Tribulation as a Symbol of Hardships
The heroine’s first name is Tribulation; word for word, its significance is distress and trouble. Thus, the very name of the protagonist is symbolic of the impediments which hindered her progress ever since she had set her heart upon a career more or less unconventional. Just like her creator, Tribulation nurtured a strong desire to serve alongside the male soldiers during the Civil War. Her wishes, however, were crumbled under the weight of a patriarchal society which offered very little opportunities to women back then. But the heroine of the book is a determined young woman who would never relinquish her ambitions. Therefore, she took what she could get, and served her country to the best of her ability by volunteering as a field nurse. From then on, a chapter of hardships had opened before her starting with the difficulties of transportation and the removal to Washington, and expanding to the endless tasks and the narrow comfort of her new abode. In this manner, Tribulation stands not only as the name of the central character, but also as a symbol of all the impediments which met the women of that era.
The Sketches as an Allegory to the Author’s Own life
Hospital Sketches can be read as an allegory to the life of Louisa May Alcott during her brief career as a field nurse. The story is weaved on two intermingled levels; one of which, covers the experiences of the author herself. The content of the sketches is, in fact, a fictionalized record of the sum total of Alcott’s letters during her service in a field hospital during the Civil War. Consequently, the whole work is an allegory to a certain period of her own life.
Nursing as a Symbol of Women’s Importance
At the beginning of her story, Tribulation Periwinkle was given the opportunity of choosing between many vocations. Her choice was the bold career of a field nurse. It is important to note that women, back then, were perceived as inferior to men, and were accordingly confined to the domestic sphere, for they were believed to be less efficient and practical than men. Alcott’s choice of making a nurse of Tribulation is very symbolic, for the strong manly soldiers, under her charge, were as needy and dependent on her as children. This conveys the truth that women are the core and foundation of society. Without them, men would be utterly lost. One symbolic example of this is the brave and strong John, who yearned for nothing, during his last moments, than the touch, care, and sympathy of a woman.
‘No Vacancy’ as a Motif of the Difficulties Faced by Women
During her journey towards Washington, Tribulation undergoes an endless amount of trouble because of the scarcity of trains as well as their fullness. These circumstances had left her no vacancy aboard, and made her progress slower and harder. Similarly, when she arrives to her destination, and settles in the hospital, she finds that the task of securing a spot, during meals, is an incredibly hard one. This kind of no vacancy is used in the book as a motif to develop the idea that women were given very little opportunities at the time, and had to fight even for their basic rights.
John as a Symbol of the Deadliness of Patriarchy
Very often, patriarchy is mistakenly thought to be the source of oppression and doom for women alone. Men, however, can also be its helpless victims, and this is what Alcott had attempted to tell her readers through the character of John. John was a blacksmith from Virginia. He had a mother and a brother to sustain, and a young life spreading slowly before his eyes. The societal norms regarding masculinity, however, had flung him head first into the dangers of war where all his dreams were taken away from him. John is Alcott’s way of speaking about the deadlines of patriarchy even for men.
The Scarcity of Food as a Motif of the Difficulties Faced by Women
Throughout the book, the scarcity of food is a repetitive element which is used to develop the idea of the hardships faced by women. At the beginning of her journey, Tribulation takes with her a quantity of biscuits, which symbolize her initial determination. When she arrives and settles at the hospital, however, she finds out that the food is scarce, and she fails in securing any. Accordingly, she decides to purchase apples and ginger bread for her own consummation, but her purchase ends up disappearing one way or another, either at the hands of a mysterious thief or because of rats and bugs. This is a clever way to indicate that the efforts of women, at the time, were cut short by the lack of support and endless hindrances which slowed their progress.
