Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
"Once upon a time, there were four girls, who had enough to eat and drink and wear, a good many comforts and pleasures, kind friends and parents, who loved them dearly, and yet they were not contented." (Here the listeners stole sly looks at one another, and began to sew diligently.) "These girls were anxious to be good, and made many excellent resolutions, but they did not keep them very well, and were constantly saying, If only we had this, or, If only we could do that, quite forgetting how much they already had, and how many pleasant things they could actually do. So they asked an old woman what spell they could use to make them happy, and she said, 'Whenever you feel discontented, think over your blessings and be grateful.'" (Here Jo looked up quickly, as if about to speak, but changed her mind, seeing that the story was not done yet.)
"Being sensible girls, they decided to try her advice, and soon were surprised to see how well off they were. One discovered that money couldn't keep shame and sorrow out of rich people's houses; anothet that though she was poor, she was a great deal happier with her youth, health and good spirits, than a certain fretful, feeble old lady, who couldn't enjoy her comforts; a third that, disagreeable as it was to get dinner, it was harder still to have to go begging for it; and the fourth, that even carnelian rings were not so valuable as good behaviour. So they agreed to stop complaining, to enjoy the blessings already possessed, and try to deserve them, lest they should be taken away entirely, instead of increased; and I believe they were never disappointed, or sorry that they took the old woman's advice."
It was odd to be assigned Little Women, a 19th century book for girls. Nevertheless, it is one of the most read and loved books in the American canon, and probably everybody ought to read it once, just to know what all the fuss is about. The Redhead and her sister, both clever geeky grown women, adored it as children and still speak fondly of it, as they do of, say, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Frances Hodgson Burnett.
The Little Women include Amy, the prissy goody-two shoes; Beth, the fragile one; Meg the oldest and the one who maybe does the most coming of age during the course of the story; and Jo, the one every girl I know most identified with because she is supposedly a 'tomboy', meaning she has some amount of spirit and imagination, in comparison to the Dresden dolls Beth and Amy, and with Meg who is placed on the 'girl becoming a woman' gilded pedestal. We've come a long way since Alcott, with Pippi Longstocking and the Blackett girls from Swallows and Amazons and even Hermione Granger.
Alcott is writing a Moral Message for girls, mainly about how virtue is better than wealth. All four girls earnestly study Pilgrims Progress and continually refer to Wicket Gates and Vanity Fair. The base of the book's success, I think, is that it is saved from preachiness by capturing the energy and passion that most or all children instinctively have when the world is all new. The delight and exuberance the March girls exhibit whenever they set about some kind of tasks, and the amusing earnestness with which they approach their desire to be Good Girls is infectious, and brings a smile even to curmudgeonly older readers. High recommendations.
"Once upon a time, there were four girls, who had enough to eat and drink and wear, a good many comforts and pleasures, kind friends and parents, who loved them dearly, and yet they were not contented." (Here the listeners stole sly looks at one another, and began to sew diligently.) "These girls were anxious to be good, and made many excellent resolutions, but they did not keep them very well, and were constantly saying, If only we had this, or, If only we could do that, quite forgetting how much they already had, and how many pleasant things they could actually do. So they asked an old woman what spell they could use to make them happy, and she said, 'Whenever you feel discontented, think over your blessings and be grateful.'" (Here Jo looked up quickly, as if about to speak, but changed her mind, seeing that the story was not done yet.)
"Being sensible girls, they decided to try her advice, and soon were surprised to see how well off they were. One discovered that money couldn't keep shame and sorrow out of rich people's houses; anothet that though she was poor, she was a great deal happier with her youth, health and good spirits, than a certain fretful, feeble old lady, who couldn't enjoy her comforts; a third that, disagreeable as it was to get dinner, it was harder still to have to go begging for it; and the fourth, that even carnelian rings were not so valuable as good behaviour. So they agreed to stop complaining, to enjoy the blessings already possessed, and try to deserve them, lest they should be taken away entirely, instead of increased; and I believe they were never disappointed, or sorry that they took the old woman's advice."
It was odd to be assigned Little Women, a 19th century book for girls. Nevertheless, it is one of the most read and loved books in the American canon, and probably everybody ought to read it once, just to know what all the fuss is about. The Redhead and her sister, both clever geeky grown women, adored it as children and still speak fondly of it, as they do of, say, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Frances Hodgson Burnett.
The Little Women include Amy, the prissy goody-two shoes; Beth, the fragile one; Meg the oldest and the one who maybe does the most coming of age during the course of the story; and Jo, the one every girl I know most identified with because she is supposedly a 'tomboy', meaning she has some amount of spirit and imagination, in comparison to the Dresden dolls Beth and Amy, and with Meg who is placed on the 'girl becoming a woman' gilded pedestal. We've come a long way since Alcott, with Pippi Longstocking and the Blackett girls from Swallows and Amazons and even Hermione Granger.
Alcott is writing a Moral Message for girls, mainly about how virtue is better than wealth. All four girls earnestly study Pilgrims Progress and continually refer to Wicket Gates and Vanity Fair. The base of the book's success, I think, is that it is saved from preachiness by capturing the energy and passion that most or all children instinctively have when the world is all new. The delight and exuberance the March girls exhibit whenever they set about some kind of tasks, and the amusing earnestness with which they approach their desire to be Good Girls is infectious, and brings a smile even to curmudgeonly older readers. High recommendations.