Louise May Alcott, American novelist: biography, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Louise May Alcott is an American-born writer who rose to prominence after writing a novel about a family of "little women" based on her memories of three sisters, their childhood and adolescence. The books of this author are loved by many generations. After all, reading them is not just entertaining, but helps to form moral convictions, and also, together with the heroes of the books, learn self-development and the right attitude towards oneself and people.

The writer's parents

Amos Alcott grew up in a farming family. He worked hard and eventually became a very educated person. Having come up with a number of innovations in the field of education, Olcott decided to establish schools in different states. He considered the most important thing in the work of a teacher to convey to students the idea of self-education. Such advanced ideas confused parents, so schools often had to be closed. After the closure of another educational institution, Amos moved with his family. Over 30 years, the Alcotts had to change their place of residence more than 20 times. Only many years later Amos's ideas were understood and approved. By that time, he decided to create a philosophical school foradults.

Abigail Alcott managed the household, raising four daughters and social work on her own. All this took a lot of time and effort, but Louise's mother was always ready to help people in trouble. Olcott actively supported the temperance campaign and the women's rights movement, and also promoted the cause of the abolition of slavery.

Childhood and youth

Louise May Alcott, whose biography is inextricably linked with her family, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the second daughter of four in their poor but friendly family. Louise and her sisters Anna, Elizabeth, and May were educated at home, with their father teaching them. The future writer was greatly influenced by communication with her father's friends: Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Alcott sisters got on well with the Emerson children. Gathered together in the barn, they put on plays written by Louise.

There was always an acute shortage of money in the family, so the writer had to work from a young age. So she changed jobs as a seamstress, companion and maid. The novelist actively used all the experience gained later as materials for her works.

Early creativity

At 22, Louise Alcott wrote her first book. It was a collection of short stories called Flower Fables.

During the Civil War, Louise worked as a nurse in a hospital. Describing her impressions of these years in the work "Hospital Essays", she achieved positive reviews from critics and greatreaders' interest. After such recognition of her talent, Louisa May Alcott, whose books became successful, decided to describe real events from her life, and not empty flights of fantasy.

Big popularity

The novel "Little Women", which was published in 1868, brought its author real fame. The book tells how the four daughters of the March family grew up: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. The story goes that Louise Alcott got the idea for this book after publisher Thomas Niles commissioned her a novel that would be interesting for girls. The author's sisters became the prototypes of the main characters. Meg was written from the eldest Anna, Jo was portrayed by the young Louise, and the younger Elizabeth and May helped create the characters of Beth and Amy.

In the work a lot of attention is paid to the mother of girls, whose life is very similar to Abigail Alcott. Since her husband went to war, the mother manages her work, home and children on her own. She oversees the moral and spiritual education of girls, helping them make the right choice when faced with difficulties.

Despite the difficult time for the family, concern for the fate of their father and serious lack of money, the sisters, with the help of maternal support, find the strength to cope with difficulties and be grateful to fate for the joys that they have.

Success of "Little Women"

After the release of the novel "Little Women" and further books from this series, the writer was able to financially help her parents and, having stopped working, completely devote herself to creative work. Anna, whoafter the death of her husband, she raised two children on her own, Louise bought a house. And she paid for her younger sister to study in Europe, thanks to which she was able to become famous as a woman artist, whose work was exhibited in Paris.

The enthusiastic attitude of readers towards the heroines of "Little Women" and the great popularity of the book prompted Louise Alcott to write several sequels to this story.

Good Wives

In The Good Wives, Louisa May Alcott continues to describe the life of the March family four years after the events of the first book. The author touches on more serious topics, as all girls grow up and change. Meg's older sister gets married, has two children and leaves home. Jo sorts out her personal relationship with a childhood friend and, not being ready for marriage, leaves home for a while. Beth is recovering heavily from childhood scarlet fever, and at some point, the painful condition returns again. Younger sister Amy gets to see the world by going around the world, and ends up changing herself for the better.

In this book, sisters face adult problems: the death of loved ones, difficulties in relationships, the choice between material well-being and love. But they all overcome difficult situations with dignity and continue to please their parents with moral success.

Little Men

The work is a continuation of the novel "Goodwives". The book tells of a private school for boys in Plumfield, which Jo March and her husband, Mr. Baer, were able to open thanks to a legacy left to her by her aunt. They created this boarding school in order to help the guys and grow them into real men. Despite the personal shortcomings of the children, teachers-educators find an approach to each of them. The school has almost no rules of conduct, but unnoticed by the boys, discipline and self-knowledge are taught in it. And although children make mistakes, Joe and Mr. Baer, like real parents, are always ready to help in any situation. The book also shows the fate of the rest of the March family - they all maintain the closest relationship with each other and are ready to help Jo and her husband.

Other books by this author

Since the March family story, Louise Alcott writes new books almost every year. These are the works "Rose and the Seven Brothers", "Youth of the Rose", "The House under the Lilacs", "Lulu's Library", "Joe's Guys". Louisa May Alcott also creates the novel The Job. In this work, the author describes the time when she was the only breadwinner for the entire large family.

Screenings of works

The novel "Little Women" and its sequel were loved by readers, so they were often filmed. The first pictures were taken in Great Britain and the USA as early as 1917-1918. For all the time, about 17 different films and series were shot, but most of them were not translated into Russian. The following three paintings won the most popularity.

1933 film shot in black and whitecolor, which does not prevent you from immersing yourself in its atmosphere. The actresses playing the roles of the sisters are already established Hollywood stars of the 30s and 40s.

The second film from 1949 has already been shot in color. For a long time it was not translated into Russian, but now you can already watch it with dubbing. Popular actress Elizabeth Taylor plays the role of Amy's younger sister in the film. For Americans, this film has become the most beloved adaptation of the novel, and they often watch it on TV during the Christmas holidays.

The latest film adaptation from 1994 is closer to modern audiences thanks to its popular cast of Kirsten Dunst, Winona Ryder and Christian Bale.

Last years of life

Louise Alcott has had to endure many upheavals. So, one of her younger sisters died from a serious illness at the age of 23, and the writer transferred her feelings to the pages of Good Wives, describing the death of the heroine Beth. Her second younger sister died after giving birth, and the writer took her niece to be raised. After the death of Louise, the eldest of the sisters, Anna, who lived longer than all family members, began to take care of the child.

Louise Alcott actively fought for women's rights and even became the first representative of the weaker sex to register to participate in the elections. The writer never married, although the heroine Jo March, whom the author endowed with her features, found happiness in marriage.

In her last years, Louise suffered from a severeillnesses, and the deaths of her parents that followed one after another aggravated her condition. Alcott wrote until her death, despite declining he alth. She died a few days after her father's death from mercury poisoning she had been taking for typhoid fever.

Her works continue to be published, films are made on them, the plots of books are played out on stages. In classical American literature, the work of Louise Alcott is still the most famous, because the author's novels are distinguished by great touching and sincerity of writing.