Alcott must have known the controversy she was about to create when she decided not only to screw over the heartthrobbers with Jo's flat rejection Laurie, but then stab them in the back with the notorious old Mr. Bhaer as her lovable replacement. I have to admire Alcott her audacity, and I wonder if she in fact meant for it to be a tragic ending. I haven't read any of the sequels, but I'm afraid Jo may have acted on a whim here and she might live to regret it later. ( )

The perfect read for all those who have only watched the movie. ( )

I was like nine years old when I met Jo March. I wore my brothers' hand-me-downs, never brushed my hair, and hated that special occasions required dresses and tangle-taming. Jo was my first literary
"kindred spirit". I will love her and Laurie and this book forever.

This was much better than I expected. There were a couple chapters a little dated with their domestic emphasis for wives (a complaint by other reviewers), but I felt that in the whole Ms. Alcott still has something to share with all of us. Her characters are flawed, but they struggle to be better. ( )

2019 review: I enjoyed this wonderful story again earlier this month. It's fun to reread something like this over the years because, as I grow, the story changes for me. I've spent the last five years thoroughly studying the Victorian era so it's been fun to see Little Women in a new light. I was very aware of the "flowery Victorianess" of it all. Ha! Girls crying out several lengthy sentences "in chorus" or in unison. Fresh roses and mums in December in New England. Too good to be true happiness that is possible, but is cultivated in a way that few take the time to do.

On the flip side, there was much that is relatable to modern times. I love it that we have Pilgrim's Progress in common as an "old classic". We think of Little Women as an old classic but there was even more time between the publishing of Pilgrim's Progress and Little Women than there is between Little Women and our time.

Little Women is no big emotional deal the first time, but once you know the whole story---losing Beth, "losing" Jo and Teddy, the character of Mr. Bhaer---it changes everything. It's impossible to read any of Beth's scenes without choking up, for sure. I did find that I didn't despise the character of Amy as much this go round---but it will probably take a few more readings and more maturity on my part to get to the point where I can be endeared to her.

Modern day Feminists love to pick out the strengths of writers like Alcott and Austen and then declare them to have been of a similar atheistic, man-hating mindset. However, these ladies had a good grasp on the difference between female equality and female dominance. Alcott stood for a woman's God-given right to equality without giving up her responsibility to God. Much of her work is full of acknowledgement of the truth of Scripture and the value of a relationship with the Lord.

Some of my favorite quotes:

pg. 99: "To be loved and chosen by a good man is the best and sweetest thing which can happen to a woman."

pg. 386: "This household happiness did not come all at once, but John and Meg had found the key to it, and each year of married life taught them how to use it, unlocking the treasuries of real home love and mutual helpfulness, which the poorest may possess, and the richest cannot buy. This is the sort of shelf on which young wives and mothers may consent to be laid, safe from the restless fret and fever of the world, finding loyal lovers in the little sons and daughters who cling to them, undaunted by sorrow, poverty, or age; walking side by side, through fair and stormy weather, with a faithful friend, who is, in the true sense of the good old Saxon word, the "house-band" and learning, as Meg learned, that a woman's happiest kingdom is home, her highest honor the art of ruling it not as a queen, but a wise wife and mother."

2009 review: What a wonderful story! On one hand, I can't believe I waited so long to read it...but on the other hand, I'm glad I did as it takes a certain measure of maturity and life experience to really appreciate all that happens in this family!

One part that I will keep with me is on page 408: "Let the boys be boys, the longer the better, and let the young men sow their wild oats if they must; but mothers, sisters and friends may help to make the crop a small one, and keep many tares from spoiling the harvest, by believing, and showing that they believe, in the possibility of loyalty to the virtues which make men manliest in good women's eyes."

What a great thing to remember... ( )