What Little Women Means To Me

Some stories we read and pass over. We forget what they were about, we forget the names of the characters and we don’t take any lessons away from them.
    But there are also stories that we can never get over.

 The story and characters become a part of our lives, as real as real can be. We grow while we read them, we are constantly reminded of the beauty and the power of that book. 
    I don’t know what that story is for you, but for me, there is no greater, more personal, or more beloved novel than Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
    Yes, this novel is by many considered an American literary gem, but to me, it is so much more than that. It was in this book that I first learned the power of anger, where I first learned the power of sisterhood and friendship. This is the first book that ever made me cry and the first book I owned more than one copy of.
    From the outside, the story of Little Women isn’t the most impressive. It’s about four sisters and their journey from childhood, and adolescence to adulthood. The book is wordy and full of archaic slang (wait you don’t say Christopher Columbus!?) But the beauty of this book is that it always remains true. The lessons the March sisters learn are applicable to real life, their struggles are real, and, one thing that makes a book last for so long; they were real.

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I didn’t always feel this way about Little Women. When I was in third or fourth grade I was able to pick out a book from the library bookstore. I loved to collect the Baby-Sitters Club books by Ann M. Martin. Typically when allowed to choose a book I had a hard time with it. But on this particular day, there was no book I wanted. 
    That of course meant that my Mom chose for me. I left the bookstore with a pretty green and brown book with a very girly picture of four pretty girls in old-fashioned dresses sitting together. The title was even girlier - Little Women.
    I was convinced that I wouldn’t read it, it would be way too girly for me. No way was I reading a boring book like that.
    But one day I did. 
    I found it to be the complete opposite of what I had expected. It was abridged, so I read it quickly. Inside that book, I found a girl who probably would have had the same reaction to a book called Little Women. Well, as I’m sure you can guess, her name was Jo March. She didn’t like dressing up or playing girly games. She just wanted to read and write all day.
    Jo was the one who drew me in at first, but Beth was the one who made me want to stay. She was so good and sweet. Oddly enough for years, she was my favorite character (that changed as I grew up).
    As I got older I collected more abridged copies and found out something crucial, the copy I had first fallen in love with wasn’t even the full version of the story! 
    There was romance (oh young romantic hearts rejoice!), adventure, traveling to Europe (rejoice yet again), and there was death, my poor Bethy died. And so I experienced my first exterior emotional reaction to fictional characters.
    I was sitting in the bathroom and shed my first literary tears and quicklly backed up to be sure that she really had died!
    For years following those pretty little abridged Little Women books were my middle-of-the-night accomplices and favorite comfort reads. 
    It wasn’t until I was quite a bit older that I first read (or more accurately listened to) the full version of Little Women. 

The book hit me all over again. The story’s beauty, the sadness, and depth. Every word had weight and every experience was applicable to my own life. 
    I understood the characters so much more than I had when I was young because now, I knew how they felt. I understood their struggles, for, very often their struggles were mine.
    Good books help you to grow, Little Women has indeed helped me grow. 
    Ever since I was young I have suffered from a strong temper. I was so sick of getting the same advice on how to control it “count to ten, walk away, etc.” It felt like no one understood me and no one could give me the advice I needed. 
    Somehow, (I’m sure it was God’s doing) listening to chapter 8 (Jo Meets Apollyon) was like listening to a message just for me. Gently pointing out the power of anger and the dangers it poses, and also giving a simple yet powerful way to combat our tempers (and any strong overwhelming emotions, or temptations for that matter.)
    I remember late one night last year after an explosion, crying and copying this passage from the book down to place by my bed. I will always remember the soft words Marmee utters to Jo when Amy almost was lost under the ice due to Jo’s temper:
    “My child, the troubles and temptations of your life are beginning, and may be many; but you can overcome and outlive them all, if you learn to feel the strength and tenderness of your Heavenly Father as you do that of your earthly one. The more you love and trust Him, the nearer you will feel to Him, and the less you will depend on human power and wisdom. His love and care never tire or change, can never be taken from you, but may become the source of lifelong peace, happiness, and strength. Believe this heartily, and go to God with all your little cares, and hopes, and sins, and sorrows, as freely and confidingly as you come to your mother.”
    How powerful and sweet those words our. Cling to God, and He will always be there when you need Him.

Little Women has also taught me the value of being content with my life. I love seeing Meg struggle and grow, from being a girl who feels so poor among the splendor of other girls, to slowly growing to find that love and trust were much more valuable than riches. For she “discovered that money couldn’t keep shame and sorrow out of rich people’s houses.” 
    Meg’s love is one of the most genuine I have ever found in literature. It isn’t painted as perfect by any means, she and John have plenty of struggles and arguments, but in spite of that, they always forgive each other and plan to begin anew.
    One of the messages of many of Louisa May Alcott’s books is that it is wise to make home comfortable and happy. Sometimes that is the greatest and world-changing thing that a person can do.
    My Beth exemplifies this perfectly. Even when she is dying she is concerned for her family, she knits mittens for children in the streets and makes dolls for little girls. She doesn’t strive to be noticed or famous like her sisters do, instead, she does her very best to make the people she loves happy. In that, she is very satisfied. 
    She doesn’t have much to give, but what she does have, she gives willingly. 
    In my opinion, Amy is the least lovable of the March sisters, a bit stuck up and whiny. But she too has taught me many things. I have learned with her that vanity is vain and the people who truly care for us are the ones who don’t care about our talent, money, nose shape, or how many pickled limes we have hidden under our desks.
She also famously remarks “I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.”  When Jo predicts things to be challenging in Amy’s new marriage, but Amy approaches it with the mindset of growth through the challenges.
Little Women has taught me these big lessons, but it also has taught me smaller ones. Don’t forget to have fun sometimes, as Marmee says after giving the girls a vacation from their work and things going horribly wrong, “Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.” 
 Life isn’t just about working, and it’s also not just about having fun. When we find a balanced life will be the most fulfilling that it can be.
I learned to chase my “castles in the air”, to dream big, and keep dreaming even when your castle renovates or deconstructs. 
Still this book holds things for me to learn. Now, as I have begun my journey as a writer I am encouraged by Jo's successes and struggles. The important thing though was that she kept pushing forward and working towards her castle in the air.
I look forward to the someday safely stored away in my castle in the air when I shall read Little Women to my own daughters and watch as they too grow in their faith as they enjoy this timeless tale.

​Have you read Little Women? If so what do you think about it? Are their any books that have impacted your life in a major way?