Little Women
Y’all. It has been some TIME since I last checked in. On December 14, 2017 I told you I’d be reading Little Women. A childhood favorite, which I have finally finished (almost two months ago). To be truthful, I was really invested in my everyday life these past 8 months and less invested in my love of reading. In this time I got engaged, lost my grandfather to Cancer, started two new jobs, got a puppy, bought a house, moved into said house and almost planned my entire wedding (t-minus 60 days). But reading this book that already holds such great nostalgia for me during a time of so much change, excitement, sadness, anxiety and joy was a huge comfort and I can’t imagine another book would have been more fitting.
I spent a lot of time with this one. Not only did I read the book, I revisited many of the adaptations of the film, and even binged the most recent PBS mini-series. Feel free to message me with my opinions on all of these different adaptations, because I could write a whole post on that alone. Who knows? Maybe I will! I also decided to dive, head first, into the life of Louisa May Alcott, and wow… She was something else. A trailblazer for feminism and thinking out of the box for women during the time surrounding the American Civil War. How is that something that never came up in school? Seriously. Mom’s, make sure you are teaching your girls ALL about these feminist icons because it will absolutely be left out of their text books. (I got man-splained REAL hard today, so I’m sort of on one about making sure you’re preaching the gospel of strong women today…but it’s important so deal with it.) Anyway, I’m so incredibly inspired by her courage and determination. I’m moved by her parents desire to raise their daughters as strong women in a time when daughters were raised to be silent ladies of society whose purpose in life was to marry well, have children, and keep their homes for their husbands. If you haven’t had the opportunity to dig into her life, I highly encourage you to take five minutes out of your day to be inspired.
I’m sure most women who come from a family full of sisters and no brothers spend a great deal of time contemplating which March sister they are. I have for the better part of 25 years. Personally, I think I’m a Jo/Amy mix. I’m headstrong, bookish, stubborn and loyal like Jo March. But, I’m polite, well mannered, love the finer things in life and very romantic like Amy. A few quotes about Jo really hit home for me, this one had me cackling and shaking my head, as it was so full with familiarity.
“Jo’s ambition was to do something very splendid; what it was she had no idea, but left it for time to tell her; and, meanwhile, found her greatest affliction in the fact that she couldn’t read, run and ride as much as she liked. A quick temper, sharp tongue, and restless spirit were always getting her into scrapes; and her life was a series of ups and downs; which were both comic and pathetic.”
And there’s nothing that makes me more of an Amy than these two quotes right here!
“I think anxiety very interesting ,” observed Amy, eating sugar, pensively. The girls couldn’t help laughing, and felt better for it, though Meg shook her head at the young lady who could find consolation in a sugar-bowl.”
“I’d rather take coffee than compliments just now.”
But in all seriousness, this novel is such an important lesson in how to live a grace filled life. The March family faced debilitating debt, death, sickness, fear and anxieties in a way that will make you weep. Their parents taught them to live lives full of hope, strength, kindness, generosity and tenacity. Even when they had nothing, they had everything. In my life, this season especially, it was a much needed reminder that I am not the only one that faces hardships. There is a light at the end of every tunnel, difficult as it may be to see it. And there’s no guarantee that hardships won’t come again, but you must continue striving to find joy through grief and pain.
“Into each life some rain must fall. Some days must be dark and sad and dreary.”
I loved watching these families, the March’s and the Laurence’s, face the difficult transitions from childhood to adolescence and adolescence to adulthood. And no matter how many times I come back to this story I always find new details to hone. Reading this as an adult (I guess), in an age full of political unrest, that I can’t imagine looks too much different than the brink of a civil war, there’s a lot that hit really close to home. A huge part being Jo’s growth during her time in New York. She was given the opportunity to learn about philosophy, science, and a world she would never have found in Concord, Connecticut; followed by her use of these new ideas to give her the tools to be the hero of her own story. Ultimately, along with her great loss, these experiences gave her the necessary experience she needed to write her novel.
“It dawned on her gradually that the world was being picked to pieces, and put together on new and, according to the talkers, infinitely better principles than before, that religion was in a fair way to be reasoned into nothingness, and intellect was to be the only God.”
There’s nothing for me to really dissect here and that was never the purpose of returning to this, particular, novel. The purpose was to rediscover an innocence that I struggle to find as an adult. An innocence that dissolves when the evil of the world continually creeps in and shows how powerful it can be. The purpose was to remind myself of the strength, dignity and joy that come from finding goodness and light in the day to day trials and tribulations. Louisa May Alcott gives us that reminder in these pages and I’m eternally grateful that she wrote her story down so that we may all find a way to come home to ourselves.
Next up! Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis. I have heard non-stop, wonderful things about this book! And I could definitely use a reminder that I’m enough, not to mention a little push back in the direction of my dreams and goals. I’ve leaped off track again, but I’m ready to hit the ground running and I think this book is a great place to start! Hope you all can join me on this one!
