Little Women
Reading Little Women in winter always feels like a warm hug and makes me miss home, even though my home has little or no resemblance to nineteenth-century Massachusetts.
For years I always thought I was more like Jo: rebellious, ambitious and resistant to compromise. And I love her for it. Jo’s fire, her refusal to shrink herself to societal values and her insistence on living by her own rules have always made me feel validated. But this time around, I found myself equally drawn to Amy, Beth and Meg.
Amy, deeply ambitious like Jo, refuses to apologise for wanting comfort and recognition in life. Where Jo resists society outright, Amy negotiates with it. She is pragmatic rather than romantic. In a world that offered limited paths for women, both she and Jo walk the paths they value, even though it makes Amy less likeable than Jo. Previously I saw Amy as selfish and spoiled. This time I saw her as a woman who understands exactly what she wants and refuses to pretend otherwise. There is a courage in clarity that people often mistake for selfishness, and that is something I could learn from Amy.
Beth quietly absorbs love and gives it back a million times over, asking nothing in return. Beth is just Beth, content with life and an absolute sweetheart to every soul around her. She comes across as the most fragile one in the book, but she is the strongest: so much at peace, generous and gentle. I long for such goodness in the world right now.
Meg’s path is the most different of any of the sisters, and she is the least discussed. Growing up, I always thought I never wanted to be like Meg. I often despised her for choosing less than what she deserves. She felt submissive and limiting. But re-reading the book made me see that she chose domesticity out of desire and not out of obligation. She has as much depth and ambition as Jo and Amy, and as much love and gentleness as Beth.
I always love returning to this little book in winter. The first time I read it was in 2016, and I have re-read it more times than I could count. I know this won’t be the last.
