“Women have minds and souls as well as just hearts, and they’ve got ambition and talent as well as just beauty, and I’m sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for.”
This quote is well-remembered from the 2019 Oscar-nominated film “Little Women,” based on Louisa May Alcott’s novel. Crying in the attic to her mother, the heroine Jo March recounts the blessed memories of her childhood and yearns for better times. Jo dreams of being a successful writer, but instead, she finds herself lonely and restless in her pursuit of this career.
Many young women watching the film relate to Jo’s desperate dreams and indescribable hopes. Most viewers are unaware, however, that this popular quote in “Little Women” actually stems from a lesser-known novel written by Louisa May Alcott. Originally published in 1876, “Rose in Bloom” was written eight years after “Little Women” and is the sequel to Alcott’s “Eight Cousins.” It tells the story of Rose Campbell who just returned to New England after a long trip abroad in Europe. Since her parents are no longer living, she resides under the care and guidance of her Uncle Alec. The book focuses on Rose’s relationships with her seven boy cousins, her high aspirations to reform and change the world, and her blossoming romance.
Towards the beginning of “A Rose in Bloom,” Rose expresses the sentiment that Jo says in the film “Little Women:”
“Would you be contented to be told to enjoy yourself for a little while, then marry and do nothing more till you die?” she added, turning to Archie. “Of course not—that is only a part of a man’s life,” he answered decidedly. “A very precious and lovely part, but not all, continued Rose. “Neither should it be for a woman, for we’ve got minds and souls as well as hearts; ambition and talents as well as beauty and accomplishments; and we want to live and learn as well as love and be loved. I’m sick of being told that is all a woman is fit for! I won’t have anything to do with love till I prove that I am something besides a housekeeper and baby-tender!”“Heaven preserve us! Here’s women’s rights with a vengeance!” cried Charlie…”
Taken in isolation, this quote may make one believe that Alcott wrote a feminist work of literature. However, that interpretation is one through the lens of the modern age — and one that ignores the broader context of the story.
As the story progresses, it becomes more evident that Alcott was far from arguing for women’s rights or any form of liberation. On the contrary, Alcott’s vision for womanhood is dignified and is, in fact, quite conservative. Towards the beginning of the novel, Rose expresses feelings of restlessness, wanting to enjoy pleasures and avoid responsibility for a time:
The spirit of Eve is strong in all her daughters -– forbidden fruit will look rosier to them than any in their own orchards, and the temptation to take just one little bit proves irresistible to the wisest. So Rose, looking out from the safe seclusion of her girlhood into the woman’s kingdom which she was about to take possession of, felt a sudden wish to try its pleasures before assuming its responsibilities, and was too sincere to hide the longing.
Alcott neither approved nor applauded Rose’s sentiment. As the story continues, Rose discovers that the magnificence of life is not in extravagant pleasures, but rather in simple joys and quiet living. Likewise, although Alcott was not an orthodox Christian, she nevertheless provides a vision consistent with the traditional family and Biblical principles. In the unfolding story, it becomes evident that Rose does not disdain marriage or the family. Rather, Rose believes that women are called to higher things than merely marrying for rank or wealth.
In [Rose’s] eyes love was a very sacred thing, hardly to be thought of till it came, recently received and cherished faithfully to the end. Therefore, it is not strange that she shrank from hearing it flippantly discussed and marriage treated as a bargain to be haggled over, with little thought of its high duties, great responsibilities, and tender joys.
Marriage is sacred and to be protected, and with it, comes dutiful responsibilities. Rose is not against marriage, per se, but rather believes marriage should not be taken lightly or flippantly.
Toward the end of the novel, Rose laments to her uncle that she is not achieving as much as she hoped. “I want to be or do something splendid as well as they. I can’t write poetry or sing like a bird, but I should think I might have my share of glory in some way,” she says.
This recalls what Amy March says in “Little Women,” “I want to be great or nothing!” Uncle Alec replies:
The fun and fame do not last, while the memory of a real helper is kept green long after the poetry is forgotten and the music silent… He knows, and He rewards in His own good time. I think a quiet life like this often makes itself felt in better ways than one that the world sees and applauds, and some of the noblest are never known till they end, leaving a void in many hearts. Yours may be one of these if you choose to make it so…
Rose chooses to make it so. She marries her dear friend and companion, and lives a simple life of service and sacrifice.
Throughout the novel, it is not by fame or power which Rose makes a profound impact on the young women and young men around her but by exerting her graceful feminine influence on others.
“She felt her power and wanted to use it wisely,” Alcott wrote. As a result, Rose is often scorned for her high ideals and prudishness. However, the book explains that Rose’s little circle was made better through her influence. For “every woman has her own little circle and it can use her influence for good, if she will.”
Alcott’s novel is a far cry from feminist liberation or women’s rights. On the contrary, Louisa May Alcott’s “Rose in Bloom” provides a positive vision for dignified womanhood. Rose comes to learn that high achievements are not the mark of value in womanhood, nor are advantageous marriages a sign of sophistication. Rather, a life of dignity and devotion is precious. Every woman has the power to shape the circle in which she resides.
Alcott wrote, “Young eyes look for a Paradise and weep when they find a workaday world which seems full of care and trouble till one learns to gladden and glorify it with high thoughts and holy living.”
Rather than harboring ingratitude for not being as “great” as others, young women should seek to be like Rose. May we gladden and glorify our lives with high thoughts and holy living.
