A sweet, simple, short story by the popular author of the perennial favorite Little Women.
Louisa May Alcott is known for her popular novel Little Women. She was a prolific writer and wrote many stories. Some of these stories were unknown for generations because they were published under a pseudonym or they were simply forgotten as in the case of The Quiet Little Woman, which was published in a small privately published literary journal. Stephen W. Hines resurrected the forgotten story and included it in a slim Christmas volume containing two other Christmas stories by Alcott.
The Quiet Little Woman
Louisa May Alcott wrote this story as a gift for her fans the Lukens girls. The Lukens girls had fulfilled the dreams of the Meg, Joe, Beth, and Amy by successfully publishing their own literary journal. They wrote to Alcott and told her of their success. Alcott responded with generosity; she kept an ongoing correspondence with the girls and wrote them several stories to include in their periodical, including The Quiet Little Woman. Alcott gave them these stories “for love, not for money.”
The Quiet Little Woman is the story of an orphan named Patty who wants nothing more than to leave the orphanage and become the member of a family. Patty’s wish is granted and she becomes a member of the Murray family. However, she is not adopted, as a daughter as she had hoped, but as a servant. Still Patty remains true to her character and works diligently for the family quietly bestowing what kindnesses she is able upon the sometimes undeserving family.
At her first Christmas with the family, thanks to the interference of the Murray’s eccentric aunt, the family learns to appreciate the quiet, shy little Patty. Like many of Alcott’s works, the moral of the story reflects the belief that hard work and good work is its own reward and while badness often succeeds, goodness too can be rewarded.
Tilly’s Christmas
The second story in the collection is a short story about a young girl whose best wishes for Christmas are for others even though she has nothing. Tilly and two friends dream of finding a bag of money and then declare their Christmas plans for the money if it were honestly theirs.
The girls are inspired by their imaginings and look along their path for a money bag. However, all they find is a starving, half-frozen robin. The other two girls are disgusted and plan to leave the robin to die. However, Tilly believes that it is her Christian duty to share what she has and help those less fortunate than herself.
A fairy tale twist at the end of the story, gives Tilly her heart’s desires because her heart was honest and generous.
Rosa’s Tale
The final story in the collection takes its cue from the legend that at midnight on Christmas Eve, animals are given the power of speech for one hour. In Rosa’s Tale, a horse shares the story of her life. The story is reminiscent of Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty although, much shorter. However, the Rosa’s speech seems stilted and her attitude arrogant, which are not the characteristics that Alcott intended.
In Conclusion
For those who like Little Women, The Quiet Little Woman will delight and the fairy tale quality of Tilly’s Christmas will enchant. However, Rosa’s Tale definitely lacks in the Alcott quality that many of Alcott’s fans prefer.
If you are a fan of Louisa May Alcott’s work, this collection of Christmas stories will be a sweet and gentle addition to your collection.
The Quiet Little Woman: A Christmas Story, by Louisa May Alcott (Honor Books, 1999, ISBN 1-56292-616-0).
