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Little Women By Louisa May Alcott

“Any darn fool can make something complex. It takes a genius to make something simple” said Pete Seeger, and to me, the epitome of that statement is Louisa May Alcott. One of her most popular works “Little Women” holds no complex tragedies, major dramas or complicated character arcs and I truly believe it’s simplicity is what makes it such a masterpiece. Frankly, I would have been prouder If I were able to say that I had read the book before watching the movie, directed by Greta Gerwig but after completely falling in love with the movie, I decided to read the book. Now, let me explain why Little women is on my top five list.

The first time I read the book, it made me sympathize with the sisters and left me wanting to know what led Alcott to write this story. Sometimes the characters seemed way too perfect for the real world. I found myself thinking about each of the sisters one by one and trying to find myself in one of them, or all of them. I saw a little hint of me in Meg’s mother-like character; Amy’s affinity for painting made me relate to her; I felt closer to Beth because of her love for music; but most of all Jo’s character is where I saw my reflection in the clearest. Her passion for writing, her tomboy personality, her quick temper and no romantic interests for the most part of the story, her ability to stay focused on her goal, and many more reasons were why I found the most of myself in her.

The book offers so much more than a simple story about the March family. It shows the ups and downs of life; It teaches the readers the cruel reality in which women in the past had to live, the sickness and the death of the loved ones and how it can affect people around them, the courage to sacrifice your future career for someone you love, the strength that a mother is required to have to look after her family, the responsibilities that come as you grow up, and so many more lessons can be taken from this simple narrative. The intensity of the love amongst the characters and their willingness to esteem one another even when each one of them has a distinct personality and priority is also a great lesson for the readers. It shows us that we don’t have to understand everyone’s choices, morals, opinions or values, we just have to simply respect them.

After reading the book several times, I watched all of the other movies but the latest version holds a special place in my heart. The way Greta Gerwig portrayed this classic novel is quite different from the previous adaptations and I can’t help but love her approach to the story. The pacing of the novel is slow, but for someone like me, who perishes little, finer details in life, it is just perfect.