Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is a compelling and extraordinary snapshot of its time. Written in response to a publisher's request for a "girls' book," Little Women is a timeless classic of domestic realism, tracing the lives of four sisters from adolescence to young adulthood. The realistic characters and their stories break some stereotypes and increase the strength of the plot which incorporates the last years of the industrial revolution and the customs and social conflicts of the 1800s, such as the civil war. Often moralistic and emotional, the novel nevertheless authentically portrays family life in the mid-nineteenth century United States. The four “little women” of the March family embark on the journey to womanhood, learning difficult lessons of poverty and hard work along the way. The inspiring story is presented with an affectionate tone, symbolism, bold character traits, and references to the classic novel Pilgrim's Progress; a Christian allegory. Little Women is loosely based on May Alcott's family life; made evident by the affectionate tone he uses to describe his characters. Each sister's personal struggles are described in devoted detail, as if the narrator sympathizes with every conflict laid bare by the characters. Sometimes the narrator also goes out of their way to explain the context of the conflict and why they react to things in a certain way. For example, when Mr. Davis, Amy's teacher, whips her on the hand for bringing pickled limes to school, she becomes paranoid of the situation and so do all of her sisters. Marmee even gets her out of school. This all seems quite extreme to us. But the narrator really wants us to understand why they reacted so strongly:"To others it might seem ridiculous or trivial... middle of paper... "tricking little maids" is no reason why they might not follow the "holy feet " and embark on a profound spiritual journey through life. This passage contains guidelines for what the story should do. Unlike novels that are meant only to entertain their readers, Little Women is also meant to accompany them on their personal improvement and salvation. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott has greatly enriched my understanding, as a reader, of poverty, salvation, religion and, above all, the transformation of young girls into strong women. The book is impressively written and demonstrates a combination of symbolism, difficult characters not to be adored and hints at an important American story is crafted with a loving tone. By the end of the novel, the little women had grown up and I, as a reader, was forced to read about their lives as they continued.