“Don't laugh at the spinsters, dear girls, for often very tender, tragic romances are hidden away in the hearts that beat so quietly under the sober gowns, and many silent sacrifices of youth, health, ambition, love itself, make the faded faces beautiful in God's sight. Even the sad, sour sisters should be kindly dealt with, because they have missed the sweetest part of life, if for no other reason.”
Little Women reinforces the ideas of "individuality" and "female vocation" frequently throughout—what role do these ideas play in the book? Who influenced Alcott's writings, and who did her writings influence? What makes Little Women a great American novel?
This webinar features Christine Doyle, Professor Emeritus of English at Central Connecticut State University; Marlowe Daly-Galeano, Associate Professor of English and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Lewis and Clark State College; and Gregory Eiselein, Donnelly Professor of English and University Distinguished Teaching Scholar at Kansas State University. You can find links to their books and publications by clicking here.
By The Ridgway Company, New York; photograph by White Studio - Everybody's Magazine, page 112, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63332463
