Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868-69) – The four March sisters find themselves much reduced in society after a financial issue for their family. Each will find their own way to deal with those challenges from the beautiful and practical Meg to the shy Beth and the artistic and pampered Amy. In the middle of them is Jo, who thinks deeply and seeks her own special way through to adulthood.
It took till I was in my 60s to read this book because, shame on me, it was always a “girls book.” They say confession is good for the soul, so there’s mine.
So many wasted years. This is a wonderful book. Yes, it is a book about female characters. There are only three male characters of much weight at the beginning of the story, Mr. March (who is away with the army), and the Laurences, James and Theodore. James is a wealthy, rather reclusive neighbor won over by sweet, gentle Beth, while Theodore (“Laurie”) becomes the companion and devoted servant of the March family. Other men will make their way into the story as it progresses, but all find themselves captured in the planetary system of the girls and their mother.
These are young women in a different time and society than today’s, but there is still many of the issues that plague us today. As all fans of the book know, this shines with the greatest intensity in the story of Jo. Stubborn, fiery, with a focused intelligence that will not be turned from its objectives, Jo finds life hard. The society of the Civil War era wants women to be lovely to look at while remaining quiet and under the care and direction of a father/husband. Jo isn’t cut out for that kind of life. Her struggle to find her own way is the center of this book. She has been a heroine to generations of young women with good reason.
Once again I reach for the word “charming” to describe a book. The reason is simple, Alcott cast her charm over this reader, and even in “late middle age” I found myself charmed. I respect the calm dignity of Mrs. March, a dignity that she passed along to her eldest. Meg bears up under the expectations with the same firm but gentle love that her mother modeled for them all. I will admit that I lost my heart (just a tiny bit) to shy Beth. Like the elder Mr. Laurence, she wins my heart because she will conquer her shyness to help someone else. It would be easy to dismiss Amy as a silly, vain creature caught up in the social whirl and concerns of marrying well. That is a terrible disservice to her. She knows what she wants, and she understands the system in which she must operate. She will make the smart decision in the end, one that will reward her in every aspect.
At the end of the story, I was satisfied as a reader. Wonderful characters had overcome the challenges laid before them and arrived at answers that were right for them. Even 100 years later, Alcott’s masterpiece reads with ease.
It’s a book well that shouldn’t have waited this long. These are characters that will stay with me for many years to come.
Rating – ***** Must Read
Stories Are My Life 