<Little Women> is a book published in 1868 by Louisa May Alcott. The setting of this story is from the 1860s, during when America was in the Civil War. To summarize the book, it shows the growth and maturing of four sisters while their father is gone to fight in the war. Even though they lived in the same environment, they developed differently. Meg learned to care less for her appearance and to care more about others around her and supporting them. Jo realized that she needed to calm her actions down and ‘do her duty’ at home. Beth improved by having more courage in facing people and endeavored in helping the family. Amy also matured from being childish to a person who considered what is best to others, and tried to be less selfish. Through all the hardships, they all grew out of immaturity and into who their father called ‘little women’.
To continue, of all the things I felt in this story, there was one thing that stood out. I felt that the author did not like how women were treated back then. For instance, she put the character of Jo as a ‘tomboy’, and did not want to be ‘ladylike’. She also did not want to do the limited duties of a woman back then. Not only Jo, but all the other sisters got sick of their roles until they figured out that they could not help the house but do their ‘women roles’. Second, Meg’s marriage with Mr. Brooke also represents the reality of women’s marriage life in the 1860s. Meg’s most major internal conflict was all about marriage. She favored a conservative and comfortable life that most women thought of as an ideal life, which is marrying a rich man with a stable job. However, she chose to live with Mr. Brooke. Meg’s conflict shows how hard it is for women to choose who to marry over wealth and love. This reflects the truth of women’s marriage at that time.
However, despite the negative thoughts of society that Louisa May Alcott had, there were several bright parts in the story. The one that was most memorable to me was when Jo got her stories published in the newspaper. Even though it was considered inappropriate for women to write that time, Jo did, and even got hers published. This made me compare myself and Jo. Jo worked on everything she could to achieve her goal. She read every book she could get her hands on and even had other stories she had written on her own in spare even when Amy burned the special one she was going to send to her father. This made me ask myself: what did I do during the past 13 years? I already set my goal-I wanted to become a nurse. In contrast to Jo however, I only had a goal and was satisfied with just setting it up. Jo, on the other hand, had millions of preparations for her way as an author. This is the reason why the scene that Jo got her papers published was memorable to me.
In conclusion, <Little Women> is one of my favorite books, and reading it again gave me a whole new perspective on what the author wanted to say in this story. Even though Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy evolved throughout the book, those developments reflected parts of what the author had dissatisfaction about toward her community and the world. This book took a part in changing women’s rights and helped modify society.
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