Week One: Little Women

Hello! Welcome to my first book review! My original plan was to post Sunday, but I had a little bit more to write about and didn’t want to feel rushed.

All of my reviews are opinion based, and may give away some spoilers from the story if you have not read the book before. Thank you for taking the time to read my post, and if you have any feedback please feel free to reach out.

Some background on the author and publication:

Louisa May Alcott published two versions of Little Women. The first volume is 1886 and the second volume “Good Wives” in 1889. There are also two sequels to this Novel titles Little Men and Jo’s Boys. The novel would be categized as semi-autobiographical, being that Alcott used her own stories and life as a template. The authoress covers many important themes through out her novel, including poverty, domesticity, feminism, and the necessity of work.

Little Women has also been made into many movies, and has been adapted as a Broadway play. The most recent film adaption was in 2019 by director Greta Gerwig, staring many famous actors/actresses including Sairose Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothee Chalamet, Meryl Streep and Florence Pugh.

Favorite quote:

”There is truth in it, Jo, that’s the secret. Humor and pathos make it alive, and you have found your style at last. You wrote with no thoughts of fame and money, and you put your heart into it, my daughter. You have had the bitter, now comes the sweet. Do your best, and grow as happy as we are in your success.”

- Mr. March

My Initial Response:

This is my second time reading Little Women. I read this book for the first time a year and a half ago, and I chose this as my first book of the year because I enjoyed it so much, and I believe it is one of those novels you could read over and over again, and still relive the same emotions as the first time through. This story made me laugh, cry, and feel angry or conflicted over the characters choices. Though the storyline is relatively simple, and you’re reading about the lives of an “ordinary” poor family in the late 1800s, something about the writing draws you in. You care about the sisters' individual journeys and you want to know more about how they are going to succeed in their lives. To me, the best part of this book is that though it is mostly fictional, Alcott based her character, Jo March, after herself and some of these stories are actually true to her own life, and her sisters lives as well. I feel that I could become more connected to the stories this way, knowing that they could be true. This also makes me wish I could have met Louisa Alcott, because Jo March is personally my favorite character, and a very strong female character in writing history. I would have loved to meet “Jo” in person. My favorite quote from the book is tied into my love for the realness of Jo‘s character. When I look into that quote it makes me wonder if that scenario was real between Louisa Alcott and her own father, or if it was entirely fiction.

I honestly do not have any major complaints about this book, other than it slowed down my normal ability to read a longer page book. I will explain that a little better in the writing style section!

Plot/Structure:

Little women is a coming-of-age story about four young girls. Their stories are filled with adventure, romance, travel, hardships and grief and all-around tough decisions about the lives ahead of them

Little Women is a coming of age story, about the sisters of the March family and their closest friends. The March family consists of four sisters; Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth. They live in a small homestead with their mother, who they affectionately refer to as “Marmee”. The story takes place after the Civil war, where their father, Mr. March is still serving as a chaplain. Their neighbors are the Laurence's, a rich family living in a mansion consisting of Mr. Laurence himself and his grandson Theodore Laurence, or mostly referred to as “Laurie”, by the March family.

Each chapter feels like a new episode, from different perspectives of the characters with a new lesson learned by the end of each chapter. As the book goes on, the girls are continuing to learn about life, “forming” their characters. Whether they’re learning from their mother about the importance of working and keeping themselves busy, or each of the sisters understanding some of their personal troubles, the end of each chapter will feel as though you’ve had a more in depth view of the characters lives. Without giving too much detail on the stories, I will say that the book is separated into two parts. Part one is when all the sisters are considered children and not yet young women, the eldest sister being only 17 years old at the time. Part two starts off three years into the future, when the girls have finally reached adulthood and have begun their journeys away from one another.

Writing Style:

It took me some time to figure out the style of writing Alcott was going for, because when I first started reading the book, the best way I could describe what I was reading was “odd phrasing” and “lots of big words”. I have no shame in admitting there were plenty of words I had to look up along the way. It truly baffles me that this book is in the children's fiction genre. I had to remember that this was written in another century, by a novelist who was the daughter of a well-read philosopher, so for her time she was absolutely brilliant with language, and she set out to paint a picture for the audience with her words. The writing style can be described as “simple and straightforward“, with each character having a specific voice that stands out on the page. Alcott also uses literary devices such as personification and similes to create detailed scenes.

Characters:

As I’ve already slightly touched on, The characters in this novel are absolutely wonderful. You will for sure have a favorite character by the end of this book, who you relate to the most and find that their story was the most touching. Here are some of the main characters in this novel, and a brief summary of each!

Margaret “Meg” March:

Meg is the eldest of the four sisters, and she makes sure everyone understands that so. She is also described as the beauty of the family, and the prettiest of the sisters, Blue eyed, with long brown hair, and beautifully dainty hands. She grew up taking great care of her sisters, making sure they were on the right path to be young ladies. During her childhood, she ended up working as a governess for a well know wealthy family in their town. Her downfall was her lust for being rich, and owning luxury items she could never get her hands on. She wanted more than anything to marry a rich husband who could purchase all of the things she ever wanted. She battles internally with marrying a man, Mr. John Brooke, who was not as well off as she had hoped for her husband to be. He is Laurie’s tutor, and does not come from a family of money. He absolutely adores Meg, and everyone knows it including Marmee, who speaks with Meg on many occasions about this potential marriage, Though eventually, Meg decides to choose love over luxury and makes her decision to marry Mr. Brooke and live a humble life with him and eventually, her two children.

Neither silk, lace, nor orange flowers would she have. “I don’t want a fashionable wedding, but only those about me whom I love, and to them I wish to look and be my familiar self.”

Meg March

Jo March:

One of the best written female characters of all time, Ms. Jo March! A genuine role model for young women today. The second eldest sister of the four girls, but for sure the black sheep of the family. She has beautiful long, curly auburn hair and blue eyes. She is insanely stubborn and argumentative with a quick temper but happens to be the smartest and most creative of the four sisters. Jo is described as ”boy-like”, not really enjoying the typical day to day dress code of a woman in her time. Loving to dress up as men and crazy adventurers. She is not afraid to get dirty, play silly games or run around with other boys in the neighborhood. She has a strong love for literature and writing. Her goal is to be an authoress someday. She is constantly writing stories and plays and poetry. Jo prefers to write about romance and love, but rejects the idea of someday finding it herself, she believes it is just not in the cards for her. Jo’s mouth tends to get her in more trouble than not, she is normally unable to keep in her true feelings about anything she is passionate about. Jo is first to befriend her neighbor Theodore Laurence, who she affectionately calls “Teddy” for short. They seem to be the perfect pair. Friends for many years, even throughout Teddy’s college years. They bicker like children and argue often but always come back to one another laughing off the silly dispute. Laurie and Jo have a brother/sister love for one another that is admirable, yet Laurie has always felt otherwise. Their journey though friendship is rocky, but also one of the most iconic relationships in book history (again in my opinion (: ). Jo’s story is the most influential to me, and I feel that I relate the most to her.

“Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for.”

Jo March

Elizabeth “Beth“ March:

Sweet, Sweet Beth. A true Angel. The second youngest of the four sisters, described as many things: true, shy, sweet, gentle and kind. Beth has a heart of gold. Loving to take care of litters of kittens and admiring the birds everyday. Loves all of her family members despite their fatal flaws. She is the musical sister of the family, learning to play the piano at a young age and often playing the piano for their neighbor Mr. Laurence. Beth is a homebody, with no true desire to leave the family home. She works for an even poorer family down the road from the Marches, the Hummels. One day while watching one of the Hummel children, she contracts Scarlett fever. It seems all but hopeful as Beth’s health slowly declines. Marmee is away with her Husband after he had been injured at war, so Jo does most of the nursing and never leaves Beth’s side. Though she miraculously pulls though, her health is never at full capacity and is now in a weakened state. As time goes on, Beth begins to realize her life may be coming to an end, and her time with her family will not last long. The closeness of Jo and Beth’s sisterhood will truly warm and break your heart at the same time.

“I never wanted to go away, and the hard part now is leaving you all. I’m not afraid, but it seems as if I should be homesick for you even in heaven.”

Beth March

Amy March:

Ah, Amy March. The youngest of the four sisters and for sure the most annoying (in my opinion). She is described as having very blue eyes and curly blonde hair and being very slender and pale. Amy has a talent for drawing and other sorts of art (mud pies) that she develops throughout the story, always have a sketch pad with her and drawing scenes with her sisters and Laurie. Amy being the youngest, tended to have a selfishness to her though she was often treated as the baby. She tries to carry herself as she describes, “a proper young lady”. She is proud, and does not like to show emotion if people are getting to her. Though I’d describe Amy as an annoying and slightly manipulative character, she does have significant growth, and learns to make the most of her life and be grateful for the opportunities she is given. Amy has the opportunity to go to Europe with her Aunt to continue to study art, and develops more talents along the way. Given this amazing journey, she is away from the March family which makes her incredibly homesick. Especially while she knows Beth is at home sick. Laurie visits Europe with his grandfather and ends up visiting Amy for an extended period of time, rekindling their friendship and maybe something even more.

“I’d be respected if I couldn’t be loved“

Amy March

Margaret (Marmee) March:

Mrs. March Is truly one of the most important characters in this novel. She is the main guidance for her daughters while her husband is away at war. She sets up her daughters to be uniquely themselves, while also having strong morals and understanding how to live in a world they don’t know everything about. Mrs. March was the definition of a tough love mother.

She always knew when to use the right amount of tenderness with her girls, and the right amount of sternness when needed. Mrs. March was always so proud of her girls and was excited to see them grow. Her character molded her girls into the strong women that they were becoming. No there were times when she was not always as strong, and her daughters had to help aid her, like when her husband had grown ill and she had to travel, or went fast was dying she needed shoulders to cry on. I do not believe she would’ve had that support if she hadn’t been such a good mother to them in their childhood and raised them to be who they were.

“Our burdens are here, our road is before us…Now, my little pilgrims, suppose you begin again, not in play, but in earnest, and see how far on you can get before Father comes home.”

Marmee March

Mr. Robert March:

Mr. March was not a main character, he is well talked about throughout the book and is more relevant in the second part. One thing to know about Mr. March is that his daughters strive to do things that will make him proud. When they are in the wrong or making a tough decision, Mrs. March will sometimes reference what they would do for Father, or what Father would think.

You see Mr. march was sent away to fight in the American Civil War, and though the war had ended he is still out there working as chaplain for the time being. Mr. March gets sick in part one of the book and Mrs. March has to travel to be with him. During this time it is very scary for the four sisters because they do not know what will become of their father, and anxiously wait for the post every day to see if they will get a letter with good news. By Christmas time, the girls get a lovely surprise when Mr. March actually comes home and surprises them in good health. The whole family can be together for Christmas now! Mr. March remains a main supporter of the family once he’s home, and continues to support his daughters in anyway that he can. He is a secondary character, but his presence in the story is uplifting, powerful and an influence to everybody around him.

Theodore “Laurie” Laurence

To me, Laurie is the perfect example of a ”man written by a woman” ideology. Laurie is 100% what that era would’ve thought of as a heartthrob. He was a charming, handsome young man who was very witty and smart. He hung out with the March family like they were his own sisters, and had a protective nature around all of them. He lived with his grandfather, after his mother had passed away. His grandfather was setting him up to be a bright young man with a good future, and to eventually be sent away to college. Laurie and Jo had a strong relationship, stronger than any of the other March sisters. They were very much the same in many ways which caused them to fight but they’d always come back laughing at their silliness, and continue on as if nothing happened. They were there for each other during rough times, told each other all their secrets, and everybody knew what they meant to each other. Laurie had always been deeply in love with Jo. He claimed to have loved her ever since he laid eyes on her, had loved her for years after.

When he told Jo this she was so taken aback, she knew it was possible he had feelings for her but did not think that he would ever result to ask her to marry him.

Jo sadly rejects Laurie, which is one of the hardest things to read in the book because the entire time you are rooting for them to be together.

Jo ends up going away to New York leaving Laurie with Beth for a couple months hoping that his crush will pass and she will come back to a normal relationship with Laurie.

Unfortunately that does not happen and Laurie continues to have strong feelings for Jo.

Eventually during Laurie's time traveling to Europe with his grandfather, he reunites with Amy. He battles with himself about his feelings for Jo, and his new feelings for Amy.

Laurie goes through a phase where he becomes lazy, and more infatuated with luxury things in his travel than finding true means for himself.

Ultimately "Teddy" does tell Jo later on that he will always love her so deeply, but it will be a different love than what he has now for Amy. Their friendship continues without any problems, and remains as strong as it once was.

"I've loved you ever since I've known, Jo, couldn't help it, you've been so good to me. I've tried to show it, but you wouldn't let me. Now I'm going to make you hear, and give me an answer, for I can't go on any longer."

Theodore "Laurie" Laurence

Aunt March:

The definition of a crotchety old woman. Aunt March is the more well-off March of the family, she owns a large beautiful Homestead with land and she has lots of riches that she has on display for the girls to see.

All the sisters interact with her at one point and remain with the same idea of her: that she is very rude. Jo would go over there and work for her during the daytime and come home to complain about how horrible she was.

When Beth contracted scarlet fever, Amy had to leave the March home to stay with aunt March for an unknown amount of time until Beth was better. At one point aunt March threatened Meg to not leave her anything in her will if she was to marry the “poor John Brooke“. Ultimately her character was relevant as a family member, but really just a side character until the end of the book.

Likelihood to recommend to others:

ABSOLUTELY. I would love to have someone tell me they’ve read this book and enjoyed it as much as I did. Though Little Women is classified as a children's book (for some reason still I cannot understand), I believe this is book for everyone. Based on the writing style, I’d say if you chose to read this novel to take your time. For me, it took a couple chapters to really start to understand the writing, and I did not have to stop as much to make out what was going on. I know for a fact anyone who reads this will fall in love with the characters. You will feel a connection to at least one of the sisters and follow their struggles, and cheer for them when they overcome their biggest insecurities and troubles. You will for sure laugh, cry and feel so close to the March family.

My overall rating for Little Women: 4.5/5 Stars

The book for my second week is going to be Jo and Laurie by Margaret Stohl, which is a "fanfiction" or an alternate ending of Little Women when Jo and Laurie actually end up together.

I’m very excited for this book because truly the entire time I was reading this story I really wanted Jo and Laurie to be together.

Even though they were both so similar and we’re probably better off as friends in the long run, it was truly heartbreaking to read that they were not going to end up together

Please tune in next Sunday for my second post !!!