Vital signs at play: Objects as vessels of mother-daughter discourse in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women

A detailed examination of material objects in Little Women is presented, demonstrating how physical objects in the novel are associated with childhood, home and mother allow the March girls to create transitional space between mother and child. This space is created by applying object-relations theory and especially play theory from psychoanalysis, helping young readers encounter the tremendous value of girlhood play, a process that allows the growth of the female artist, housewifery and literary.