Little Women - Final Discussion
Your final thoughts on Little Women!
Readers- it’s over! The book is done. I always feel a little sad and wistful and like I need to wander about the house for a while in my pajamas with no one speaking to me (or ONLY speaking to me about the book) when I finish a good book like this. I certainly feel like all these characters are my friends by this point.
But, I also hope that this book leaves you feeling not only like you want to escape back into another imaginary world, but that you feel a bit stronger to face the challenges of the real world, too. Like a fortifying cup of tea.
So- final thoughts? Of course, the entire Jo-Laurie-Professor Bhaer dynamic needs to be discussed. As does the Amy-Laurie dynamic (what do you think of all of their final occupations??) What overarching feeling is left with you as you come to the end of this story? How does its vision of a virtuous life sit with you?
Leave a comment! Join the discussion!
Due to life circumstances, I don’t have a final essay here — but please feel free to share your thoughts on Little Women! I’d love to hear them! (And so would your fellow readers!)
I love Jo and Bhaer's friendship revealed in the earlier letters, and while their romance only gets a few chapters, I think they're a great match for each other. The scene when he visits the family and they all love him instantly is heart-warming. (Small quibble: Daisy and Demi never sound/act like real toddlers to me.)
Then, Amy-Laurie. They're a great match, I just didn't get enough Laurie not being a self-pitying wastrel to appreciate his maturity to get married. It's not as bad as Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre (c'mon, convince me he has *changed*!), and I do like seeing how Amy has become confident and perceptive enough to know what Laurie needs when no one else seems to.
It's a lovely family scene to end on, and while I don't know if all of Alcott's choices hit for me (why did you make Beth Jr. frail and sickly...do you just hate Amy?), the Plumfield setting and the fact that it's Marmee's birthday is perfect.