I am 6 books in to my New Year's resolution to read 45 books in 2011. (Be sure to check out my 2011 book page if you are interested in keeping tabs on me). Book number 6 was the classic Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
I loved this book as a kid, but hadn't read it in many years, at least since high school. After finishing the book last night, I was amazed at my different reaction to it this time. I still loved it, don't get me wrong, but kid-me and adult-me took two totally different messages away from the book. (Spoilers ahead, just in case you haven't read the book. Can there be spoilers for a 150 year old book? And if you haven't read it, you need to go get it!)
When I was young, I loved the idea of having sisters who would always be there for you. My brother and I have a tumultuous relationship, to put it lightly, and while we do love each other, I never saw it as anything like what the March sisters had. I also loved the romance of it, how each of the three surviving girls found their soul mate and seemed to live happily ever after, at least until the end of the book. I cried deeply the first time I read it when Beth died. The book has held a sentimental place in my head ever since, and I always assumed that my reaction would be the same if I reread it.
Fast forward 15 years or so, and I am reading it again. I did not cry this time when Beth died, probably because I knew it was coming. This time I was more focused on what a bad wife I would have been back in the Civil War era. Every time I looked up from the book I shuddered thinking what the characters would say if they ever saw our house. I found it a bit preachy in parts, but I may have focused on that more because Christianity and I parted ways a while ago. Then, Meg had her twins. And all of the sudden, I saw myself in the book. The struggles she had putting her children before her husband. The little boy who would not stay in bed, and was way to smart for his own good. It was my life, seen through an 1840s lens. And I fell in love all over again.
Have you ever read a book as a child only to go back as an adult and find new meaning in it?
3 comments:
I just finished re-reading the entire Anne of Green Gables series and I really did see it from a different perspective. Especially the later books that involve her children.
Since you are a fan of Little Women, I highly recommend visiting the Alcott house in Concord, MA. That house is where she based all the action of the book and where they shot the Katharine Hepburn movie version. It is a really interesting tour. It's also in the same area as Walden Pond.
Do you know that I just read Anne of Green Gables for the first time about two years ago? I should probably read the second book sometime. How many are there in the series?
I want to go to MA some time. So many things I want to see: Alcott house, Walden pond, Salem, Boston. But I think I will wait until the snow melts first. :)
There is actually eight books in the Anne of Green Gables Series, they're actually a quick read. But just like Harry Potter, the themes and events get more mature as Anne grows up.
Massachusetts has a ton of cool stuff since so much history has happened there. I've been to the Boston/Cape Cod area like four times and there is still a ton of stuff I've missed! Concord is super interesting because there is a ton of Revolutionary War history PLUS it was home to a whole literary movement led by Emerson. My only warning is that Walden Pond is a super popular state park now... so don't go expecting the Thoreau experience.
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