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emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexism, Terminal illness, Grief, Pregnancy
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love Little Women. I have two sisters and we all grew up in love with the movie from 1994. I saw the 2019 version in theaters and adore it as well, but it wasn’t until this year that I finally read the book. Yes, at times the story drags and the time period it was written in clearly dates it. However, I was more often taken by how some pretty “modern” ideas are harbored within the text, some hidden away and some right out there in the open. There were many lines that I knew well from either movie, sure they had been written only in the screenplay for the more modern audience, but were in fact lines from the original source material. I think my main take away from the book is how it subverted popular publishing norms of the time. This was a time where a woman’s voice or perspective was thought of as overly sentimental, naive, unimportant and worthless—and even now these ideas still pervade. But Louisa May Alcott proved them wrong. Little Women was a great success and still is. It hurts a little to know that some of Alcott’s efforts to make the story wholly her own were in vain—Jo marries at the end, despite the author’s wish for her to remain single. However, she does get away with a little more in Laurie’s character and how he parallels Jo. Both feel out of place in the roles assigned to them, but still have both “masculine” and “feminine” qualities. Neither gives these up fully when they grow up. They both are molded by a woman’s touch (Marmee and to some degree the other sisters) into accomplished, kind and respectful people. To me, that’s Little Women’s true message: that a woman’s perspective is important and has value in a world that claims otherwise. That women have unique minds and experiences and we can change the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexism, Terminal illness
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Grief
Minor: Bullying, Pregnancy
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Though I’m very familiar with this story through the recent movie version and abridged copies in my childhood (Great Illustrated Classics, anyone??), this was actually my first time reading the full text. Parts of it are sweet and simple, reading like the “girl’s book” it was proposed to be by Alcott’s publishers. But there’s a lot more depth than I expected! I found myself relating to all the sisters in different ways. Like here I was, thinking “oh what quaint little problems they have, nothing like my life today.” And then after I had a stressful day and ended up crying over yet another failed loaf of bread, I read the scene where Meg and John get into a fight because she couldn’t make currant jam! Sometimes it really is the little things that push you over the edge. I also truly enjoyed reading into the subtext of Jo’s character. In Greta Gerwig’s 2019 film, Jo’s queerness is definitely explored, but I now see they didn’t have to dig deep to find the source material to support this. Jo talks about wishing she weren’t born a girl, has trouble seeing herself married, and has much more fun “romping” around with Laurie (platonically!) than dressing up in frills. From the admittedly little research I’ve done, it seems highly plausible Alcott herself could have identified as queer, if there was space for her to do so in her time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this so I can watch the most recent film adaptation. I see while people like this, but it's not for me. I did like the character studies, though, particularly Jo.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Sexism, Medical content
Minor: Slavery, Violence, Antisemitism, War
death of a sibling, romantic rejection
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Slavery