what I know about Little Women

 I read "Little Women" in the freezing winter for the first time when I was a freshman; one year passed by, and the joy gained from reading the life of four lovely little women is still completely stored in my memory. Surprisingly, I found one character that is similar with what I used to be, along with the interesting discoveries. 

It's nothing like a life-frightening adventure that gets people excited or vigorous romantic journey that belongs to the couple, but a peaceful life story documented from the perspectives of four naive sisters. With humorous tone and unique way of describing the rich emotions and lively movements, I felt that I could share parts of their happiness and saw, through the window, the glorious smiles of Marmme (the mother of four sisters) that gives energy to the girls to get through the working day. From the first page, it immediately drags me into their dialogue about preparing a Christmas gift. Every single word they say is so adorable that it reminds me of the ones I had with my dear sister.

Jo March, the second sister and my favorite character, makes me think of my struggling adolescence. In my teens, insisting on thoughts as complicated as an astronomical number, I refused to be a lady-like girl, was sick of girlish topics like clothing, hair and makeup, and was so eager to act like a wild boy without considering what other thought of me. Not knowing the reason that I was reluctant to be an ordinary girl back then, I guess that I was covered with boyish appearance to be different from my peers and to announce "I am distinguished among all of you.", "We are far different." Doing so kept me from getting a sense of inferiority, but my true self was buried deep underground. Fortunately, by grabbing the hands reaching from my beloved people, I find other proper ways to comfort my insecurity. However, Jo loves and hates the same as I did, but she holds a different reason. 

Josephine, or we should call her by Jo. Jo tells Laurie, who lives in a neighborhood, that she feels that the name "Josephine" sounds too sensitive so she prefers people call her "Jo." She is one of the protagonists in the story and never likes to comply with rules that are set for girls. She runs fast, jumps high, and talks slang like a cowboy because that's her true self, and in her opinion, she doesn't need to be ashamed of her unique personality and habits. In terms of the novel, she is the first character I take as my model. Although she makes compromises sometime after she is old enough to think realistically, she never gives up on her dreams. This amazing, charming character symbolizes the rights that women should be given to study, to work, to be themselves. 

Louisa May Alcott, the eminent female novelist in the late nineteenth century, portraited herself as Jo (a gifted novelist) and mentioned the issue of feminism by her existence, which shed the light on the issue that she cared about. Besides feminism, gender equality (about Lourie), romance (Jo, Lourie, and Amy), and death (Beth) are the discussion topics that Louis hid in the story and inevitable issues that people have to face and overcome. 

The life of these little women may be poor, but with a contented mind, they live so happy just to have family around; this warmth of March's family can easily move the readers via the words. And within their simple life, many issues are hidden, and I do dig deeper into the ones that are still going on in presence. Do you get stressed out by the burdens on your shoulders? It's a stress-releasing book related to a life journey.