Money Can't Buy You Happiness

Louisa May Alcott’s novel ‘Little Women” is both an intriguing and inspiring read. Alcott appeals to a wide variety of readers by including such a diverse set of characters with their own unique personalities that are simple enough to make them relatable yet complex enough to make for an interesting read. All of the sisters have their own vices that they spend almost the entirety of the novel trying to overcome, the most common among them being the desire to live luxuriously. In the chapter entitled ‘Castles in the Air’, we learn of the hopes and dreams of the March sisters, as well as their neighbor friend Laurie. The conversation is summed up by Laurie saying, “Everyone one of us, but Beth, wants to be rich and famous, and gorgeous in every respect. I do wonder if any of us will ever get our wishes (Alcott 149). Meg talks frequently of her hope to marry rich and live the life of luxury more than any of the sisters. However, we find her marrying Mr. Brooke, a point I found to be most intriguing. When arguing with Aunt March over why she shouldn’t be ashamed to marry this poor man, Meg says, “My John wouldn’t marry for money, any more than I would… I’m not afraid of being poor, for I’ve been happy so far and I know I shall be with him because he loves me…(236). At this point, Meg realizes that she has fallen in love with John, despite being a poor man who cannot give her her ‘Castle in the Air’.

Meg’s example goes to show that fulfillment in life is not all about how much money you have. Love is a powerful thing that can make you forget about the minuscule details in life, like money and luxury. Meg struggles with this in Chapter 28, where she is pressured into buying an expensive silk dress that she can barely afford and is scared to tell her husband about it. Many conversations with John later allows Meg to “love her husband better for his poverty, because it seemed to have made a man of him…(291).  Through her own experiences and Mrs. March’s words of wisdom and guidance throughout the novel, we see how Meg’s view switches from prosperity to family being the most important thing to her as Meg claims, “I’ve got them (the Brooke family) all, thank God, and am the happiest woman in the world (497) at the conclusion of the novel. John’s inability to provide Meg with her ‘Castle in the Air’ has allowed her to appreciate and love him and her little family even more, showing her inspiring character development by the end of the novel.