Louisa May Alcott > Quotes

“She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Work: A Story of Experience

“Stay is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary.”
― Louisa May Alcott

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“I ask not for any crown
But that which all may win;
Nor try to conquer any world
Except the one within.”
― Louisa May Alcott

“A faithful friend is a strong defense;
And he that hath found him hath found a treasure.”
― 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

“Good books, like good friends, are few and chosen; the more select, the more enjoyable.”
― Louisa May Alcott

“The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.”
― 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, Little Women

“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, Little Women

“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

“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.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“Love is a great beautifier.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“Watch and pray, dear, never get tired of trying, and never think it is impossible to conquer your fault.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“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, Little Women

“...for love casts out fear, and gratitude can conquer pride.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“Have a 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, Little Women

“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. (Amy March)”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“Let us be elegant or die! --Amy”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“There are many Beths 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.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“That is a good book it seems to me, which is opened with expectation and closed with profit.”
― Louisa May Alcott

“...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, Little Women

“I keep turning over new leaves, and spoiling them, as I used to spoil my copybooks; and I make so many beginnings there never will be an end. (Jo March)”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“Wild roses are fairest, and nature a better gardener than art.”
― Louisa May Alcott, A Long Fatal Love Chase

“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 way at her novel with all her heart and soul, for till that was finished she could find no peace.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“Conceit spoils the finest genius.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“Preserve your memories, keep them well, what you forget you can never retell.”
― Louisa May Alcott

“Life is like college; may I graduate and earn some honors.”
― Louisa May Alcott

“You are the gull, Jo, strong and wild, fond of the storm and the wind, flying far out to sea, and happy all alone.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“Laurie, you're an angel! How shall I ever thank you?"
"Fly at me again. I rather liked it," said Laurie, looking
mischievous, a thing he had not done for a fortnight.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“I’m not like the rest of you; I never made any plans about what I’d do when I grew up; I never thought of being married, as you did. I couldn’t seem to imagine myself anything but stupid little Beth, trotting about at home, of no use anywhere but there. 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.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“I like good strong words that mean something…”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“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

“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, Little Men

“...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, Little Women

“Girls are so queer you never know what they mean. They say no when they mean yes, and drive a man out of his wits just for the fun of it.
--Laurie”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“Well, if I can't be happy, I can be useful, perhaps.”
― Louisa May Alcott

“If we are all alive ten years hence, let's meet, and see how many of us have got our wishes, or how much nearer we are then than now.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“Nothing is impossible to a determined woman.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers Of Louisa May Alcott

“... for it is the small temptations which undermine integrity unless we watch and pray and never think them too trivial to be resisted.”
― Louisa May Alcott

“Love is the only thing that we can carry with us when we go, and it makes the end so easy.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women Book Two Book: Good Wives

“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.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“Love is a flower that grows in any soil, works its sweet miracles undaunted by autumn frost or winter snow, blooming fair and fragrant all the year, and blessing those who give and those who receive.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Men

“He was the first, the only love her life, and in a nature like hers such passions take deep root and die-hard.”
― Louisa May Alcott, A Long Fatal Love Chase

“Wouldn't it be fun if all the castles in the air which we make could come true and we could live in them?”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“I want to do something splendid...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 someday.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“. . . 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, Little Women

“What do girls do who haven't any mothers to help them through their troubles?”
― Louisa May Alcott

“I don't pretend to be wise, but I am observing, and I see a great deal more than you'd imagine. I'm interested in other people's experiences and inconsistencies, and, though I can't explain, I remember and use them for my own benefit.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“Don't try to make me grow up before my time…”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women