Constants

“‘Oh, dear, how hard it does seem to take up our packs and go on,’ sighed Meg the morning after the party, for now the holidays were over…”

New Year’s is one of my least favorite holidays. It signifies the end of them, for one thing, and also ushers in a whole new year full of uncertainty. “January” comes from the word Janus, a Roman god that was commonly depicted with two faces—one looking forward, the other back. As I look towards the unknown, I am comforted by constants. And what is more constant than a favorite book? 

A book and a cat - pure contentment. My first copy of Little Women, pictured here on the back of the sofa, is one of my most prized possessions.   

I have known Louisa May Alcott since November 1994, when my mom and I purchased my first copy of Little Women (1868/69) at a local used bookstore. Since then, my life has been filled with Alcott’s stories, full of humor, kindness, and love. In Little Women, the New Year’s related chapter entitled “The Laurence Boy” is a good example of Alcott’s skill in appealing to common concerns—how we present ourselves to others, how we cooperate with those closest to us, and what we want but cannot have. Running through the text is Alcott’s fine sense of humor, which still makes me laugh even after the twentieth or so read. The March sisters are far from idealized heroines that prance stiffly across the page, out of touch with modern times. It is their timeless humanity that makes them the beloved characters that they are: relatable in flaws, relatable in aptitudes, relatable in feelings. Their authenticity does not come as a surprise, for Alcott drew inspiration from her three sisters, mother, father, and their life in New England. This authenticity pervades throughout her writings, and is a large part of their enduring appeal. 

Orchard House (399 Lexington Road, Concord, Massachusetts), captured on the morning of August 26, 2011.

As we go forward into the unknown of the new year, it is beneficial to remind ourselves of constants—a book, a home, or in this case, both. The Alcotts’ home, Orchard House, still stands, and has stood in Concord, Massachusetts since the early 1700s. Alcott wrote Little Women on a half-moon desk between the upper right hand windows. I drew the warm and peaceful Orchard House from a picture that was taken in 2011, the first time I visited. 

For those interested in the Alcott family, I would encourage you to read the Pulitzer Prize-winning Eden’s Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson. I received this extraordinary dual biography for Christmas in 2016 and it quickly became one of my favorites on the shelf.  Matteson’s extensive research brings the family to life and honors them with sensitively composed, beautiful prose that reveals his devotion to the subject. I didn't want it to end. 

Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail too;
And God bless you and send you a Happy New Year
And God send you a Happy New Year.