Louisa May Alcott’s tale of the March sisters in Little Women is certainly aimed towards
teaching moral values of decency and goodness to female readers. At the end of nearly every chapter of the
first half of the book, a lesson is taught to one of the sisters—generally excluding
Beth, due to her impeccable nature. One
of the more recurring values to be learned, specifically by Amy and Meg, is the
rejection of living a materialistic lifestyle and the promotion of living
modestly.
Both Amy and Meg struggle with a desire to live an upper
class lifestyle for much of Little Women. Meg states early on in the book, “But it does
seem so nice to have little suppers and bouquets, and go to parties, and drive
home in a carriage, and read and rest, and not grub. It’s like other people, you know, and I
always envy girls who do such things; I’m so fond of luxury” (Alcott, page 34);
likewise, Amy writes to her mother telling her she will marry Fred Vaughn, saying,
“I may be mercenary, but I hate poverty, and don’t mean to bear it a minute
longer than I can help... though Fred is not my model hero, he does very well,
and in time, I should get fond enough of him if he was very fond of me, and led
me do just as I liked,” (Alcott, pg. 318).
Desire for a richer, more luxurious life is a flaw for both Amy and Meg,
but it is their mother who tries to instill in them that happiness does not
come from money and possessions. It is
not how rich and comfortable one is that makes one happy, but rather the
choices and good deeds one makes that leads to a happy, joyful life. Living decently to better oneself morally and
spiritually and to better the lives of the people one surrounds oneself with are
the true keys to happiness in the eyes of Mrs. March. Alcott provides several examples of living for others and not for riches. Mr. Laurence and Laurie are very well
off, and while they do love one another, they argue about how Laurie is to be
raised for much of the novel, with Laurie wishing to run away many times. Even though they never have to worry about finances
and can buy anything they please, the Laurence’s do not live a perfect
lifestyle. When Meg buys the fifty
dollar dress using John’s money, she learns that it leads to tremendous anguish and guilt. Alcott
shows the joys of righting these wrongs, when Meg returns her purchase and
instead buys a gift for John that brings the couple much happiness. This is the turning point for Meg, when she
truly realizes the importance of denying oneself luxuries, and instead, giving
to others to find happiness. The beauty and
joy of living modestly can be seen throughout the novel, from Amy and Meg
learning to deny themselves of expensive silk dresses, to outsider Sallie
Moffat stating (of Meg's wedding), “That is the prettiest wedding I’ve been to for an age, Ned, and
I don’t see why, for there wasn’t a bit of style about it,” (Alcott, pg. 253). The key to living happily is not in living richly
and elegantly, but rather, working hard and giving love to others.
I agree that throughout the novel Meg and Amy struggle with wanting more luxury than they can afford. I think one important thing to consider is that in many of the situations where these two girls appear to want wealth the most, is when they are influenced by those around them to fit in. For instance, when Meg buys the silk dress that her and John cannot afford, it is at the hands of Sally Moffat encouraging her and always having the “[prettiest] things” (Alcott 274-475). Without the pressure and jealousy spawned from Sally, Meg probably would not have even considered buying the silk dress. Similarly, when Amy buys the limes to bring to school, she is not interested in the quality of the limes, or the luxury, but she “could not resist the temptation of displaying” them (Alcott 70). Similar to how Meg was tempted to buy the dress to be more like Sally, Amy wanted to fit in with the girls at her school by showing off her limes. Although the girls do learn their lesson throughout the novel and begin to be not as interested in displaying luxury to others to fit in, I do not believe their want for luxury has changed, but their priorities have shifted from attempting to impress people to instead, living with model character.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that Meg and Amy both struggle with their desires for luxurious lifestyles for a good portion of the novel. However, I cannot blame them because this desire is still something people struggle with in today’s world. As children, and even adults on occasion, I believe we all go through times in which we want things that others have. We see others with luxury items that we don’t have ourselves and believe that those items are what provides happiness to those people who have them. It isn’t until we experience some wealth and extravagance ourselves that we realize that happiness is not gained through or possessions, but instead in things that provide us with something more, such as our loving family members and caring spouses. After Meg is given a chance to spend a weekend in luxury with the Moffats, she quickly learns that that lifestyle isn’t nearly as fulfilling as she had thought. Meg is described as being “too tired for gossip, and went to bed, feeling as if she had been to a masquerade, and hadn’t enjoyed herself as much as she expected” (Alcott 94). By the end of the novel, both Meg and Amy have had their share of time spent in luxury and discover that it isn’t nearly as satisfying as they had once believed. Instead, both get to experience a happy life without as much luxury as they previously thought they needed.
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