your thoughts on Little Women

I would like to offer this review by Keepers of the Faith as a “tool” for helping you make your decision. 

http://www.keepersofthefaith.com/category/LouisaMayAlcott  

I’d say this review is not a view that many on this board (or even many of the most conservative of homeschoolers) share, but I think it is a thorough review by sincere Christians with a perspective that is helpful.  I still have not decided with four girls of my own, what we’ll do about classics written by “feminist” authors, I’m definitely torn because of my own love of these books and because they do seem so moral and rich from a literary standpoint, especially in contrast to modern literature.

I hope this doesn’t add to your dilemma but that you find it helpful – for what it’s worth to you. 

Rebekah

While LMA was very unconventional for her time, and not really a woman I would want my daughter to emulate, I don’t think that an author’s personal life is necessarily criteria for rejecting a book. There are many fabulous books that were written by people whose weren’t paragons of virtue.

As for the book itself, I loved it as a little girl, and I don’t think Jo’s attitude was a problem. Women’s roles back then WERE confining; a woman of Jo’s class and education would have had pretty much three options: get married and give up all career ambitions, be a governess or rely on her parents or siblings to support her. (Then again, I don’t personally have a problem with women who work outside the home, as I’m one of them!)

Though I haven’t looked into LW, specifically, an author’s personal perspectives generally do come through in their writings, just like all forms of entertainment. I also think it may depend on the dd. I bought Caddie Woodlawn, but now I’m not going to allow my dd to read her stories. My dd struggles with ladylike behavior, thoughts and actions of G-dly womanhood. Now, G-dly womanhood isn’t weak; but since I know her weaknesses, I have to discern the entertainments (listening, reading and watching) that would either strengthen or weaken her development into a G-dly woman of strength (not a strong, worldly woman) who will be content in her role as wife and mother if G-d chooses to send her a husband; He doesn’t always send them-look at Florence Nightingale. I think G-d plans singleness for some, too.

So it’s a personal choice for you regarding whether you discern in a book, elements of behavior that would be bad for your dd to adopt into her heart/mind as being acceptable, or if it could be used as an example to discuss and talk through. I know someone whose dd realized on her that she thought there was immodesty of behavior in the book. I don’t know, I haven’t read it yet; I will before my dd does. Another example of author and book is Oscar Wilde; he was a deviant in society during his lifetime-he liked little boys. So, when coming across his fairy tales “The HAppy Prince” I know the giftedness of his pen, but aware of the personal behavior, I read them first; they are fine and I will let my children read them. We also read Greek and Roman tales, too and it gives us an opportunity to take the moral lesson from the tale, but all the while contrasting through the filter of Scripture.

Also, feminism has taken many forms through history; it’s not always been as it is now or has been since the 70’s. For example, Abigail Adams and her contemporary intellectual women “feminists”, were called the “Republican motherhood” and I agree with that form of feminism:”Republican motherhood was the concept that women should educatethemselves in the principles of liberty, independence, and democracy so as to inculcate the coming generation with these republican values.  This was one sign that women were becoming more respected as intellectually capable.”

This type of feminism was for the value of lifting up and running the home’s affairs and educating the children as well as other individual freedoms of property and monetary exchange (Abigail handled their money, not John, so they were debt-free) or freedom to leave abusive husbands; hence her admonitions to her husband John to “remember the ladies” in the new country’s laws because men could be tyrants!  A feminism not for becoming discontent with your role at home and desiring for someone else to raise your children so you can pursue your “own” interests and sexual “freedom”. It’s my understanding that Susan Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton were against abortion, but you’d never know it by modern feminists, not that I’m putting them on a pedestal, but you know what I mean.

So yes, you do have to look at each time period to see what perspective LMA was looking out of the prism of and perhaps that’s a good starting point for discussion if you choose to read it with her instead of her reading it by herself. Ask the L-rd for guidance. You may choose to have her read it now and discuss, read it later and discuss, or read together and discuss now or later.

HTH,

Rchel

Rachel, thank you for explaining the difference between modern feminism and feminism of the past. I was thinking of posting something similar but you beat me to it.

Jo preferred writing to things like dressing up and going to parties, but I wouldn’t call her a tomboy for that. She participated happily in the domestic activities and enjoyed fun with her family. 

There are many good values in Little Women. The girls honor their mother, respect each other, and help each other. 

Thanks for bringing this up.  I have enjoyed reading everyone’s comments.  I read (and re-read) all of Louisa May Alcott’s works as a child and loved them all.  There was something, though, that I could never understand.  Her characters seemed to be morally sound (I assumed they were Christians), but she never came out and talked about salvation through Jesus Christ.  It wasn’t until I was in college, music history class studying Charles Ives, that I found the answer.  Charles Ives wrote a piano sonata commonly called the “Concord Sonata”, dedicated to 4 Concord, Massachutsetts transcendentalists.  The 3rd movement is the Alcotts.  After I looked into transcendentalism, the morality of her characters made perfect sense.  (The other three were Emerson, Thoreau and Hawthorne.)  I do allow my dd to read Alcott, but also use it as an opportunity to help my daughter identify how Alcott’s religious perspective is different than what the Bible teaches. 

Take care,

Suzanne

And just as an aside because I had a little chuckle over it, God is gracious (that’s not the funny part!) – the other day my husband was going through a big box of books that I had stored away from college and imagine his surprise to find at least half a dozen if not more titles with Feminist in them!  I had taken a number of “feminist thought” classes – almost enough to have a minor in it – at my “Christian” college.  And now wouldn’t my professor be proud to have one of her prodigies staying home with her four (maybe more one day) children AND homeschooling them!  Now that might be a reunion worth going to. 

I thank the Lord for his grace and that he changed my heart toward marriage and babies!

I also wanted to say that I really appreciate all the great information that have been brought up on this thread – the discussion of “types” of feminism – there are SO many and Suzanne’s epifany about Charles Ives – very interesting.

Rebekah

Loved all of LMA books as do my daughters.  I personally saw nothing that would be offensive to me and when I mentioned this post to my daughters, they said the same.  One of my daughters is reading Hosptial Sketches right now by LMA about her breif stint as a nurse during the civil war and though Alcott used a pseudonym and may have embellished some of the stories, my daughter is aware of that and she is enjoying it.  I believe you can be a Godly woman and still have aspirations to work and do good in this world.  There are so many types of belief and the way we express our belief – some Christians wear pants and jeans, I do as do my daughters – some do not; some work outside the home and others do not – I don’t as once I had the children I chose to stay home with them, but up until that point in my marriage I worked – I am encouraging my daughters to get a college education if that is their desire – because I do not know what God has planned for them, and they may need to work.  So this is another of those things where there is no cut and dried answer to suit everyone – but I really feel that there is nothing wrong with her books, and I checked out the link to KOF and found I have very different views to them on just about every book they review – so again this is for each family to discern.  In high school my daughters are reading books that have various types of sensitive material in them, but we discuss it all and they are intelligent enough to know right from wrong.  In college they will have books to read that maybe I would prefer they did not, but with the background in reading I have given them, I am sure they will be able to read anything and deal with it in a mature and sensible manner.  My advice would be, read it and make up your own mind for your own children – you know them best and there is no right or wrong answer – the belief system of the family will determine the attitude, and if mine is different to yours then we cannot agree, so we must agree to disagree and decide ourselves.  I was a tomboy as a young girl as well, and I agree that I don’t see anything wrong with that either – I was taught very early on how to behave like a young lady, but my mother was wise enough I think to allow my personality to shine through and if that meant helping on the local farm with the other village children and skimming stones on the pond, she was fine with that.  Everyone in our little English village went to church and we were a very close knit community – all the boys and girls played and worked together on the local farm and also helped in the kitchen with the farmer’s wife – I am grateful my mother allowed me such an upbringing.  I do not feel that being a tom boy has hurt me in the least, or made me less of a woman.  Each to his own, is my belief on these issues.  Linda