Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is a classic novel, a piece that I feel all young people should read. It is one of my favorite books as I find it easy to identify with protagonist Jo March. She is a headstrong female character as well as a lover of reading and writing, which are things I feel can be used to describe me. Five out of five stars and a classic for good reason.
Everything works: the setting, the intricacies of the plot, and the complicated and diverse characters. Ms. Alcott’s style makes it almost impossible not to fall right into the story as if you had actually traveled back in time to be in the story yourself.
The story is set in 1860s Massachusetts, during the Civil War. If readers also enjoy a historical setting this is one that fulfills that love. Being from New England also makes it easier to connect with the book.
The narrative is centered around the four March sisters, Margaret (Meg), Josephine (Jo), Elizabeth (Beth), and Amy, the youngest. Other key characters are matriarch Marmee, Hannah their housekeeper, Theodore (Teddy or Laurie) Laurence, and his grandfather.
The story follows the March family as they navigate life without Mr. March, wh0 is away fighting in the war. This is the first time that the girls are living without their father, and it is a bit of a struggle, as they are such a tightly knit family. For Laurie and his grandfather, they are trying to navigate learning about who the March girls are while building a relationship with them.
The complexities within the plot come from the fact that each girl has her story portrayed differently. Meg deals with the struggles of being a young woman who wants to live her own life but who knows that her family isn’t wealthy enough for the lifestyle she may want to live. Then she also has to deal with the trials and tribulations of love and marriage.
Amy deals with similar struggles to Meg, wanting to live more lavishly than her family is able to afford and also finding her place in society. She learns new things about herself and who she loves on her journey to Europe with her aunt March.
Beth’s story is limited, as she is the sister who stays at home the most. She is the quietest of the four sisters, and she is the heart of their bond.
Jo, being the main character, has her stories intertwined with the rest of her family. Outside of that, however she has to learn to navigate her way through identifying her relationship with Laurie, and trying to figure out what she is going to do with her life as a woman who wants to be an author and not just a figure of society.
There is one moment in particular that brings all the characters together after the loss of an important part of their family. This changes the way that they all deal with life, and it alters some of the plans the girls had set for their lives.
The story and the girls are loosely based on elements of Alcott’s real life. She had three sisters, and she also grew up in New England. Her home, “Orchard House,” can be found in Concord and is open to the public for tours. The house contains a lot of the magic that Alcott describes within the March family home.
The stories of growing up and becoming your own person are ones that I certainly connected with, as have many others who have read Little Women.
Most of all the story captures what it is like to grow up as a young woman. To want to be more, but to face the pressures and opinions of society. This book is one that shows the strength and resilience that young women possess, and how essential it is to learn who you are and stay true to that as you grow.
If as a reader you are looking to better understand yourself and the way that you grow as a person, to feel as though things being difficult for you is not something that is out of the ordinary, seek the connection you will find within the pages of Little Women.
