Louisa May Alcott Quotes - Page 3

The humblest tasks get beautified if loving hands do them.
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
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'm always ready to talk, shouldn't be a woman if I were not,' laughed Mrs. Jo…
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
…proved that woman isn't a half but a whole human being, and can stand alone.
Louisa May Alcott
…on some occasions, women, like dreams, go by contraries.
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
Right Jo better be happy old maids than unhappy wives or unmaidenly girls running about to find husbands.
Louisa May Alcott
The emerging woman ... will be strong-minded, strong-hearted, strong-souled, and strong-bodied...strength and beauty must go together.
Louisa May Alcott
Don't laugh at the spinsters, dear girls, for often very tender, tragic romances are hidden away in the hearts that beat so quietly under the sober gowns, and many silent sacrifices of youth, health, ambition, love itself, make the faded faces beautiful in God's sight. Even the sad, sour sisters should be kindly dealt with, because they have missed the sweetest part of life, if for no other reason.
Louisa May Alcott
In her secret soul, however, she decided that politics were as bad as mathematics, and that the mission of politicians seemed to be calling each other names…
Louisa May Alcott
I wish I had a horse; then I could run for miles in this splendid air, and not lose my breath." Jo
Louisa May Alcott
…what splendid dreams young people build upon a word, and how bitter is the pain when the bright bubbles burst.
Louisa May Alcott
I think she is growing up, and so begins to dream dreams, and have hopes and fears and fidgets, without knowing why or being able to explain them.
Louisa May Alcott
Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.
Louisa May Alcott
…having learned that people cannot be moulded like clay…
Louisa May Alcott
I shall keep my book on the table here, and read a little every morning as soon as I wake, for I know it will do me good, and help me through the day.
Louisa May Alcott
…books are always good company if you have the right sort. Let me pick out some for you.' And Mrs. Jo made a bee-line to the well-laden shelves, which were the joy of her heart and the comfort of her life.
Louisa May Alcott
She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain
Louisa May Alcott
Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can
Louisa May Alcott
Some books are so familiar that reading them is like being home again.
Louisa May Alcott
She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.
Louisa May Alcott
Be comforted, dear soul! There is always light behind the clouds.
Louisa May Alcott
She preferred imaginary heroes to real ones, because when tired of them, the former could be shut up in the tin kitchen till called for, and the latter were less manageable.
Louisa May Alcott
Education is not confined to books, and the finest characters often graduate from no college, but make experience their master, and life their book. [Some care] only for the mental culture, and [are] in danger of over-studying, under the delusion . . . that learning must be had at all costs, forgetting that health and real wisdom are better.
Louisa May Alcott
Your father, Jo. He never loses patience,--never doubts or complains,--but always hopes, and works and waits so cheerfully, that one is ashamed to do otherwise before him. He helped and comforted me, and showed me that I must try to practise all the virtues I would have my little girls possess, for I was their example. It was easier for your sakes than for my own; a startled or surprised look from one of you, when I spoke sharply, rebuked me more than any words could have done; and the love, respect, and confidence of my children was the sweetest reward I could receive for my efforts to be the woman I would have them copy.
Louisa May Alcott
I want to do something splendid… Something heroic or wonderful that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead… I think I shall write books.
Louisa May Alcott
Every few weeks she would shut herself up in her room, put on her scribbling suit, and fall into a vortex, as she expressed it, writing away at her novel with all her heart and soul, for till that was finished she could find no peace.
Louisa May Alcott
I've got the key to my castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen.
Louisa May Alcott
…wisely mingled poetry and prose.
Louisa May Alcott
I have nothing to give but my heart so full and these empty hands.""They're not empty now.
Louisa May Alcott
John Brooke is acting dreadfully, and Meg likes it!
Louisa May Alcott
...and Jo laid the rustling sheets together with a careful hand, as one might shut the covers of a lovely romance, which holds the reader fast till the end comes, and he finds himself alone in the work-a-day world again.
Louisa May Alcott
How little it takes to make a young girl happy! A pretty dress, sunshine, and somebody opposite, and they are blest.
Louisa May Alcott
…feeling as if all the happiness and support of their lives was about to be taken from them.
Louisa May Alcott
It's lovely to see people so happy.
Louisa May Alcott
Dear me! how happy and good we'd be, if we had no worries!
Louisa May Alcott
Well, I am happy, and I won't fret, but it does seem as if the more one gets the more one wants…
Louisa May Alcott
But, like all happiness, it did not last long…
Louisa May Alcott
Marmee: Oh, Jo. Jo, you have so many extraordinary gifts; how can you expect to lead an ordinary life? You’re ready to go out and – and find a good use for your talent. Tho’ I don’t know what I shall do without my Jo. Go, and embrace your liberty. And see what wonderful things come of it.
Louisa May Alcott
Conceit spoils the finest genius.
Louisa May Alcott
In the midst of her tears came the thought, "When people are in danger, they ask God to save them;" and, slipping down upon her knees, she said her prayer as she had never said it before, for when human help seems gone we turn to Him as naturally as lost children cry to their father, and feel sure that he will hear and answer them.
Louisa May Alcott
Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us - and those around us - more effectively. Look for the learning.
Louisa May Alcott
Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.
Louisa May Alcott
I never wanted to go away, and the hard part now is the leaving you all. I'm not afraid, but it seems as if I should be homesick for you even in heaven.
Louisa May Alcott
life and love are very precious when both are in full bloom.
Louisa May Alcott
You don’t need scores of suitors. You need only one… if he’s the right one.
Louisa May Alcott
Love Jo all your days, if you choose, but don't let it spoil you, for it's wicked to throw away so many good gifts because you can't have the one you want.
Louisa May Alcott
The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.
Louisa May Alcott