Little Women (Signet Classics)
by Louisa May Alcott
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Book Summary Information
Author: Louisa May AlcottAfterword: Susan Straight
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2004-04-06
ISBN: 0451529308
Number of pages: 464
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: Signet Classics
Book Reviews of Little Women (Signet Classics)
Book Review: Be free Jo.
Summary: 4 Stars
This book was intended for teenage girls and, as such, has an incredibly blunt moral tone which really offended this reader. Be careful about taking this too seriously -- if you do then you might miss what makes it so remarkable as literature.
Most female authors from this that time period that matter in the English literature canon were English, meaning that their worlds were one of extreme class constraint and that females, even if they were intelligent, had to shackle themselves to male counterparts who ended up jailing them to the society around them regardless of intent. Jane, Villette, and even the remarkable Shirley could not escape. None of the intelligent women in Austen could. George Eliot and Virginia Woolf tried to, but they still existed at the edge of British society at the time and still relied on it in many ways for their support.
Here, though, the females are free to choose their paths. Jo is probably the most free in her marraige and in her choices (she is able to write a great deal about her life just as Alcott did). Amy willingly takes on a more traditional English path but with American freedoms thrown in such that she is not like an Austen herione. Meg is probably the most boring and does what anybody would probably do given her situation.
Also, there is a great deal of exploration abour role playing and creativity. The girls act in local plays, Amy has artistic interests that allow her to express creativity, Beth is a first class sewer of intricate objects and almost fairy-like to her family and friends, and even their respective spouses are reasonable male characters.
The simple romanticism and freeing of women from the shackles of a broken society make this more than required reading if you feel trapped. It has certainly enriched my life. Alcott was intelligent enough - in her books and in her personal life - to be able to live a life devoted to what was really important to her. I need to get to know as many people like this as possible if I am do likewise.
I suppose I should add -- this is literature very much in the Dickens model of things. Very character oriented and lots of unncessary prose that explains things omnisciently. If you don't like this sort of thing - as I usually don't - then you might find it tough going.
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