as a contrasting ideal, and America’s persistent tension between radical ideals and conservative structures. The tomboy figure is shown to represent the fractures within American society itself: a symbol of radical freedom that must continually be contained, reinterpreted, or neutralized to preserve social order. From her inception, Jo March — and the broader figure of the American tomboy — has been politicized, depoliticized, and re-politicized, mirroring broader cultural battles over gender, autonomy, and national identity.
Ultimately, this project argues that the tomboy is never a neutral or purely nostalgic figure; she is a threat that must be managed, a promise of freedom that risks undermining the very structures she arises within. Through Jo’s evolution across literature and film, we see the ongoing politicization of femininity, family, and the future of the American nation itself.
Recommended Citation
Goldberg, Lucy T., "America’s Problem Child: The Tomboy as a Threat and Symbol of American Values Through Little Women and its Cinematic Adaptations" (2025). CMC Senior Theses. 4048.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/4048
Streaming Media
This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.
