Little Women

Louisa May Alcott's classic Victorian coming of age tale, Little Women (Signet Classics), is an excruciatingly endearing and irksome sermon about the challenges of growing up with moral integrity. Copious reviewers sing the praises of Alcott's tale, praising its durability and time-honored, much-beloved stance in the literary lexicon. Readers swoon with adoration of Alcott's sisters.

Perhaps the greatest praise I can offer Little Women is that the tale contains nuggets of wisdom that still resonate today. Who can't relate to Jo and her quick temper and sharp tongue getting her into trouble? What new mom hasn't been guilty of excommunicating her husband in favor of her babies at some point like Meg? Who hasn't been lured by the vacuous temptations of popularity like Amy? The messages resound for little women today like the must have for Victorian girls looking for their signature novel.

That being said, it's quite clear that Alcott is writing the novel to preach a godly, selfless lifestyle...which is quite typical of the motivations of many of her contemporary novelists as well. There's always a moral to Alcott's tales and it typically involves self sacrifice. Maybe one of the reasons that people enjoy this book so much is because it's devoid of sensational, lurid details that we've come to expect from our entertainment. There's no violence. There's no description of war or explosions or drugs. There are only familiar challenges. It's downright wholesome.

And also somewhat dishonest. Alcott's sisters "suffer" from "poverty" in Little Women. Shenanigans. These girls feel poor because they don't have silks or enormous estates to retreat to, but somehow, Amy manages to spend months abroad, the family never goes hungry like so many did back then and their father doesn't have to endure any backbreaking labor to make ends meet. They're so "poor" that they have a servant and look down on certain immigrants, like the Irish.

I feel like this book is required reading for women at some point in their lives. I wouldn't run out and grab it, but if you stumble on it at some point, you might as well read it and see what all the fuss is about.