Louisa May Alcott Quotes

The emerging woman ... will be strong-minded, strong-hearted, strong-souled, and strong-bodied...strength and beauty must go together.

~ Louisa May Alcott

Right Jo better be happy old maids than unhappy wives or unmaidenly girls running about to find husbands.

~ Louisa May Alcott

Gentlemen, be courteous to the old maids, no matter how poor and plain and prim, for the only chivalry worth having is that which is the readiest to to pay deference to the old, protect the feeble, and serve womankind, regardless of rank, age, or color.

~ Louisa May Alcott

…on some occasions, women, like dreams, go by contraries.

~ Louisa May Alcott

…proved that woman isn't a half but a whole human being, and can stand alone.

~ Louisa May Alcott

It is a merciful provision my dears, for it takes three or four women to get each man into, through, and out of the world. You are costly creatures, boys, and it is well that mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters love their duty and do it so well, or you would perish off the face of the earth,' said Mrs. Jo solemnly…

~ Louisa May Alcott

…I'm always ready to talk, shouldn't be a woman if I were not,' laughed Mrs. Jo…

~ Louisa May Alcott

Amy's lecture did Laurie good, though, of course, he did not own it till long afterward. Men seldom do, for when women are the advisers, the lords of creation don't take the advice till they have persuaded themselves that it is just what they intended to do. Then they act upon it, and, if it succeeds, they give the weaker vessel half the credit of it. If it fails, they generously give her the whole.

~ Louisa May Alcott

It’s genius simmering, perhaps. I’ll let it simmer, and see what comes of it,” he said, with a secret suspicion all the while that it wasn’t genius, but something far more common. Whatever it was, it simmered to some purpose, for he grew more and more discontented with his desultory life, began to long for some real and earnest work to go at, soul and body, and finally came to the wise conclusion that everyone who loved music was not a composer.

~ Louisa May Alcott

I rather miss my wild girl; but if I get a strong, helpful, tender-hearted woman in her place, I shall feel quite satisfied.

~ Louisa May Alcott

The humblest tasks get beautified if loving hands do them.

~ Louisa May Alcott

If you feel your value lies in being merely decorative, I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that’s all that you really are. Time erodes all such beauty, but what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind: Your humor, your kindness, and your moral courage. These are the things I cherish so in you. I so wish I could give my girls a more just world. But I know you’ll make it a better place. - Marmee

~ Louisa May Alcott

He was neither rich nor great, young nor handsome, - in no respect what is called fascinating, imposing or brilliant; and yet he was as attractive as a genial fire, and people seemed to gather about him as naturally as about a warm hearth.

~ Louisa May Alcott

Go on with your work as usual, for work is a blessed solace.

~ Louisa May Alcott

It’s bad enough to be a girl, anyway, when I like boys’ games and work and manners!

~ Louisa May Alcott

Wild roses are fairest, and nature a better gardener than art.

~ Louisa May Alcott

…marriage, they say, halves one's rights and doubles one's duties.

~ Louisa May Alcott

[Jo to her mother] I knew there was mischief brewing. I felt it and now it's worse than I imagined. I just wish I could marry Meg myself, and keep her safe in the family.

~ Louisa May Alcott

Simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us.

~ Louisa May Alcott

I've been so bothered with my property, that I'm tired of it, and don't mean to save up any more, but give it away as I go along, and then nobody will envy me, or want to steal it, and I shan't be suspecting folks and worrying about my old cash.

~ Louisa May Alcott

I wish I had no heart, it aches so…

~ Louisa May Alcott

The small hopes and plans and pleasures of children should be tenderly respected by grown-up people, and never rudely thwarted or ridiculed.

~ Louisa May Alcott

It takes so little to make a child happy, that it is a pity in a world full of sunshine and pleasant things, that there should be any wistful faces, empty hands, or lonely little hearts.

~ Louisa May Alcott

…she rejoiced as only mothers can in the good fortunes of their children.

~ Louisa May Alcott

I think this power of living in our children is one of the sweetest things in the world…

~ Louisa May Alcott

…no person, no matter how vivid an imagination he may have, can invent anything half so droll as the freaks and fancies that originate in the lively brains of little people.

~ Louisa May Alcott

Mother Atkinson thought that every one should have a trade, or something to make a living out of , for rich people may grow poor, you know, and poor people have to work.... so when I saw how happy and independent those young ladies were, I wanted to have a trade, and then it wouldn't matter about money, though I like to have it well enough.

~ Louisa May Alcott

You are like a chestnut burr, prickly outside, but silky-soft within, and a sweet kernel, if one can only get at it. Love will make you show your heart some day, and then the rough burr will fall off.

~ Louisa May Alcott

I like good strong words that mean something…

~ Louisa May Alcott

Do the things you know, and you shall learn the truth you need to know.

~ Louisa May Alcott

This love of money is the curse of American, and for the sake of it men will sell honor and honesty, till we don't know whom to trust, and it is only a genius like Agassiz who dares to say, 'I cannot waste my time in getting rich,' said Mrs. Jessie sadly.

~ Louisa May Alcott

…nothing remained but loneliness and grief…

~ Louisa May Alcott

Men are always ready to die for us, but not to make our lives worth having. Cheap sentiment and bad logic.

~ Louisa May Alcott

I do like men who come out frankly and own that they are not gods.

~ Louisa May Alcott

I can get on with wild beasts first-rate, but men rile me awfully…

~ Louisa May Alcott

Then it was that Jo, living in the darkened room, with that suffering little sister always before her eyes and that pathetic voice sounding in her ears, learned to see the beauty and the sweetness of Beth's nature, to feel how deep and tender a place she filled in all hearts, and to acknowledge the worth of Beth's unselfish ambition to live for others, and make home happy by that exercise of those simple virtues which all may possess, and which all should love and value more than talent, wealth, or beauty.

~ Louisa May Alcott

I am lonely, sometimes, but I dare say it's good for me…

~ Louisa May Alcott

Send me all the advice you like. I'll use as much as I can.

~ Louisa May Alcott

…possessed of that indescribable charm called grace.

~ Louisa May Alcott

…for action is always easier than quiet waiting.

~ Louisa May Alcott