Big Read Project: Louisa May Alcott
What LMA's heroines can teach us about living in a MAGA world.
As I mentioned in last week's post, this year, I plan on reading the body of work of Louisa May Alcott. While I see a great many people who will regularly read through the works of Jane Austen, there seem to be fewer people who read Alcott. While Austen's six novels have multiple TV or film adaptations, Alcott has been diminished to her most famous work, Little Women. While it is an excellent novel, I think it only scratches the surface of her interesting heroines.
Alcott's writings differ from Austen's for many reasons. Jane is writing in the early 1800s in England; the stories often center around marriage and represent specific social status values. Louisa was writing in the 1860s in America, a time rife with turmoil around race and social status. Her heroines may marry, but much of their story centers around female relationships and working towards improving their status in various ways. Jane’s heroines may possess clever minds and independent attitudes, but they still operate within the narrow confines of British manners. Lousia’s heroines are informed by the spirit of self-sufficiency and independence more commonly associated with Americans.
As I mentioned, one of the major themes in Louisa’s stories is the relationships that women have with each other. Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy are sisters; some of the sequels feature Meg and Amy’s daughters. There are books with cousins, friendships that transcend social class, and the relationships of mothers and daughters feature across birth and found family.
The men in Louisa’s stories also feature more prominently than Jane’s heroines. The stories center around the importance of working hard even when you already have privilege. Hard work, overcoming selfishness, anger issues, and poverty are just as key to male character development as female. Vanity is an equal opportunity flaw for men and women to overcome.
With all the conversation around America’s supposed past greatness, I think it is wise to look to the writers of the past and see the world they inhabited. Greatness is, after all, the result of good people working hard to promote a better life for all. The post-Civil War period in which Alcott became famous was a period known as Reconstruction. The foundations of the American government had been shaken, and certain things were found wanting. While particular strides forward were made, many people wished to go back to what they viewed as a better time. It was a tumultuous period in which the past was enshrined in gold, and the future was full of idealized promise.
America has had great moments interwoven with failures, cruelties, and systemic issues. Alcott’s writing can inspire us to see the effectiveness of ordinary people working towards a better future within their families and communities. Even her thrillers (yes, she has some racy novels) can give us insights into how clever people can outwit systems that would attempt to keep them down.
As I read LMA’s work, I will share some of it here each month on Substack, mostly insights, things I like and dislike, and other sundry commentaries. If you would like to read along, here is my schedule.
January - Little Women/Good Wives (did you know the original was two books now published as one).
February - Little Men
March - Jo’s Boys
April - Under the Lilac Bush (I have never read this one)
May - Eight Cousins
June - Rose in Bloom (the sequel to Eight Cousins)
July - An Old-Fashioned Girl (one of my personal favorites)
August - A Whisper in the Dark (a collection of her thrillers)
September - The Inheritance
October - Behind a Mask (more thrillers)
November - An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving + Jack and Jill
December - A Christmas Treasury
You can learn more about LMA here.
For the Ears
I will forever be a fan of these two soundtracks.
For the Eyes
Some of my previous writing about Little Women.
The Specific Impact that Little Women Had in My Homeschool Community
Little Women has been a beloved work of fiction since its post-Civil War publication. A “book for girls” as the publisher called it, put Louisa May Alcott on the literary map. She went on to publish several other books featuring heroines who would push the boundaries of feminine norms. For instance, the whole debate …
What Does it Mean to Be Old Fashioned?
“And Polly didn't think she had done much; but it was one of the little things which are always waiting to be done in this world of ours, where rainy days come so often, where spirits get out of tune, and duty won't go hand in hand with pleasure. Little things of this sort are especially good work for little people; a kind little thought, an unselfish l…
Outgunned and Outmanned
“There are many Beth’s in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence and shadow behind.” Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
For the Taste Buds
As we return to the early morning drop-offs and general running around, I gravitate toward variety in my caffeinated beverages. I like coffee in the mornings and black, red, or green teas in the afternoon. I recently got this Rooibis tea, which is my favorite afternoon tea. Are you a tea drinker?
May this week bring joy to your senses and your soul.
You've inspired me to read more of LMA's works - thank you! And love the soundtrack ideas!