ABSTRACT
Humans are born 'imprinted' with some 'natural tendencies' but without innate knowledge and are therefore ready to be shaped by education and experience. John Locke emphasized the child's malleability in response to society, which could 'lend itself equally to corruption or improvement'. In contrast to Locke, Rousseau believed that children were born naturally good and possessed innate knowledge. As Jo March assumes a role as an instructor and disciplinarian, Plumfield is staged as a testing ground for the power of emotion to shape childhood development and, more specifically, the formation of gender and class identities. While Plumfield in some ways resembles an adopted family, it is also markedly different due to its large size, educational mission, and the fact that many of its members have at least one living biological parent. Paradoxically, Jo is mother to all but at the same time never assumes a traditional, matriarchal role within a biological family.
