When I arrived in Beijing, I had no books to read. I’d whizzed through ‘Me After You’ which was a marvellous story! I would write about it, but it’s been far too long since I’ve finished it and wouldn’t be able to do it justice, I’m also not sure how much justice I’ll give Little Women… I visited my local shopping centre and found the one part of the book shop with English literature. Typically, Harry Potter and all the classics were available, Little Women being one of them.
It has taken me since then till the flight to Hong Kong to finish the book. It just didn’t grip me like the usual chick lit or murder mystery etc. I usually read! I think I struggle with period novels and prefer to see them visually represented.
As a wholesome moral novel, it serves its purpose. Following the lives of four sisters. I know I need to keep in mind that it reflects the times when it was written. BUT. Argh. Frustrating is the word. A woman is seen as the wife, mother, caregiver, housekeeper. Ever since the women were ‘little’ they were molded into the stereotypes and expectations of what society had expected of them. They seem to make such a meal of housekeeping it’s quite shocking. Don’t get me wrong, I loves me a tidy house, baking, cooking, cleaning… but my goodness!
I can fully appreciate the honesty and family values that are presented in this book, it must be said, and I did enjoy the eloquence of which it was written with. At times I wanted to use ‘frolicked’ and ‘romped’ in daily life and found myself speaking as if I was taken right out of the book. However, as previously said there are frustrating parts that I just really struggled to deal with, especially when it comes to courtship and marriage. Although, there was a very funny part where one of the sisters who marries early on, spends the entire day attempting to make her own jam and fails miserably, her husband doesn’t understand why she is so upset by it. I empathised with her to an extent because we’ve all been there, where we’ve set out to do something and it fails miserably. You feel terrible and get in a rotten mood, it was a very sweetly written chapter of the novel.
I think it would be fair to say that you can resemble each of the sisters in some way. Their characters differ greatly but the main point that I could take from their relationships and journeys they go on, is that they all love each other a great deal and that the family bond is a strong one for sure.
In terms of how women were viewed and the expectations of them… one of the quotes I enjoyed most;
“At twenty-five, girls begin to talk about being old maids, but secretly resolve that they never will be. At thirty they say nothing about it, but quietly accept the fact, and if sensible, console themselves by remembering they have twenty more useful, happy years, in which they may be learning to grow old gracefully.”
p528
There is so much of this to pick apart. I’m currently twenty-five and I chuckled to myself when I read this. It’s truthful, because I’m guilty of saying that I’m going to live out my days in my barn conversion alone with my dog… But deep down I know I would like a family at some point in my life. Where I differ is the time limit which is put on women. Okay, so there is a time when your body will prevent you from physically having children but there is actually no age which you can’t and there should be absolutely no judgement of anybody for whenever they choose to have children or if they choose to have none. I go through ups and downs of what I want, where I want to be and what I want from relationships that I have. Times are so changed now but there are still stereotypes and expectations of women, which are stuck in the past. Also, “twenty more years,” that IS a reflection of the time and… “May be learning to grow old gracefully.” Spit your tea out kind of words that is me lady. What even is growing old gracefully anyway?
Main moral I think you need is, stay kind and do as you please. Ultimately, you know what makes you happy and you should be fulfilled in life no matter what it is that makes you content, don’t pass judgement and compare yourself to others. If you love someone let them know, don’t hold back because there is nothing worse than meaningful words left unsaid. I fear that I have gone off on a ridiculous tangent, but I think I’ve got my point across.
There is so much to this novel, there as some tender parts in it, as I’m thinking about it now, I have got a quiet appreciation for it. When I began writing this, I was partially dreading it as I didn’t think I would be able to write enough! As much as at times it took me forever to dip back into it, when I took the time to connect with the characters, one found it quite amusing.
I’m going to apologise in advance for my writing when discussing books that I have read; they aren’t as fully formed and structured as I’d like. My writing style I feel, is constant rambling which sometimes works alright for blogs but not so good on book reviews.
Beans on toast blog 