Professor Bhaer: German-American Immigrants of Civil War America

Even though Jo is the protagonist in Little Women (a fact that can be debated, if you ask me, since the four sisters get a pretty equal amount of attention in the book), her love interest at the end of the story is still somewhat of a mystery character. Professor Bhaer is intriguing to read about, especially since he’s introduced for the first time 342 pages into the book, much more than halfway through the story. We know very little about him, only that he is very educated and from Germany. The most insight given into his background comes from a conversation Jo has with Miss Norton: “He never spoke of himself, and no one ever knew that in his native city he had been a man much honored and esteemed for learning and integrity, till a countryman came to see him… She felt proud to know that he was an honored professor in Berlin, though only a poor language-master in America…” (Alcott 359). So I decided to do a bit of research.

I learned that not only are 13% percent of American residents born overseas, but they were at the time of the Civil War as well, (Doyle). Along with that, between 1820 and World War I, “...nearly six million Germans immigrated to the United States. From 1840 to 1880, they were the largest group of immigrants,” (Wikipedia). There has been speculation for a long time now about whether or not the inclusion of Professor Bhaer’s character was to satisfy Alcott’s publishers, who wanted to see Jo engaged to be married by the end of the novel. If that is the case, Alcott still managed to make the most of an unideal situation, and make Jo’s fiance an immigrant. The reality of Civil War New York City was that it was highly populated with immigrants, especially Germans. Included is an image of German population density in the United States in 1872. (Image Source: Wikipedia)



The huge wave of German immigrants occurred in 1848 after Germany’s failed revolution; those who arrived were nicknamed the “Forty-Eighters” (Wikipedia). In fact, without the massive number of German soldiers who enlisted to fight for the Union during the Civil War, the South would have had a much better chance of winning. Professor Bhaer’s political mind and intellect was not necessarily an uncommon situation for German-American immigrants. This is likely why Jo remarks on his higher stature in Berlin compared to being average America (Alcott 359). There’s no mention in the book about Bhaer being one of these Forty-Eighters, but considering the timeline of the book and German-American history, the numbers line up in a way that would make sense. Little Women takes place roughly from 1861-1876, and Bhaer is in his later forties in the book. If he came to the US in his early twenties, he could have been part of that group.

Considering the fact that Little Women is known as a semi-autobiographical novel of Louisa May Alcott’s life, historians and literary intellectuals have realized Bhaer’s contrast with Alcott’s husband. He was warm and emotionally much more open, which were attributes Alcott hoped to see more in males in society (Wikipedia). Bhaer, like countless other aspects of Little Women, is idealized as what Alcott may have wished she could’ve had in her life.

I’m glad I looked into what could possibly Bhaer’s history as a German immigrant in 19th century America. It made me inquire on my own, actually, because two years before that massive wave in 1848, my own relatives came to West Michigan from Germany. Their story is very different from Bhaer’s (much less smart professor-y, much more poor farmer-y), but it’s certainly fascinating to learn different immigrants’ from the same place at the same time purposes were in coming to America. 

Works Cited
Doyle, Don H. “History: The Civil War Was Won By Immigrant Soldiers.” Time, Time, 29 June 2015, time.com/3940428/civil-war-immigrant-soldiers/.
“German Americans.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Dec. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Americans#19th_century.
“Little Women Key Facts.” SparkNotes, SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/lit/littlewomen/facts/.
“Little Women.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Dec. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Women#Additional_characters.