Little Women Book Quotes

Little Women is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details their passage from childhood to womanhood.

Little Women Book Quotes

1. “Be worthy love, and love will come.”

2. “Watch and pray, dear, never get tired of trying, and never think it is impossible to conquer your fault.”

3. “Led by her mother’s hand, she had drawn nearer to the Friend who always welcomes every child with a love stronger than that of any father, tenderer than that of any mother.”

4. “I’m not ambitious for a splendid fortune, but I know, by experience, how much genuine happiness can be had in a plain little house, where the daily bead is earned, and some privations give sweetness to the few pleasures. I am content to see Meg begin humbly, for if I am not mistaken, she will be rich in the possession of a good man’s heart, and that is better than a fortune.”

5. “Be comforted, dear soul! There is always light behind the clouds.”

6. “Oh, my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater happiness than this!”

7. “Love is a great beautifier.”

8. ″…I have a better friend, even than Father, to comfort and sustain me. My child, the troubles and temptations of your life are beginning and may be many, but you can overcome and outlive them all if you learn to feel the strength and tenderness of your Heavenly Father as you do that of your earthly one. The more you love and trust Him, the nearer you will feel to Him, and the less you will depend on human power and wisdom. His love and care never tire or change, can never be taken from you, but may become the source of lifelong peace, happiness, and strength. Believe this heartily, and go to God with all your little cares, and hopes, and sins, and sorrows, as freely and confidingly as you come to your mother.”

9. “There are many Beth’s in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence and shadow behind.”

10. “I never wanted to go away, and the hard part now is leaving you all. I’m not afraid, but it seems as if I should be homesick for you even in heaven.”

11. “When you feel discontented, think over your blessings, and be grateful.”

12. “Beauty, youth, good fortune, even love itself, cannot keep care and pain, loss and sorrow, from the most blessed for…into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and sad and dreary.”

13. “I don’t like to doze by the fire. I like adventures, and I’m going to find some.”

14. “If he is old enough to ask the question he is old enough to receive true answers. I am not putting the thoughts into his head, but helping him unfold those already there. These children are wiser than we are…”

15. “Jo had learned that hearts, like flowers, cannot be rudely handled, but must open naturally.”

16. “I’d rather take coffee than compliments just now.”

17. “Love casts out fear, and gratitude can conquer pride.”

18. “For with eyes made clear by many tears, and a heart softened by the tenderest sorrow, she recognized the beauty of her sister’s life–uneventful, unambitious, yet full of the genuine virtues which ‘smell sweet, and blossom in the dust’, the self-forgetfulness that makes the humblest on earth remembered soonest in heaven, the true success which is possible to all. ”

19. “I am angry nearly every day of my life.”

20. “The sincere wish to be good is half the battle.”

21. “Don’t try to make me grow up before my time, Meg.”

22. “Money is a needful and precious thing,—and, when well used, a noble thing,—but I never want you to think it is the first or only prize to strive for. I’d rather see you poor men’s wives, if you were happy, beloved, contented, than queens on thrones, without self- respect and peace.”

23. “You are the gull, Jo, strong and wild, fond of the storm and the wind, flying far out to sea, and happy all alone.”

24. “I am lonely, sometimes, but I dare say it’s good for me.”

25. “I’d have a stable full of Arabian steeds, rooms piled with books, and I’d write out of a magic inkstand, so that my works should be as famous as Laurie’s music. I want to do something splendid before I go into my castle—something heroic, or wonderful—that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead. I don’t know what, but I’m on the watch for it, and mean to astonish you all, some day. I think I shall write books, and get rich and famous; that would suit me, so that is my favorite dream.”

26. “I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.”

27. “I’ve got the key to my castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen.”

28. “I do think that families are the most beautiful things in all the world!”

29. “Let us be elegant or die!”

30. “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.”

31. “Because they are mean is no reason why I should be. I hate such things, and though I think I’ve a right to be hurt, I don’t intend to show it.”

32. “You don’t need scores of suitors. You need only one, if he’s the right one.”

33. “I like good strong words that mean something.”

34. “Don’t mind me. I’m as happy as a cricket here.”

35. “If I didn’t care about doing right and didn’t feel uncomfortable doing wrong, I should get on capitally.”

36. “The humblest tasks get beautified if loving hands do them.”

37. “Jo’s eyes sparkled, for it’s always pleasant to be believed in, and a friend’s praise is always sweeter than a dozen newspaper puffs.”

38. “So she enjoyed herself heartily, and found, what isn’t always the case, that her granted wish was all she had hoped.”

39. “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.”

40. “Now and then, in this workaday world, things do happen in the delightful storybook fashion, and what a comfort it is.”

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

42. “Don’t cry so bitterly, but remember this day, and resolve with all your soul that you will never know another like it.”

43. “When we make little sacrifices we like to have them appreciated, at least.”

44. “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.”

45. “Conceit spoils the finest genius.”