COVE

Louisa May Alcott's Little Women was published in two volumes across 1868 and 1869. The novel follows four Civil War era sisters--Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy--as they come of age in New England. The four sisters bond as they experience strife and loss and journey from young girls to, as the title suggests, Little Women. Like many pieces of literature in the nineteenth century, Little Women seems parrticualry interested in imparting lessons on its reader. While these lessons are not as harsh as some earlier texts such as John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, Alcott does still work in many messages and lessons for her young readers. To do this, Alcott primarily draws on previous writers and philosophies; for instance, she takes into consideration the works of Bunyan. She also works in the messages and themes of the Transcendentalist movement. Of course, some of her messages are self-made, too. She also has some moments that are almost entirely entertaining with minimal imparting of wisdom intertwined. This exhibition will journey through Little Women's didactic moments, influences, entertaining moments, and cultural relevance today.

Cover of First Edition of Little Women (1868), Volume I, by Louisa May Alcott, published by Roberts Brothers, illustrated by Abigail May Alcott, Ex Libris Used Books. The opening line of Little Women is a declaration from Jo that "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents" (Aclott 1). In the conversation that follows, the girls eventually come to the conclusion that they should purchase Christmas gifts for their mother when they go into town, as their father gave them an explicit instruction to "take special care of mother while he [is] gone" (Alcott 4) during the war. This conversation sets an immediate didactic tone for the novel; in a moment of distress, four children turn to the guidance of their elders on the way to best handle their problems. This didactic tone is further pressed by the novel's preface: an excerpt from The Pilgrim's Progress (1678, 1684) by John Bunyan, a work that will continue to be relevant as Alcott's book continues. Overall, the story is not exclusievly didactic, but there are still plenty of didactic moments, such as the one presented here.

Jessie Willcox Smith,"They All Drew to the Fire," From Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, 1915 edition by Little, Brown, And Company. In this striking illustration by American illustrator Jessie Willcox Smith, the four March sisters sit around the fire and read a letter. In the background of the image sits two books. In the era that Little Women is set, the two most common books in a household were The Bible and The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. It is thus easy to interpret that at least one of the two books sitting on the mantel behind the March sisters is a copy of The Pilgrim's Progress; especially because, early in the novel, each of the March sisters are given copies of the text. At another point in the text, the girls act out scenes from the novel. Additionally, many of the chapter titles in Little Women are references to Pilgrim's Progress. For instance, Chapter Six, "Amy's Valley of Humiliation," is a direct reference to "Into the Valleys of Humiliation," a story from Bunyan's text. Similarly, in both Chapter One "Playing Pilgrims" and Chapter Sixteen, "Castles in the Air," the girls play pretend pilgrims. In "Castles in The Air," they even discuss their ideal castles, a further reference to  Pilgrim's Progress. The abundace of references to Bunyan's book point to it serving as a clear guide for the March girls as they grow into women. 

May Alcott, "Jo in A Vortex" from Little Women, 1869, Roberts Brothers, Wikimedia Little Women does not just enlist the help of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress for its didactic moments. The text itself also features moments of instruction, albeit these moments are more subtle than that of Bunyan's or another traditional didactic tale. Alcott elects to intertwine her lessons into moments of entertainment. Alcott’s lessons are also slightly different from those of Bunyan’s: while Bunyan upholds many moral lessons sourced from Christianity about what to do, Alcott upholds ideas about how to act. Take, for instance, when the youngest sister Amy destroys her older sister Jo’s manuscript. Jo is initially incredibly upset with Amy for doing this. It makes sense initially that Jo is as upset as she is; after all, the above image of Jo working on her manuscript is called "Jo in A Vortex," implying the amount of time and effort that Jo is putting into fixing it. However, it is still in Jo's nature to forgive, and she even states that it would be against the Christian beliefs that she has been raised on to not forgive Amy. Alcott does not cite Bunyan in this moment, but she is still teaching a lesson in this moment; many young children may be inclined to not forgive their siblings if they are in a position like Jo’s, but seeing Jo forgive Amy may teach children to do the same.  

Jessie Willcox Smith, "In A Minute a Hand Came Down Over the Page so That She Could Not Draw," from Little Women, 1915 edition by Little, Brown and Company. Little Women does have moments that feel more entertaining than instructing. These moments of entertainment are most obvious in the text’s romance, primarily that of Amy and Laurie. This is made clear even from the illustration above by Jessie Willcox Smith, the same illustrator that did the well-known piece “They All Drew to The Fire,” also in her illustrated edition Little Women. This image is much more fantastical compared to the more grounded “They All Drew to The Fire.” The bright pink cherry blossoms situated behind Amy and Laurie enhance the fancifulness of the image, as the bright shade of pink evokes romance. It is also worth noting that it is hard to track a moral lesson to Amy and Laurie’s relationship. Thus, moments that feature their relationship tend to skew less didactic and more entertaining, which further explains why Willcox’s imagery here is so much more fantastical and bright compared to some of her other images. 

Theatrical Release Poster of Little Women (2019), Directed by Greta Gerwig, 2019, Wikipedia Little Women has stayed incredibly present in the cultural sphere since its initial publication. The book has inspired countless adaptations in mediums including theatre, film, and television. These adaptations tend to lean more into the entertainment element of Little Women. For instance, the 2019 adaptation of Little Women directed by Greta Gerwig changes some details of the story to make it more entertaining. The professor that Jo March marries at the end of the novel is made more attractive. Meg March, often critiqued for being the flattest of the March sister, is given time to shine and justify her housewife aligned desires, claiming that “just because my dreams are different than yours doesn’t mean they’re unimportant.” This line does not appear in the original text, and while there is a moral element to it, it is primarily meant to serve Meg’s character. By including moments like this one, that are more focused on making an engagaing story than teaching a lesson, Gerwig---and plenty of other Alcott adapters---are  highlighting the story's more entertaining elements.