Growing up With Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women in India
By Melanie P. Kumar | On March 8, 2022 | Updated March 18, 2022 | Comments (0)
“Some books are so familiar, reading them is like being home again,” says Jo March, to her best friend, Laurie, as she picks up a volume of Shakespeare. That is exactly the kind of feeling that Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women evokes in me — a book that was a steadfast friend in my growing up years — one that I read and reread through my schoolgirl days in India.
Memories come back of lying on my stomach on a cold stone floor, on a hot summer day, with Little Women in one hand and homemade ice cream, tasting mainly of frozen Bournvita (an iconic nutritional beverage in India), in the other.
Once the last cold bit of ice cream slid down the throat, it was time to find a cushion to rest one’s head on and be transported into the magical tale of the March sisters and Marmee, Laurie, the senior Mr. Lawrence, Papa March, Mr. Brooks, Professor Bhaer, Hannah, and the formidable Aunt March.
All the characters are etched so well that they stay in one’s memory forever, even though some of them flit in and out of the story.
I grew up with educated parents, in a household where simple living, recycling, and not wasting resources was a message that was unconsciously absorbed.
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Going to a Catholic school, there was an awareness created about the poor, as we were always asked to donate unneeded clothes, prepare medicine packets, and the like. As a Girl Guide, visits to Jamshedpur’s Cheshire Home (a nonprofit dedicated to assisting those with disabilities and senior citizens) was a must, so there was an identification with Mrs. March’s charity work, in which she wanted to involve her daughters.
In my peer group, my reader friends all read Little Women — it was like a rite of passage. Even now, decades later, we speak of these books.
While growing up, my friends and I indulged in make-believe and play adaptations just like the March sisters did. I had a strong bond with my siblings as well as my entire family, echoing the universal sentiments portrayed in Little Women.
I had yet to find my writing voice, and my ideas about becoming a writer were still nascent, I couldn’t help but identify with Jo March when she voiced her ambitions:
“I want to do something splendid before I go into my castle—something heroic, or wonderful — that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead. I don’t know what, but I’m on the watch for it, and mean to astonish you all, some day. I think I shall write books, and get rich and famous; that would suit me, so that is my favorite dream.”
Jo also admitted to being flawed, which made her more relatable. It wasn’t difficult to find commonality with the other three sisters, but with Jo, the identification seemed complete.
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Alcott modeled Jo on herself and often spoke through her character. Jo says things like, “I’m happy as I am, and love my liberty too well to be in a hurry to give it up for any mortal man.”
Alcott was clearly an author ahead of her time, as she didn’t make a pushover of any of the sisters. Meg is portrayed as a pleasant girl that every man could fall in love with, but she also has strong opinions, as when she tells Jo, “Just because my dreams are different than yours, it doesn’t mean they’re unimportant.” Loving, kind Beth, who always thinks of others, is also shown as having a unique viewpoint.
I started out not caring too much for Amy, the pampered youngest child, who in her younger days could come across as vain, with petty preoccupations. But she grew on me with some of her witticisms and wise words, and in her acceptance of Laurie as a husband, despite knowing that he had been madly in love with her older sister.
She tells him, “Love Jo all your days, if you choose, but don’t let it spoil you, for it is wicked to throw away so many good gifts because you can’t have the one you want.”
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Readers suffered over Jo’s rejection of Laurie, as in their hearts was hope for them to be together always. But then, you can only be filled with respect for Jo’s determination and her desire to do something more with her life than to just settle down into matrimony.
“Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for.”
Alcott portrays Jo as an emancipated woman, always questioning the lot of women:
“I find it poor logic to say that because women are good, women should vote. Men do not vote because they are good; they vote because they are male, and women should vote, not because we are angels and men are animals, but because we are human beings and citizens of this country.”
Marmee’s genuine, self-reflective nature as a strong, supportive woman comes through when she confesses to Jo about her lifelong struggles with a quick temper. That’s something Jo grapples with as well. It’s nice to see the humanizing portrait, written at a time when mothers were always supposed to be portrayed as perfect paragons of virtue.
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Professor Friedrich Bhaer, the tutor who befriends Jo when she goes to New York to take up employment, is a masterstroke on the part of the author. The Professor is encouraging of Jo’s literary talents but isn’t above telling her the truth about her writing.
It’s his push that prompts Jo to move from penning stories about blood and gore because they pay well, to writing from the heart. This eventually pays off in terms of getting published (much like it did in Louisa’s real life), turning Jo into a respected author.
Seeing Professor Bhaer as competition to Laurie made me resent him at first. Laurie’s high spirits and rapport with Jo seemed to be missing. It took me a while to figure that Alcott intended him to be a perfect foil for Jo.
I was so enamored with Little Women that I went on to read all the sequels in serial order starting with Good Wives (originally published as a separate sequel, it eventually became part of Little Women in one volume), Little Men, and Jo’s Boys. All of them enthralled me, though none were quite equal to Little Women.
In my formative years, the story of a family that didn’t have much money, but were happy and contented and had fun, stayed in my mind. Perhaps it was the magic of growing up with Little Women that gave it a special perspective.
Jo’s determination to be a writer and her one-track approach has always spoken to me, especially seeing her doggedness bear fruit. This gives hope to all writers.
Contributed by Melanie P. Kumar: Melanie is a Bangalore, India-based independent writer who has always been fascinated with the magic of words. Links to some of her pieces can be found at gonewiththewindwithmelanie.wordpress.com.
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