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10 Great Ideas from Little Women

1. Money and possessions do not equate to happiness.
2. Count your blessings and be grateful for what you have in life.
3. Conceit spoils the finest genius.
4. Don’t let the sun go down upon your anger; forgive each other, help each other, and begin again tomorrow.
5. When you’re feeling down, do something good for another.
6. Pursue your own path in life, not merely what society and others expect from you.
7. Teamwork allows you to get more done in less time.
8. Have a purpose in life because it will keep you moving forward. So dream big dreams and have a sense of where you are going in life.
9. Family is important – a family that plays together stays together.
10. Death is a fact of life.

Why Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Still Matters Today

Little Women is a story about a traditional family – father, mother and four daughters. All families, traditional and non-traditional, form a community, which teaches its members how to function in the broader community. Life is very busy today, and family members often do not have enough time to sit down together. Little Womenreminds us how important it is for family members to communicate with each other. The March family had dinner together, at which time they would talk about how their day went.

Cover of Little Women

Why Louisa May Alcott is qualified to write Little Women

Little Women is semi-autobiographical, and the character, Jo March is based on Louisa May Alcott’s life. Louisa May Alcott was the second daughter of the educator and transcendentalist Amos Bronson Alcott and Abba May Alcott. Jo March’s life was more idyllic than Alcott’s. Alcott was dominated by her father and she had to bear the financial burden of her sisters and mother.

Louisa May Alcott is best known for Little Women (1868) and the seven novels that followed in the “Little Women” series. Like in the novel, Alcott is the second of four girls, and all children were homeschooled by their father. He encouraged them to keep a journal, together they wrote a family newspaper and plays in which they performed. The four girls also learned how to sew and take care of the home. Alcott drew on her experiences, as well as those of her sisters Anna and Elizabeth, to write Little Women, which she wrote in two months. The book was so very well received that fans asked the publisher for more stories about the March sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Alcott never married, took care of her aged parents, as well as adopted her sister Anna’s son and was also legal guardian of her sister May’s daughter.

Alcott was exposed to great writers such as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Margaret Fuller – all were her mentors. As a child, she went on nature walks with Thoreau. And she borrowed books from Emerson, and wrote short stories for his children.

To get the most from this Little Woman SummaReview, after you have read it, answer the following questions:

1. Is this a book you’d like to read for yourself? Why? Why not?
2. What has made an impression on you while reading?
3. Which character is most like you?
4. Were there any kernels of wisdom in this reading?
5. What are five takeaways from the SummaReview?
6. What is one action that you can take as a result of reading this SummaReview?

The Novel, Little Women

While reading Little Women there were many times I felt like the book glorified poverty too much. However, the flawed characters balanced the story, and made them endearing because readers will find traits in one of the sisters that they can see in themselves. There is a lot of reference to The Pilgrim’s Progress, which I have never read, but research uncovered this, “In writing Little Women, Alcott alluded overtly in numerous instances to John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress (published in two parts in 1678 and 1684), a Christian allegory that was among her father Bronson Alcott’s favorite stories and one of the most well-known texts of the nineteenth century.”

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is divided into two parts. In Part I the “little women” are growing up and in Part II they are adults. The story is set during the American Civil War and when it starts, Mr March is away at the war and funds are limited. It’s just before Christmas and the girls are lamenting about not having a lot of money to spend on Christmas presents. From the outset the reader gets insights into the personalities of Margaret (Meg) aged 16, Josephine (Jo) aged 15, Elizabeth (Beth) aged 13, and Amy aged 12.

On Christmas Day each of the four girls receives a book, different colours as a gift from Marmee (Mrs March). It’s not quite clear if the books are journals or copies of The Pilgrim’s Progress. The girls are taught to be selfless by their parents, and on Christmas Day their mother asks them to sacrifice their breakfast so that it be given to a family in need. Later, they perform The Witch’s Curse, an Operatic Tragedy. The girls get a welcome surprise when their wealthy neighbour, Mr Laurence gives them ice cream, cake and fruit, and French bonbons.

A neighbour, Mrs. Gardiner, invites Meg and Jo to her house for a New Year’s Eve party. The girls do not have new clothes so they have to make do with what they have. While curling Meg’s hair, Jo accidentally burns the ends. At the party, they meet Laurie, Mr Laurence’s grandson. Jo and Laurie hang out at the party and it’s the beginning of a long friendship. Laurie is an orphan who now lives with his grandfather.

We learn that Mr March lost his property while trying to help an unfortunate friend resulting in his two eldest daughters having to work. Meg works as a governess teaching small children and Jo acts as a companion to her elderly Aunt March. Meg takes Amy under her wings while Jo does the same for Beth, and both pairs of sisters develop a strong bond. The March family is a closely knit one and they take time each evening to check in with each other to see how their day went.

Because of this kind of relationship, Jo feels sorry for Laurie who is always by himself and leads a very sheltered life. She marches over to his home and at the time, he was ill, so she reads to him and visits for hours. Laurie is welcome into the March family and they do a lot of things together. It’s not always smooth sailing and the girls are not angels. Amy burns a book that Jo is working on because her sister refuses to let her attend The Seven Castles of the Diamond Lake. A rift develops between the sisters and Jo refuses to forgive Amy. It takes a near tragic event for Jo to forgive her sister. Marmee talks to them about their hot tempers and Jo promises to work on taming hers.

The “little women” in Alcott’s book choose their destinies. When they are young Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy describe what they dream for themselves as adults when they describe their castles in the air. Meg chooses marriage, children and a lovely home; Beth describes a life at home with her parents, taking care of the family; Amy chooses to be “go to Rome, do fine pictures be the best artist in the whole world” (151 -152); and Jo exclaims, “I’d have a stable full of Arabian steeds, rooms piled with books, and I’d write out of a magic inkstand, so that my works should be as famous as Laurie’s music” (152). Laurie describes a life of travel, “After I’d seen as much of the world as I want to, I’d like to settle in Germany and have just as much music as I choose. I’m to be a famous musician myself, and all creation is to rush to hear me; and I’m never to be bothered about money or business,  but just enjoy myself and live for what I like.”

Meg is invited by the Moffats, a wealthy family, to spend a fortnight with them. For a short time, Meg forgets about who she is and what her values are when she allows the Moffat to dress her up for a ball and be on display. But this is very human because most of us want to have beautiful things, and we want to be admired.

At one point, the March girls decide they want to be lazy so they take a week off and the house is in disarray. They quickly learn that for things to go smoothly they have to be consistent.  The girls are very inventive and know how to keep themselves occupied. They have the Pickwick Club, a literary club, and the Busy Bee Society, which they allow Laurie to join.

When the family receives news that their father is seriously ill, Jo cuts off her hair for $25 to help offset the cost for her mother to travel to nurse her husband back to health. While the mother is away the girls are not as selfless as they are taught to be, except for Beth who is the only one who visits the Hummels a family in need. She discovers that the baby is quite ill, and babysits to give an older sister respite from the task. The baby dies and the doctor diagnoses that it’s from scarlet fever. Beth contracts the disease, which almost kills her. Though she recovers, the illness weakens her system and a few years later she would succumb to it.

When the girls grow up, Meg marries Laurie’s tutor, Mr Brooke, and has twins. She quickly learns that married life is not as idyllic and peaceful as she imagined – it’s filled with many ups and downs and couples have to work hard at the relationship. Jo is published and uses her $100 to send her mom and Beth to the seaside. They hope that Beth will regain her strength.

Laurie is in love with Jo who rejects him. Laurie is shattered and travels to Europe with his grandfather. He becomes lazy and forgets his dreams, living a life of an idle rich man. Amy gets the opportunity to travel across Europe and she learns that she doesn’t have what it takes to be a successful artist. Laurie visits Amy in Europe and she observes his laziness and calls him on it. She is very critical of him, and friends are supposed to say something when you are not behaving appropriately. You see a friendship blossoming into love and Laurie transfers the kind of love he has for Jo to Amy and vice versa.

It’s heartrending for the reader when they learn that Beth is dying, though she is at peace with it. Her father prepares her for death and Beth asks Jo to always take care of the family. Jo is devastated by Beth’s death and her parents try to comfort her. Her mother suggests that she starts writing again. Jo eventually finds love and still takes care of the family. Aunt March dies and leaves Plumfield, her home, to Jo who transforms it into a home where she and her husband, the Professor Bhaer teach boys – both rich and poor – so they grow up in a loving and caring environment.  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is a coming of age story, and although it was written close to 150 years ago, many of its lessons are timeless. Little Women changed me, and made me question some of the choices I have made in life.

I recommend Little Women by Louisa May Alcott because it’s a book that will touch your heart. In addition, it was a groundbreaking book at the time because the girls grew up and pursued their own paths in life, not merely what society expected of them. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

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Further Reading

Henry David Thoreau

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Essayist, Poet and Lecturer

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Review – The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Amos Bronson Alcott

Little Women

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – Radio Show

Little Women (1933) – Trailer, Click here to view video. Uploaded by TheMovieSceneUK on Nov 22, 2010

This is what we talked about on The Invisible Mentor Blog this week: JM Barrie’s Peter Pan, and Frederick (Fritz) Perls, Founder of Gestalt Therapy.

Adventures in Learning

Have you ever read an intriguing article and wondered how the writer came up with the idea? Have you ever read a book that connects two very different subject matters in a unique way? Have you ever transported one idea from one industry to another to resolve a pesky challenge? Have you ever read something that was so incredulous or even whimsical that it gave you the courage to try to do something that once seemed impossible? Reading broadly introduces diverse types of information into your life. It helps you to become bolder in your work and life.

Why You Must Read Broadly – Tip 4 

Sepia photograph of James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937), author of "Peter Pan" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Booked for Mentoring

The children’s drama Peter Pan by James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937) was first presented on the London stage in 1904, and then in the form of a novel in 1911. Sir James Matthew Barrie got his inspiration to write Peter Pan from five little boys – Nico, Jack, Peter, George, and Michael – of the Llewelyn Davies family.

Book Review – Peter Pan by JM Barrie 

Recently, I read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott for the very first time, and I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster. I related so well to the character Jo March that it was uncanny. And I started to question some of the life choices I have made. A friend suggested that I read Wide Sargasso Sea, which is actually the prequel to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. At the end of the book, my heart was heavy, and I felt this big hole inside of me. I remember thinking, “Such wasted lives.” Because of my response to Wide Sargasso Sea I have included it on my list of 10 books.

10 Books I Have Enjoyed in 2012 

Wisdom of Life Profile

Born in Berlin in the late nineteenth century into a middle class family, Frederick Salomon Perls was interested in theatre. Affectionately known to friends and colleagues as Fritz, Perls decided to study medicine when he enrolled into college in 1913. The First World War interrupted his study and he enlisted to serve until the war ended in 1918. Perls continued his studies immediately after the war, received his MD in 1921, and decided to focus on psychiatry.

Frederick (Fritz) Perls, Founder of Gestalt Therapy 

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book links are affiliate links.

10 Books I Have Enjoyed in 2012 – My Book Reviews Included

I’m having better luck this time reading the literary classics, and I’m really enjoying the ones I have read. The funny thing is they are transforming me in a way that I never expected. When I wrote my book Tales of People Who Get It, I indicated that Key to Yourself by Venice Bloodworth, New Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz and The Magic of Thinking Big by Dr. David J. Schwartz profoundly impacted me. Five years later, my response would be very different. This shows me that I growing and evolving as a person, and I’m delighted that I’m not standing still.

Magic of Thinking Big Cover (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Recently, I read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott for the very first time, and I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster. I related so well to the character Jo March that it was uncanny. And I started to question some of the life choices I have made. A friend suggested that I read Wide Sargasso Sea, which is actually the prequel to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. At the end of the book, my heart was heavy, and I felt this big hole inside of me. I remember thinking, “Such wasted lives.” Because of my response to Wide Sargasso Sea I have included it on my list of 10 books.

While reading Watership Down by Richard Adams, I felt it was a demonstration of true leadership and team building. When we respond that way to books, the authors have done their job. Here are a few of the books I have enjoyed in 2012, some of which have transformed my life.

1. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
2. Watership Down: A Novel, Richard Adams
3. The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Emmuska Orczy (Review)
4. The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas (Review)
5. The Whip, Karen Kondazian (Review)
6. The Railway Children, E. Nesbit (Review)
7. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach (Review)
8. Pygmalion (Enriched Classics Series), George Bernard Shaw (Review)
9. The War of the Worlds (Dover Thrift Editions), H G Wells (Review)
10. Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys

I have not written the reviews for Little Women, Wide Sargasso Sea, or Watership Down: A Novel as yet. Which books have you read in 2012 that have impacted you?

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book links are affiliate links.

Why Peter Pan by JM Barrie Matters Today

Peter Pan and similar stories matter today, more than ever, because we do not take enough time to dream, and step into the world of make believe because we are too busy. Peter Pan allows us to think that we can make the impossible possible. Michael, John and Wendy Darling tried to fly and they kept at it until they became good at it. We can conceive and believe something, but until we take action, nothing will become of our idea. The book also highlights the fundamental differences between adults and children.

Cover via Amazon

The children’s drama Peter Pan by James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937) was first presented on the London stage in 1904, and then in the form of a novel in 1911. Sir James Matthew Barrie got his inspiration to write Peter Pan from five little boys – Nico, Jack, Peter, George, and Michael – of the Llewelyn Davies family. According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, “Barrie never wanted to face the pain and unhappiness of the adult world. Thus much of his writing is emotionally sentimental as well as thematically autobiographical.” (Vol. 2. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2004. p21-22).

Peter Pan by Sir James Matthew Barrie is a whimsical, magical story where children can fly, dogs can be nannies, and parents have the ability to scan their children’s mind while they are sleeping to learn what they are up to. “It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for the next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day. If you could keep awake (but of course you can’t) you would see your own mother doing this, and you would find it very interesting to watch her. It is quite like tidying up drawers.”

Peter Pan is a story of making the impossible possible by believing and taking action. The story of Peter Pan is so ridiculous that you cannot help but enjoy it.

Mrs Darling loves to tell her three children, Wendy, John and Michael bedtime stories before they go to sleep. Without her knowledge, Peter Pan listens to the stories and returns to Neverland where he tells the stories to the lost boys – boys taken away from their parents. One night while Peter Pan is leaving the children’s nursery, Nana, the dog who is the children’s nanny, catches Peter Pan’s shadow in its mouth. Mrs Darling examines the shadow and decides to roll it up and place in a drawer. At nights the children often dream of the magical island, Neverland, so they know about it.

After one incident, Mr Darling banishes Nana to stay outside in the kennel because he wants to let everyone know that he is master of his own home, but that decision comes to haunt him for a while. One night, Peter Pan returns for his shadow while the three children are sleeping in the nursery, and unfortunately Nana is locked outside the home. Peter Pan is with the fairy Tinkerbell. They find Peter’s shadow, but he cannot stick it back on and starts to cry.

The crying awakes Wendy, and of course she wants to know why he is crying. She sews back on Peter’s shadow. There is a lot of exchange going on between Wendy and Peter, and Tinkerbell is quite jealous. Peter uses chicanery to get Wendy to leave with him. Which child wouldn’t want to see mermaids, learn to fly and all the things that fairy tales are made of. Meanwhile Nana is very suspicious and starts to bark. She ultimately breaks free and goes to the house where Mr and Mrs Darling are at a party. They sense danger and go with Nana, but alas they are too late and the kids are gone.

Mr and Mrs Darling are devastated and cannot be consoled. The children are flying to Neverland which is far away. It’s very tiring and they are sleepy, but how can you sleep while flying. When they fall asleep, they start to fall, and Peter often waits until the absolute last moment to save them. To him it’s quite funny to watch. They are hungry and he teaches them to steal food out of the beaks of birds. Quite often it is a futile attempt.

Because of her jealousy, Tinkerbell wants to get rid of Wendy. When the three Darling children arrive at Neverland, Wendy’s role is changed to that of mother. Very soon Michael and John start to forget about their parents, but Wendy constantly reminds them by telling stories and sets examinations papers on it. Wendy is confident that their parents will welcome them back with open arms and she takes comfort in knowing that.

As the story unfolds, we learn about Execution Dock, Captain Henry Hook and his crew. There is a rivalry between Peter Pan and Captain Hook who lost his hand because of Peter Pan. Peter cut off Captain Hook’s right arm and fed it to a crocodile who now thirsts for the villain’s blood. Captain Cook is a bully, and like most bullies, he is a coward.

Peter Pan is childlike and wants to remain that way forever – he doesn’t ever want to grow up. Peter is also a “show-off” who makes the children and the lost boys dependent of him. It’s quite funny when they have pretend meals. They are hungry, however at meal times, they do not always have actual food, so they pretend that they are eating a meal.

Captain hook captures everyone except Peter Pan and intends to kill them. You see team work in action when they help Peter to finally vanquish his archenemy Captain Hook. The Darling children say they want to go home, and the lost boys return with them. Peter Pan doesn’t want to live with the Darlings or any other family because that means that he has to grow up, which he doesn’t want to do.

Back home, Mr and Mrs Darling are saddened by the disappearance of their children. Mr Darling pays penance by living in Nana’s kennel because he didn’t listen to the dog’s pleas. When the children return, the parents make room for the extra boys because they are so glad to see their children. The following year Peter Pan returns and wants to take Wendy once again, but Mrs Darling is having none of it. They come to an agreement that for one week each spring, Wendy can return to Neverland and do some spring cleaning for Peter.

Time is very different for Peter and he returns infrequently, until he shows up when Wendy is grown and married. By that time Peter Pan is no longer important to her. Wendy tells the Neverland story to her daughter Jane. One spring when Peter Pan returns, because his concept of time is so different, he doesn’t realize that Wendy is a grown woman and he asks for Michael and John. Wendy tells Peter Pan that the child sleeping is a new one and she tells him that she is a grown woman. Peter Pan is distraught because he didn’t want Wendy to grow up.

Peter Pan teaches Jane to fly, and the same deal is made that each spring, Jane will go to Neverland for a week to spring clean. This was the first time I read Peter Pan and what I liked most about the story is the magic of believing that you can do the impossible. Peter Pan convinced Michael, John and Wendy that they could fly. They believed they could fly and tried to fly until they mastered it. A big part was taking action. I recommend Peter Pan by J M Barrie because every now and again we need to step into the land of make believe.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book links are affiliate links.

This is what we talked about on The Invisible Mentor Blog this week: Edith Nesbit’s The Railway Children, Seneca the Younger, Stoic Philosopher, Playwright and Tutor to Nero, and Shannon Moroney, Author, Advocate and Speaker.

Seneca (Photo credit: tonynetone)

Adventures in Learning

What you read is more important that how much you read. Ensure that your reading material is diverse, and vary in the level of difficultly to read. The “menu” of books should include a selection of not just bestsellers, but also books that are off the beaten tracks. In fact, the great thinkers who have transformed the world did not read bestsellers.

Why You Must Read Broadly – Tip 3 

Booked for Mentoring

Though The Railway Children is a children’s book, it’s a perfect demonstration of why a safety net is so important. In the story, you have a father who is taken away, and we learn he is arrested for being a spy, which is a false accusation. The loss of income of the primary breadwinner forces the family into poverty.

Mentor Yourself : Book Review – The Railway Children by E. Nesbit 

Wisdom of Life Profile

Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger was born into a distinguished family of Italian origin in Cordova, Spain around 4 BC. Seneca’s father, known as Seneca Rhetor was an excellent orator and wrote about history and rhetoric.  Seneca’s older brother was a proconsul of Achaea in AD 51 – 52, and was the Gallio before whose tribunal the Apostle Paul in the Bible was brought.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger, Stoic Philosopher, Playwright and Tutor to Nero 

Interviews for Mentoring

This week we featured Shannon Moroney, Author, Advocate and Speaker. Moroney’s husband committed a sexual offence. She had make some tough decisions and  rebuild her life after the trauma. Here are Part I and Part II of Shannon Moroney’s interview.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book links are affiliate links.