The holidays are a perfect time to enjoy some recreational reading. You might like to read from a different subject area to your normal interests or study, or borrow one of the many fiction titles the library holds, such as Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
The
popularity of Little Women never
seems to be fade. With a new film version just released and a new
TV serial recently screened, the novel is as popular now as it was when
first published in 1868.
Little Women tells the story of the March family, focusing
on the different temperaments and life choices of four sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth
and Amy. Loosely based on the author’s own family, the novel challenged the
exclusive ‘wife and mother’ role of women at the time and forged a new path in
literature for children, especially girls. Domesticity, vocation and love are
viewed as equally important aspects of the female identity. Each of the sisters
encompasses these to varying degrees, and the author validates their individual choices, whether traditional or progressive.
Alcott, who
identified with the character Jo, initially resisted writing a ‘girls’ story’ -
"I plod away," she wrote in her diary, "although I don't enjoy
this sort of thing." Her coming of age novel was an immediate success,
addressing universal teenage fears surrounding the transition to adulthood and
enabling her young women to push the boundaries of their social world in order
to turn their dreams into reality.
Little Women is a virtuous, gentle and inspiring tale of
family life. As a novel that continues to be reprinted and adapted for new
generations, it is a true ‘classic’
worth reading.
Fiction, 810 ALC 1C LIT/PEN
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