Book Review: Little Women

‘Little women’ is not just an expression of reminiscence and nostalgia for the childhood we all wish we had (minus the poverty aspect), it is as political as it gets.

Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy are referred to as ‘little women’ by their father. It’s an expression that aptly fits. Though the girls are young (the eldest Meg is 16 years), the setting in which they are growing up forces them to become women much sooner.

Inspired by her own childhood with her sisters, Louisa writes this semi-autobiographical novel, that documents the life of these four young girls as they grow up and become a different version of themselves, yet much identical.

The story begins with the four sisters, in their humble abode, discussing how the Christmas this year is going to be different. The celebrations will be minimal because of the ongoing civil war and the economic hardship that comes with it. Apart from it, the Christmas wouldn’t be the same without their father, who is away serving the Country; a moment of pride for all of them. Their father’s action drives them to do their bit - work hard, help their mother with household chores, and strive to become a better version of their existing selves.

Nobody seems to be bothered by the immobility of their lives, except Jo. If girls could fight in the war, she would be the first one fighting beside her father and making herself valuable. This is when we get to know that Jo is in fact the protagonist of this story. She mirrors our conundrums and frustration with the way of the world by being blunt and unapologetic.

 As the story progresses and I swipe the screen of my kindle to move forward, I am convinced that this story is about plain living and high thinking. The mother teaches the girls to be loving, kind, and indulge in charity even when their resources are meagre. Often times I wondered if men(in this fictional world) are expected to be as charitable as women, and whether they would be too willing to give up their Christmas breakfast for a hungry mother and her newborn child - guess I would never know.

The Character of Jo

Now let’s talk about the protagonist of the story, Josephine March, popularly referred to as ‘Jo’. Jo’s character is based on the author herself, and it rightfully reflects. Jo is a well written and fleshed out character with real blood and skin. She is bold and unconventional. She is considered unladylike because she has selfish interest, and she isn’t scared of speaking her mind and putting forth her opinion. Likewise, she doesn’t confine to the popular opinion that women need to dress properly and be presentable.  Her dress gets folds in them, her bonnet isn’t always in the right place, and her hair isn’t agreeable.

 All her energy is focused on writing. Just like the author, writing gives Jo an emotional and creative outlet. She ends up writing various articles that get published in the local newspaper, and many novels follow thereon.

She, along with her sister and her neighbour friend Laurie, starts a newsletter and takes on the role of the Editor. Everyone contributes articles for the weekly newsletter, which is read out loud in the weekly meeting along with the contributing members.

Nostalgia of letters

The novel brings me the nostalgia of letters. As I was born in the middle of the technological revolution, I haven’t written many letters when I was young. Though instant messages and texting as we see now wasn’t the norm back then, phones were however a household item. People preferred calling each other rather than writing to them. I never got to indulge in the culture of writing. The idea, however, always fascinated me from the time my mother showed me the letters that were written to her by her friends and my grandmother when she was staying away. Even the printed photographs that were shared between family members living far from each other had some words scribbled on the back side of the photographs. These would describe the event captured or the person that was featured in the photos.

In the novel, Jo and Amy go away on their separate ways at different times to New York and Paris respectively. They write detailed letters to the family back home, describing their exciting experiences.  They wrote about  what their daily routine looked like and how, despite all the fun and new experiences, they still miss their family and the warmth of what we call home.

Good Parenting

Home is where the mother is. ‘Little women’ is as much a story about a mother as that of her daughters. Mary March sets an excellent example of what good parenting looks like. She provides guidance to her children whenever they are confused, but she also gives them enough space to learn the lessons on their own. She believes in practising rather than preaching. With every generation, mothers tend to give more freedom to their daughters than they had received. They make it a point to not let their daughters feel the same pangs in life as they once did. Mary March never restricts the mobility of her daughters and allows them to occupy public spaces without her watching their every move. The daughters, however, never transgress because they are very well aware of the leverage their mother provides them and do not want to abuse it, with a mix feeling of love, respect and fear, all intertwined.

Love and Friendship

The theme of love and friendship is explored not only through the sisterly bond between the girls, but also through the comradeship that develops between Jo and Laurie. Laurie is the lonely neighbour of the March family, whose parents are long dead. He lives in a grand mansion with his grandfather, but seems lonely and depressed. The only merriment for him is watching the March sisters indulge in various amusing activities through his window. Jo, being Jo, notices him one day and strikes up a conversation. Soon, the neighbour turns into best of friends and Laurie Lawrence becomes a part of the March family. The exchange of companionship and affluence between both the families opens a different world for everyone. While Laurie’s mansion gives Beth access to a grand piano and huge collections of books for Jo, Laurie finds solace and comfort with the warmth and love that March family provides him.

The ensemble

The little women are very different from each other, just as most siblings are. While Jo is stubborn and boyish, Beth is closest to an angel in the family, who thinks of others before herself. She is sweet, docile and quite shy. Meg is the eldest and quite homey. She is a governess and wants to live a comfortable life. The youngest Amy is the only one that goes to schools with other girls and has a deep desire to be an aristocrat. She indulges in what they call ‘high art’ to acquire the relevant skills which she believes will help her in upward mobilization in class hierarchy.

All of them have their own preferences and opinions but as they grow, they evolve and so do their choices. After Meg gets married, the sibling's relationship undergoes change.

Each one of their individual journey of self discovery takes them to where they really belong.

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