Monday, March 28, 2011

148. LITTLE WOMEN

Louisa May Alcott 1868

Forgive me if the quotes I posted sound preachy. I am merely passing what seems to be the legacy of this book,  for I remember the same words of wisdom from my mother, uttered to me and my siblings when we were growing up.  In this can't-help-but-love novel, four sisters: Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy, with their own unique and different personalities, come of age with the utmost love and guidance of their beloved parents. At turns funny, sad and bittersweet, this wholesome story is one delightful read. 

'"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.'(opening line)

'Poor Meg seldom complained, but a sense of injustice made her feel bitter toward every one sometimes, for she had not yet learned to know how rich she was in the blessings which alone can make life happy.'(39)

"When you feel discontented, think over your blessings, and be grateful."(47)

"You have a good many little gifts and virtues, but there is no need of parading them, for conceit spoils the finest genius. There is not much danger that real talent or goodness will be overlooked long; even if it is, the consciousness of possessing and using it well should satisfy one, and the great charm of all power is modesty."(73)

"My dear, don't let the sun go down upon your anger; forgive each other, help each other, and begin again to-morrow."(79)

"I've been trying to cure it for forty years, and have only succeeded in controlling it. I am angry nearly every day of my life, Jo; but I have learned not to show it; and I still hope to learn not to feel it, though it may take another forty years to do so."(82)

"Well, I am happy, and I won't fret; but it does seem as if the more one gets the more one wants, doesn't it?"(87)

'"Money is a needful and precious thing, -- and, when well used, a noble thing, -- but I never want you to think it is the first or only prize to strive for. I'd rather see you poor men's wives, if you were happy, beloved, contented, than queens on thrones, without self-respect and peace."(101)

"Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life become a beautiful success, in spite of poverty."(121)

"If rank and money come with love and virtue, also, I should accept them gratefully, and enjoy your good fortune; but I know, by experience, how much genuine happiness can be had in a plain little house, where the daily bread is earned, and some privations give sweetness to the few pleasures."(207)

'With her eyes on her work, Jo answered soberly, "I want something new; I feel restless, and anxious to be seeing, doing, and learning more than I am. I brood too much over my own small affairs, and need stirring up, so, as I can be spared this winter, I'd like to hop a little way, and try my wings."(337-338)

'She thought she was prospering finely; but, unconsciously, she was beginning to desecrate some of the womanliest attributes of a woman's character. She was living in bad society; and, imaginary though it was, its influence affected her, for she was feeding her heart and fancy on dangerous and unsubstantial food, and was fast brushing the innocent bloom from her nature by a premature acquaintance with the darker side of life, which comes soon enough to all of us.'(358)

'She began to see that character is a better possession than money, rank, intellect, or beauty; and to feel that if greatness is what a wise man has defined it to be, "truth, reverence, and good will," then her friend Friedrich Bhaer was not only good, but great.'(362)

"... but girls are so queer you never know what they mean. They say No when they mean Yes, and drive a man out of its wits just for the fun of it," returned Laurie, entrenching himself behind an undeniable fact.'(371)

'They did feel it, yet neither spoke of it; for often between ourselves and those nearest and dearest to us there exists a reserve which it is very hard to overcome.'(380)

"I like peeps better than the gulls: they are not so wild and handsome, but they seem happy, confiding little things. I used to call them my birds, last summer; and mother said they reminded her of me, -- busy, quaker-colored creatures, always near the shore, and always chirping that contented little song of theirs. You are the gull, Jo, strong and wild, fond of the storm and the wind, flying far out to sea, and happy all alone. Meg is the turtledove, and Amy is like the lark she writes about, trying to get up among the clouds, but always dropping down into its nest again."(384)

"That is the secret of our home happiness: he does not let business wean him from the little cares and duties that affect us all, and I try not to let domestic worries destroy my interest in his pursuits. We each do our part alone in many things, but at home we work together, always."(400-401)

'Precious and helpful hours for Jo, for now her heart received the teaching that it needed; lessons in patience were so sweetly taught her that she could not fail to learn them; charity for all, the lovely spirit that can forgive and truly forget unkindness, the loyalty to duty that makes the hardest easy, and the sincere faith that fears nothing, but trusts undoubtingly.'(425)

'Amy's lecture did Laurie good; though, of course, he did not own till long afterward; men seldom do, for when women are the advisers, the lords of creation don't take the advice till they have persuaded themselves that it is just what they intended to do; then they act upon it, and, if it succeeds, they give the weaker vessel half the credit of it; if it fails, they generously give her the whole.'(429)

'But, you see, Jo wasn't a heroine; she was only a struggling human girl, like hundreds of others, and she just acted out her nature, being sad, cross, listless, or energetic, as the mood suggested. It's highly virtuous to say we'll be good, but we can't do it all at once, and it takes a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull all together, before some of us even get our feet set in the right way.'(444)

'Mr. Bhaer could read several languages, but he had not learned to read women yet.'(481)

'Four little chests all in a row,
Dim with dust, and worn by time,
All fashioned and filled, long ago,
By children now in their prime.'(487)

"Into each life some rain must fall..."(501)

Little, Brown and company, Uniform edition
502 pages
Book owned
Book qualifies for: the Victorian Literature Challenge 2011
                              100+ Reading Challenge

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