Louisa May

“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship”(Louisa May Alcott). Louisa May Alcott was an unafraid and courages woman. As a pioneer for women’s rights, she was selfless, humble, and gracious. For those of you who do not know me, I am Anna Alcott, the eldest of the Alcott daughters. Although Louisa May Alcott, or just Louisa May to many of us (Louisa May Alcott Biography), shared much of her life through her published stories, I’d like to take this time to share with you the Louisa May I knew.

Louisa May was born on November 29, 1832, in Germantown, Pennsylvania to our parents Bronson Alcott and Abigail May Alcott (Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography). Abigail May quickly fell in love with the charming Bronson Alcott, an educator and philosopher, finding that his passionate and idealistic—high-minded ideals most attractive (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ‘Little Women). The two married in 1830 and had me, their first out of four daughters, in 1831 (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ’Little Women). My time as the spoiled only child was short lived for Louisa May was born the following year. After Louisa May, came Elizabeth and then Abigail. Bronson and Abigail Alcott had completed their family.

The four of us daughters had a swell time together. I think of our early youth with delight as I recall all the adventures we had. I ,of course, was the actor. I loved acting and creating any situation that would allow for me to practice my art (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ‘Little Women). Often, us girls would make small plays to preform to our parents (Louisa May Alcott Biography). Louisa May was the tomboy. Oh, how she loved going on adventures in the forest that surrounded our house. Elizabeth was the most angelic out of the four of us. She was so sweet, but sadly passed away thirty years ago of Scarlet fever on March 14, 1858 at age twenty-two. Abigail was unique in her own way too. She was a natural born artist and helped create our sets for our plays and who’s art can now be found in world renowned galleries across the globe (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ’Little Women).

Louisa May was a was a tough woman, deriving her inspiration from Mother and Father much like the rest of us did. Mother was kind woman, with even kinder eyes. She was hard working and taught us that nothing in life is handed to you. We had to work for what we wanted. And work we did. Father was a forward-thinking teacher and philosopher (Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography). He was a strong supporter of women's rights and an early white abolitionist (Not The Little Woman You Thought She Was), a trait Louisa May took directly after. Louisa May, as some of you may know, was so much like our father, that she was not so secretly his favorite. Fathers love for education and social justice (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ’Little Women) would lead him to meet our dear family friends, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Theodore Parker (Louisa May Alcott Biography). Growing up in a political atmosphere with such influences would severely impact us girls to be the women we are today, especially Louisa May (The Little Woman You Thought She Was).

Our youth was one you’d never expect expect the author of wholesome children’s books to have had. Our family lived in poverty for the duration of all of our youth and early adult life. Although Father was one of the most forward thinkers of his time, he had a difficult time holding a steady job (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ‘Little Women). He was our first teacher and taught us up to the year 1843 when he decided it was time to pick up our family and move to Harvard, Massachusetts to found a utopian commune called Fruitlands. Fruitlands was a fun and magical place for his four daughters to explore. Living on Fruitlands allowed our imaginative minds to run rampant. Sadly, the experience wasn’t as magical for our parents. Father knew little about farming and the utopian dream quickly fell to shambles. Mother and us four girls were forced to pick up the slack of our father (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ’Little Women).

Being raised by some of the world’s brightest philosophers and carrying experiences from growing up in poverty, I think, shaped Louisa May the most. After our fathers’ failed attempt in creating a utopian society, the financial burdens of our father fell on Mothers’ and our backs. We became very scrappy for work. Louisa May worked as a domestic servant and teacher from 1850 to 1862. Meanwhile, she also wrote children’s books that were being published in the Atlantic Monthly (Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography). The next year she went to Washington, D.C. to work as a nurse during the Civil War (Louisa May Alcott Biography). Her stint as a nurse was short lived for she was treated for typhoid (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ‘Little Women). Her career as a nurse had ended abruptly. Louisa May came back home to Boston to write her first novel, Moods, in 1865. The novel was a huge success, especially for it being her first, and accepted job in 1867 as the editor of the juvenile magazine Merry's Museum. The following year, Louisa May wrote Little Women, a novel about us four daughters. The book was a smashing success, and allowed for our family to do what we had so desperately worked for, to finally have enough money to live comfortably. Louisa Mays’ twenty five years of hard work had finally paid off (Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography).

My sister, being the selfless woman she was, used her new platform to speak out about prohibition and the dangers of alcohol. She was a reformer who worked to gain the right to vote for women, Father was so proud (Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography). As a feminist icon, Louisa May remained unmarried, earned money and was in control of her situation for the rest of her life. Marriage was always something I longed for. A way out of poverty as I viewed it. When I was younger and more foolish, I recall asking my sister why she found my life as a married woman so unappealing. She said, "I'd rather be a free spinster and paddle my own canoe” (Not The Little Woman You Thought She Was).

Louisa May Alcott died on March 6, 1888, in Boston, Massachusetts (Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography). Louisa spent most of her life working herself to exhaustion, trying to provide for her family. She was a generous soul, one that will be dearly missed. Louisa May is truly a rags to riches remodel. Her legacy is about the empowerment of women and girls around the world. Her drive, passion, and wit is what her family and fans will remember her most for. “Take fate by the throat and shake a living out of her” (Not The Little Woman You Thought She Was). Thank you Louisa May for giving us these words to live by.