150 Years of ‘Little Women’
Do you have heroes who are fictional characters? Whether it’s Harry or Hermione, Katniss or Gale, there are many boys and girls in books and movies today who are worthy of our admiration. In 1867, there weren’t so many female characters for girls to read about and admire. A wise publisher, Thomas Niles, thought girls would like to read about characters like themselves, so he wrote to a young author, Louisa May Alcott, to see if she would write a book for girls. “Never liked girls or knew many, except my sisters,” Alcott wrote. But Alcott did like to make money, so she set about writing the story of the March sisters, also known as “Little Women.” A year later, the first part of her famous book was published, with the second part following in January 1869. This week The Mini Page celebrates 150 years of “Little Women” and the author behind the classic.
Louisa’s life
Louisa May Alcott was born in 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She grew up as one of four sisters. Their father, Bronson Alcott, was an educator and philosopher, and the family moved around a lot. She and her sisters worked from an early age, as her father didn’t make enough money to support the family. The girls sewed and took care of children, and Louisa wrote and sold stories and articles to make money.
The sisters
In “Little Women,” Alcott, her sisters and their mother are the main characters. She named the girls Meg (her sister Anna), Jo (herself), Beth (Lizzie) and Amy (May). Their mother is known as Marmee. While there are differences between the book and Alcott’s real life, many of the events in the story come from actual facts. For example, in the book, Amy is an artist. In real life, May was also an artist.
Louisa and Jo
The character Jo is different from others in the book. She is tall and sometimes clumsy, rather than small and ladylike. She likes to run and play sports. Her best friend is a neighbor boy, Laurie (short for Laurence), and as an adult, Jo is not interested in marrying. Jo thought boys were more free to be themselves than girls. Alcott modeled Jo after herself; although Jo finally does marry in the book, Alcott herself never did. She took in her sister May’s daughter after May died, and she loved her nieces and nephews, but she was not interested in having a husband.