upon these historical approaches.

1. The novel's first six chapters were written in the early 1860s, originally conceived by Alcott as a novel titled Success. Given the chapters from 7 onward, why might Alcott have decided to change the manuscript's title?

2. Do the shifts in narrative structure weaken the novel? Why or why not?

3. What does the idea of "work" mean for Christie?

4. Domestic values play a significant role in the novel. Do they conflict with the feminist ideals Christie begins with?

5. Christie was modeled after the allegorical "everyman" hero Christian from Pilgrim's Progress. Realistically, where do her human qualities end, and her ideal nature as "everywoman" begin? Does she become closer to or further from the ideal woman as the story progresses?

6. The novel features several noteworthy women, such as Hepsey Johnson, Rachel/Letty Sterling, Helen and Bella Carrol, Mrs. Sterling, and Cynthy Wilkins. Which characters stand out the most, and what do they symbolize?

7. What role do the brief interactions with characters Miss Cotton and Mrs. King play? Do their names, especially when placed together, hold thematic significance?

8. Why are there so few male characters in this novel? Compare and contrast the male figures presented. You may focus on David Sterling, Philip Fletcher, and Thomas Power, but don't overlook Uncle Enos and Elisha Wilkins. Consider why David isn't portrayed as a "hero" type.

9. Is there a thematic reason for Christie's brief marriage?

10. Do you agree with the author's comment in Chapter 4, when Christie contemplates marrying Philip Fletcher, that "three of the strongest foibles in most women's nature" are "vanity, ambition, and the love of pleasure?" What are your thoughts on the author's remark toward the end of Chapter 7, when Christie settles into Cynthy's home, that "a woman's three best comforters" are "kind words, a baby, and a cup of tea?"

11. Does the novel effectively convey a realistic sense of time and place, or does it possess a more mythical quality?

In Work, Louisa May Alcott delves into various societal issues, especially those affecting women, through the character of Christie Devon. At twenty-one, Christie departs from the rural home she has shared with her aunt and uncle since her parents passed away. She seeks meaningful employment beyond the constraints of passive domestic life. "I'm willing to work, but I want work that I can put my heart into, and feel that it does me good, no matter how hard it is." Christie rejects work driven solely by "no object but money," as it won't make her "a useful, happy woman." She moves to the city in search of a livelihood, but discovers that, for a woman—particularly a "poor gentle woman"—opportunities are limited.

Christie tries several jobs, leaving each promptly because they are either poorly paid, degrading, or ethically damaging. Despite this, each role broadens her awareness of social issues. Throughout the novel, which follows Christie until the age of forty, she champions causes such as antebellum abolitionism and justice for independent women, irrespective of race or a morally "fallen" past. By the time Christie faces a crisis of unemployment and despair, Alcott conveys the message that women suffer within a male-dominated social and economic system focused on material gain.

Christie's journey of recovery addresses themes of social reform, domesticity, and gender dynamics. She is taken in and supported by a working wife who provides temporary refuge for homeless women. A socially conscious minister connects Christie with a home-based greenhouse business run by David Sterling, a nurturing man, and his mother, who help women in need. Christie and David form a relationship based on equality and shared interests, eventually marrying. When David becomes a Union soldier, Christie volunteers as a nurse during the Civil War. After he is killed while aiding an escaping slave woman, Christie takes over his business and shares the profits with her female employees. Lastly, realizing that reform-minded wealthy women struggle to communicate with their poorer, working-class counterparts, Christie becomes an "interpreter between the two classes," enabling all women to collaborate for social progress.

The novel's structure and theme of spiritual self-discovery are heavily influenced by John Bunyan's allegorical work, Pilgrim's Progress, completed in 1684. This allegory follows the moral journey of its protagonist, Christian, as he seeks the Celestial City. Similarly, Alcott's main character shares a comparable name and, particularly in the initial chapters, demonstrates progress through moral teachings. Alcott's acknowledgment of Bunyan's allegory is evident in the many depictions of resisting temptations and the resting places on Christie's spiritual path, as well as in prose such as "God was very patient with her, sending much help, and letting her climb up to Him by all the tender ways in which aspiring souls can lead unhappy hearts."

A scene from Pilgrim's Progress is depicted in Work, highlighting Christie's connection to Bunyan's hero. Characters like Hepsey, Mrs. Sterling, and Rachel/Letty observe the painting and note similarities to David and little Pansy. However, there is a key distinction between Alcott's novel and Bunyan's allegory. Despite references to God and spiritual inspiration in Work, Alcott emphasizes an individual's journey toward secular achievements.

Work is part of the nineteenth-century tradition of women's literature. Additionally, Alcott's calls for abolition, women's rights, and a spiritual rather than material understanding of success place her novel within the era's broad reform literature. Harriet Beecher Stowe explored the topic of women and careers in her 1871 novels Pink and White Tyranny and My Wife and I. In her famous 1852 work, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Stowe set a precedent for Alcott's portrayals of Hepsey Johnson's struggles and commitment to abolitionism.

Alcott also drew inspiration from the novels of Charles Dickens. The character Cynthy Wilkins in Work is reminiscent of Pegotty from David Copperfield (1850). Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre (1847) influences a scene where Christie reads the novel as Philip Fletcher's shadow looms nearby. Christie's thoughts about David as a brooding, suffering hero, which his actual behavior does not confirm, echo the romantic male figures found in the works of Charlotte and Emily Bronte.

Chapters 17 ("The Colonel") and 18 ("Sunrise") of Christie's nursing career in Work are reminiscent of Hospital Sketches, initially serialized in The Commonwealth and later released as a book in 1863. Alcott based this work on her real-life experiences as a nurse during the Civil War at the Union Hotel Hospital in Georgetown from 1862-1863. In the book version, the seriocomic narrator, an unmarried woman named Tribulation Periwinkle, bravely faces the emotional challenges of tending to injured and dying soldiers in poor conditions. The story "My Contraband," featured in the Atlantic Monthly in 1863, combines an abolitionist message with wartime nursing through the characters of Nurse Dane, a spinster, and Bob, a freed mulatto serving as her assistant. Chapter 5 ("Companion") in Work echoes "A Nurse's Story," a suspenseful tale serialized in Frank Leslie's Chimney Corner from 1865-1866. The feminist narrator, nurse Kate Snow, encounters a girl struggling with inherited insanity.

Christie's role as a maid in Chapter 2 ("Servant") is mirrored in the playful short essay "How I Went Out to Service," which appeared in the Independent in 1874. Alcott's works often explore feminist and work-related themes, such as in her unfinished novel Diana and Persis from 1879. Little Women (1868-1869) addresses feminist and career interests, moral growth, and family values, drawing influence from Pilgrim's Progress. In Little Women, these themes are most evident in the creative ambitions of artist Amy and writer Jo March. The warmth found in the March household is something Christie longs for in Work. The strong connections among women, described as the "loving league of sisters" in the final chapter of Work, echo the deep bonds among the four sisters and their mother in Little Women.