Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Issues Addressed: Feminism, sisterhood, growing up, friendship, finding yourself

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”

Little Women is the best classical novel I have read yet. I kid you not, I laughed so hard over Jo and Laurie’s friendship. I have never before encountered such a joyful relationship between two people filled with tricks and silliness and purity. There’s just something about the bonds formed between sisters that make everything better. I loved this book, truly, I did. It made me cackle to myself and read lines over and over again from how much I enjoyed them. What’s more, Alcott throws in a cunning boy-next-door who fits in so perfectly with the four troublesome sisters who can’t get it right and you can just imagine the journey these ones take! We mustn’t forget, however, that Alcott was a 19th century author, and much like Oscar Wilde, she breaks our hearts in ways we would never see coming.

There is such innocence in this book that it makes me question whether a full-grown woman truly did write it. Diving into the March family’s world is different, to put mildly. In a world full of chaos and destruction every way we turn, escaping into a novel where the protagonists’ main problem is whether or not it would be “proper” to approach the boy next door is refreshing. I’d like to start off with the pure loving bonds between the sisters. They say blood is thicker than water, and I never took that into deep consideration until I read this novel. Oh, what these girls wouldn’t do for each other, their love an intricate thread connecting them, daring anyone to try and untangle it. What’s more, it’s that the bond prevails even after all their mistakes. Jo burning Meg’s hair? Amy throwing away Jo’s years of hard work into the fire? Jo approaching Laurie even after Meg told her not to?

All forgiven.

For isn’t that beauty of life? To make your mistakes and be accepted wholly for it? What is the point of holding someone’s wrongdoings against them as if we didn’t make some of our own? What’s the point in burdening a soul? Little Women deeply drilled the idea of redemption into my mind, not just for other people, but for myself as well. There’s a reason it is called the evolution of the human race and not simply the human race, for we didn’t just poof into being. We grew. We fell, we rose. Alcott shows us that. So many years later, each one of us is still struggling to fight off our inner demons, our bad habits, just like the March sisters.

Amy was terribly selfish, always wanting a taste of the luxurious side of life (something I personally resonate to). Little Amy, not even a teenager, managed to lift up her skirt and take control of her own life. She wanted to change. She wanted to be grateful. She wanted to find glee in more than just luxuries.

So that is what she did.

Our fate is in our own hands and nobody else’s. If you want to become a better version of yourself, what’s holding you back? If Louisa May Alcott could gather the courage to write a novel in the 19th century following a girl who wanted to be a boy and work and protect her family, then tell me, reader, what is holding you back? We are ornate beings, much like Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, except it’s become so much more harder to improve due to our constantly changing world. If Jo could get her book published in such an anti-feminist era, what’s stopping you from ploughing that mountain you placed between you and who you want to be?

Not to get too philosophical, but I deeply believe this was the purpose of Alcott’s novel, other than, of course, emphasising on the equality between men and women. I trust Alcott wanted us to learn from these young girls, to see little women learning to compromise and improve and look back at ourselves and think, really? What am I doing with my life? An ancient Burn Book in disguise.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first novel in Alcott’s series. It widened my eyes and my heart to accept everyone around me as they are. Who am I to judge when I have made so many mistakes myself? Who? What superpower do I have that allows me to view the inner turmoils of other people, to see what they try so hard to improve on behind their walls? The honest answer is none.

Thank you for reading! I wish everyone could embrace this as much as I have.

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