Episode 43: Marching toward "True Womanhood" in Louisa May Alcott's LITTLE WOMEN

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Published in two parts in 1868 and 1869 (with the second half originally titled Good Wives), Louisa May Alcott's Little Women for decades defined the goals and aspirations of the young-adult novel: written as the realism movement took hold after the Civil War, it eschewed the sappy sentimentalism of Harriet Beecher Stowe and the preachiness of Horatio Alger, creating a portrait of female adolescence that felt strikingly aspirational until the modern era. While the book has always been a childhood favorite, it would take until the feminist era to appreciate the complexities of the coming-of-age experiences of the four March sisters (Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy). The reason has much to do with Alcott's own ambivalence toward the purpose of children's literature, which was, as her title suggests, to train pubescent girls to be "little women." While she retained mixed feelings about her bestselling novel(s) and its sequels, there is no doubt that generations of young people find in the tales of friendship, sisterhood, and romance a vision of how one can mature out of innocence without that long dispiriting drop into experience. Little Women retains its freshness and charm, which is why it has been repeatedly adapted for radio, TV, and the movies. 

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All show music is by Lobo Loco.  The intro song is “Old Ralley”; the intermission is “The First Moment,” and the outro is “Inspector Invisible.”  For more information visit: https://locolobomusic.com/.