On Little Women

I don’t think it would be wrong to say that this is the most Protestant American novel I have ever read, and I don’t know that I like it very much. While all of the characters are iconic and this is a heartwarming book (with the major exception, of course, of the death of Beth), Alcott’s pace is just so slow and episodic that it just lacked momentum. I know that I am not the target audience, but my understanding of this book tell me that there’s something in it for everyone—it just didn’t quite work for me. Yet, I am happy that I got to know the four sisters as they cultivate characteristically Protestant moral virtues (thrift, diligence, humility, loyalty, independence, self-sacrifice, etc.) and make sense of the world around them.