The title Good Wives rarely appears in the text of editions published these days, and it's interesting to think about why. Today we read these two together, and editors add the text of Good Wives as Part 2 of Little Women (Chapters 24-47). In 1869, she published a sequel, Good Wives. It was an instant bestseller, and Alcott was swamped with requests for more. Originally, Little Women was the title of Part 1 of the novel (Chapters 1-23), which was published on its own in 1868.

There's also another title lurking in the shadows behind this book. As you read the novel, or as you look back over it, think about what's 'little' about these girls who grow into women – and also about what's larger-than-life.

Of course, Louisa May Alcott was really a very pro-woman writer and thinker, but even she became frustrated by the limitations of the world that she created in this book, and that troublesome adjective 'little' holds the key to the problem. Alternatively, if 'little women' describes the women that these girls grow into, then it seems rather demeaning – literally belittling the importance of the women. After all, if you interpret 'little women' to mean 'girls,' then the implication is that girls are not free-spirited children but miniature versions of their adult counterparts. Let's be real: the title Little Women is often criticized as suggesting the gender stereotypes that this book upholds. But all this girliness isn't just sweetness and light. Even if you've never read it, you've probably heard of Little Women the title alone has become a cornerstone of American culture, spawning an entire industry of 'girl books' and literature for and about young women.

Little women novel