ABSTRACT

This book explores the importance of work and its role in defining and developing the self. Maibor reveals how the writings of Emerson, Hawthorne, and Alcott delve into notions of equality through this emphasis on labor. In doing so she challenges the traditional view of Emerson as unconcerned with societal issues, and opens the work of Hawthorne and Alcott to new feminist readings.

chapter |31 pages

The Working Self

Emerson's Theory of Vocation

chapter |19 pages

Working Girls

Emerson on Female Self-Reliance and Vocation

chapter |34 pages

The Work of the Dark Lady

Hawthorne on Vocation and Women

chapter |21 pages

Little Women and Working Girls

Louisa May Alcott on Women and Work

chapter |3 pages

Conclusion