Little Women Quotes

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Source: Little Women

Author: Louisa May Alcott

Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents

Context

Kids these days. Always grubbin' for more stuff—toys, clothes, gadgets...you name it.

Which, true. 

Except these words don't come to us from a greedy tot on Black Friday. These are the words of Jo—the nice, kind, and creative protagonist of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. They open the novel.

Jo's complaining about her family's poverty to her three sisters. Which is handy because then we get a bit of exposition on the family's past and their father's whereabouts. It even characterizes the sisters as they talk about what they might buy with their own money.

Huh, funny how that works so well.

Where you've heard it

This isn't a particularly popular sentiment these days (well, lady liberty's credit card bill says otherwise, but it's certainly not something people are willing to admit). You're most likely to hear it said ironically by someone mocking the grinchiness of our modern-day materialism...as they pass the time outside of a Best Buy on Black Friday.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Quoting the first line of one of America's most cherished stories? That doesn't sound pretentious to us, especially if you're actually being sincere about the reason for the season.