Little Women

It’s a classic novel which explores timeless themes such as love and death, war and peace, the conflict between personal ambition and family responsibilities, and the clash of cultures between Europe and America.

The author “ Louisa May Alcott has done quite a lot in a field of literature, But she is better known for her this novel and their sequels. She has based this novel on her early life experiences. I personally like her quote from this book “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” Which has deep hidden meaning to it. Without problems, difficulties and obstacles, one cannot learn and sharpen their skills. So to conquer the hurdles, One has to defeat their fear. Alcott managed to put these great thoughts behind these simple saying.

This novel follows March sisters during the years of American civil war. Their father is serving for the army while the four sisters stay at home with their mother. The four sisters quite different from each other embark upon the journey of life.

Older sister , Margaret(Meg) wants to make a good marriage so that she can live without worries. She is working as governess for rich family which she absolutely doesn’t like to do.

Josephine (Jo) is a tomboy and aspires to be a writer someday and travel around the world seeking adventures. She has a big heart and does not care for “ladylike “ stuffs. She is short tempered which often leads to her being in trouble.

Elizabeth(Beth) is a shy and innocent girl. She Learns from her father at home as she is too shy to go to school. She loves to play piano more than anything else.

Amy gives much importance to her beauty and wants to become an artist as she is good at drawing. Her manners at some point can come across as irritating

Along with these, there are several other characters like their rich neighbour Mr. Lawrence , their grand son Laurie , Laurie’s tutor and their mother “marmee” who teaches them the importance of giving back to the community ,Helping others and sharing what we have with each other.

This book circles dreams, ambitions and the troubles these girls faced. In the first part of the story is about their journey from childhood to adulthood while the second part focuses on each of them coping up with the responsibilities of the adulthood.

This Book connects to you in so many different ways. I challenge you to not find a character who speaks out what you are going through in real life. Even though it is from different era altogether, There is still an astonishing resemblance to current perspective. This book teaches us to be ourselves no matter what, To not give in to pressure, To give back to the community, to be unapologetic for being different.

This book also teaches us that maybe what we dreamt, may not make us as happy as we thought it would make us ,realizing that being happy doesn’t always mean having everything you always wanted but it means knowing what we have right now, is worth it , that you have earned it and you love it even if it is completely different from what you always wanted.

Also the important lesson this book teaches us is about family values. Despite every difficulty they endure, they always stick together. The closeness between these sisters is the most admirable.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, please do read it.

PS. Yes this is the same book joey was reading in F.R.I.E.N.D.S. the one which Rachel has given him to read.

-Louisa May Alcott