Previous
Alliteration
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Part 1, Chapter 1: Playing Pilgrims
Explanation and Analysis—Pilgrim's Progress:
Characters often allude to John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. This story chronicles the journey of a man named Christian as he strives to conquer his sins and win salvation. Bunyan's text resembles Little Women in many ways. Firstly, it celebrates family life. Secondly, the plot unfolds in a similar sequence. Thirdly, it showcases the struggles necessary to produce a strong moral character. Alcott adapts the religious pilgrimage to the domestic sphere as the March sisters strive to conquer their less-good impulses and complete their journeys of moral development.
The first allusion to Bunyan's work appears in the title of Chapter 1: "Playing Pilgrims." Marmee describes a game her daughters used to play and compares it to the way they must now strive to develop their feminine virtue.
"[...]Our burdens are here, our road is before us, and the longing for goodness and happiness is the guide that leads us through many troubles and mistakes to the peace which is a true Celestial City. Now, my little pilgrims, suppose you begin again, not in play, but in earnest, and see how far on you can get before Father comes home."
The book itself appears in Chapter 2, when every March sister receives a copy of it for Christmas.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Shakespeare:
Alcott and her characters frequently allude to Shakespeare. In Part I, most of the allusions appear in the form of character comparisons or dialogues about the content of the texts. But in Part II, the allusions become enmeshed with the story itself:
A Russian prince condescended to sit in a corner for an hour and talk with a massive lady, dressed like Hamlet's mother in black velvet with a pearl bridle under her chin.
At this moment, the girls' stories come to life. The March girls find in the world what they could only imagine in childhood. Hamlet's mother constitutes a fanciful vision compared to the regularity of the Marches' life in the first part of the novel. Alcott also makes a more general reference to Shakespeare when she describes his influence on Jo:
I don't know whether the study of Shakespeare helped her to read character, or the natural instinct of a woman for what was honest, brave, and strong, but while endowing her imaginary heroes with every perfection under the sun, Jo was discovering a live hero, who interested her in spite of many human imperfections.
This statement about Jo by the narrator also finds expression in Chapter 1, when Beth shows her faith in Jo's talent by comparing her to the bard:
"I don't see how you can write and act such splendid things, Jo. You're a regular Shakespeare!" exclaimed Beth, who firmly believed that her sisters were gifted with wonderful genius in all things.
Needless to say, Beth bestows the highest compliment on Jo by making this comparison. Jo likely has the greatest sense of Shakespeare's genius and takes this as a charming (if hyperbolic) compliment.
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 2: A Merry Christmas
Explanation and Analysis—Hither, Hither:
Alcott's poem "Hither, Hither" marks a significant allusion to her work in verse. It appears in Chapter 2 when Meg and the other March girls are performing skits and songs on Christmas Day:
Hither, hither, from thy home,
Airy sprite, I bid thee come!
Born of roses, fed on dew,
Charms and potions canst thou brew?
Bring me here, with elfin speed,
The fragrant philter which I need.
Make it sweet and swift and strong,
Spirit, answer now my song!
In terms of form and style, the poem appears (approximately) in iambic trimeter. It contains rhyming couplets in the first stanza (aabbccdd) and the scheme changes slightly in the second stanza (aaeffe). The speaker seems excited and has strong feelings about invoking the "spirit." So too are the March girls enthusiastic about invoking the family's Christmas spirit, as well as impressing Marmee.
It's significant that Alcott included her own poetry in the novel. She could have chosen the work of any other poet but instead determined that her poetic form and subject fit the mood of the first scene better than any other. This demonstrates her confidence in both prose and verse; the story switches seamlessly between the two mediums and is enhanced by her imaginative poetry.
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 4: Burdens
Explanation and Analysis—Raphael:
In an allusion to the famous Renaissance artist, the March sisters call Amy "Raphael" because she likes to draw and paint.
"Little Raphael," as her sisters called her, had a decided talent for drawing, and was never so happy as when copying flowers, designing fairies, or illustrating stories with queer specimens of art. Her teachers complained that instead of doing her sums she covered her slate with animals, the blank pages of her atlas were used to copy maps on, and caricatures of the most ludicrous description came fluttering out of all her books at unlucky moments.
The nickname is a compliment; Amy has great artistic talent and takes pleasure in being creative. An allusion to a lofty Renaissance artist heightens this comparison; the girls do not merely call her an artist but rather choose a specific one. Raphael's work was grand and colorful, just like Amy's drawings and Alcott's prose. Though the March sisters don't mean that Amy will necessarily become a famous artistic master like him—there's an element of gentle exaggeration here—they do acknowledge that art is an animating joy in Amy's life, which they admire.
This allusion also demonstrates the girls' fairly high level of education. Although the Marches do not have much money, they have many other valuable resources that enrich their lives, such as the ability to study and enjoy art, albeit in a limited way.
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 12: Camp Laurence
Explanation and Analysis—Plato & Socrates:
Alcott makes frequent allusions to Greek philosophers including Socrates and Plato, which demonstrates her (and her characters') erudition. In Chapter 12, Jo hangs her hat on a bust of Plato as she reads letters from Marmee.
And hanging the antique broad-brim on a bust of Plato, Jo read her letters.
This charmingly careless gesture has more significance than meets the eye. Firstly, it shows Jo putting aside a gift from Laurie in order to focus her attention on Marmee's message. And secondly, it suggests that Jo always has great progenitors of writing and ideas at the back of her mind.
In Chapter 45, the narrator calls Demi a "young philosopher" and extends the comparison by dipping into the thoughts of his grandfather:
"If he is old enough to ask the question he is old enough to receive true answers [...] Now, Demi, tell me where you keep your mind." If the boy had replied like Alcibiades, "By the gods, Socrates, I cannot tell," his grandfather would not have been surprised, but when, after standing a moment on one leg, like a meditative young stork, he answered, in a tone of calm conviction, "In my little belly," the old gentleman could only join in Grandma's laugh, and dismiss the class in metaphysics.
Socrates embodied this sort of playful innocence and curiosity. This moment shows the great erudition and great sympathy that the March family passes down to its youngest generation. Knowledge, like love, proves to be far more valuable than money, and continues to elevate the March family throughout the story.
Related Themes:
Part 2, Chapter 33: Jo’s Journal
Explanation and Analysis—The Bible:
The morals of Little Women are grounded in Christianity. Mrs. March tries to cultivate generosity, graciousness, productivity, and womanhood in her daughters. The Bible is not directly referenced, but Alcott subtly alludes to its lessons. For instance, Meg indirectly references Galatians 5:14 in Chapter 2 when she says that giving their Christmas breakfast to the Hummels is “loving our neighbors better than ourselves, and I like it.”
Furthermore, womanhood and learning how to be a "wife of noble character" (Proverbs 31:10) are important aspects of growing up in the March household. According to the Bible, this kind of woman should be revered by all. Jo admires Meg's married life and this admiration makes her reconsider the concept of marriage.
A more fleeting allusion to the Bible appears in the following passage from Jo's journal in Chapter 33:
Speaking of books reminds me that I'm getting rich in that line, for on New Year's Day Mr. Bhaer gave me a fine Shakespeare. It is one he values much, and I've often admired it, set up in the place of honor with his German Bible, Plato, Homer, and Milton, so you may imagine how I felt when he brought it down, without its cover, and showed me my own name in it, "from my friend Friedrich Bhaer".
The presence of the Bible among literary texts signifies the similar set of tastes between Jo and Mr. Bhaer. They have matching morals and aspirations that set them up for a successful venture in starting a boys' school at the end of the story.
Related Themes:
Part 2, Chapter 34: Friend
Explanation and Analysis—Shakespeare:
Alcott and her characters frequently allude to Shakespeare. In Part I, most of the allusions appear in the form of character comparisons or dialogues about the content of the texts. But in Part II, the allusions become enmeshed with the story itself:
A Russian prince condescended to sit in a corner for an hour and talk with a massive lady, dressed like Hamlet's mother in black velvet with a pearl bridle under her chin.
At this moment, the girls' stories come to life. The March girls find in the world what they could only imagine in childhood. Hamlet's mother constitutes a fanciful vision compared to the regularity of the Marches' life in the first part of the novel. Alcott also makes a more general reference to Shakespeare when she describes his influence on Jo:
I don't know whether the study of Shakespeare helped her to read character, or the natural instinct of a woman for what was honest, brave, and strong, but while endowing her imaginary heroes with every perfection under the sun, Jo was discovering a live hero, who interested her in spite of many human imperfections.
This statement about Jo by the narrator also finds expression in Chapter 1, when Beth shows her faith in Jo's talent by comparing her to the bard:
"I don't see how you can write and act such splendid things, Jo. You're a regular Shakespeare!" exclaimed Beth, who firmly believed that her sisters were gifted with wonderful genius in all things.
Needless to say, Beth bestows the highest compliment on Jo by making this comparison. Jo likely has the greatest sense of Shakespeare's genius and takes this as a charming (if hyperbolic) compliment.
Related Themes:
Part 2, Chapter 37: New Impressions
Explanation and Analysis—Shakespeare:
Alcott and her characters frequently allude to Shakespeare. In Part I, most of the allusions appear in the form of character comparisons or dialogues about the content of the texts. But in Part II, the allusions become enmeshed with the story itself:
A Russian prince condescended to sit in a corner for an hour and talk with a massive lady, dressed like Hamlet's mother in black velvet with a pearl bridle under her chin.
At this moment, the girls' stories come to life. The March girls find in the world what they could only imagine in childhood. Hamlet's mother constitutes a fanciful vision compared to the regularity of the Marches' life in the first part of the novel. Alcott also makes a more general reference to Shakespeare when she describes his influence on Jo:
I don't know whether the study of Shakespeare helped her to read character, or the natural instinct of a woman for what was honest, brave, and strong, but while endowing her imaginary heroes with every perfection under the sun, Jo was discovering a live hero, who interested her in spite of many human imperfections.
This statement about Jo by the narrator also finds expression in Chapter 1, when Beth shows her faith in Jo's talent by comparing her to the bard:
"I don't see how you can write and act such splendid things, Jo. You're a regular Shakespeare!" exclaimed Beth, who firmly believed that her sisters were gifted with wonderful genius in all things.
Needless to say, Beth bestows the highest compliment on Jo by making this comparison. Jo likely has the greatest sense of Shakespeare's genius and takes this as a charming (if hyperbolic) compliment.
Related Themes:
Part 2, Chapter 40: The Valley of the Shadow
Explanation and Analysis—The River:
In Chapter 40, Jo writes a poem for Beth just before her death. The prose in this chapter becomes quite poetic as the river is introduced as a metaphor for the region between life and death:
A sad eclipse of the serene soul, a sharp struggle of the young life with death, but both were mercifully brief, and then the natural rebellion over, the old peace returned more beautiful than ever. With the wreck of her frail body, Beth's soul grew strong, and though she said little, those about her felt that she was ready, saw that the first pilgrim called was likewise the fittest, and waited with her on the shore, trying to see the Shining Ones coming to receive her when she crossed the river.
"The Shining Ones" refers to the angels who minister to Christian in The Pilgrim's Progress. At the end of Bunyan's text, the pilgrims cross over the River of Death. In her poem, Jo describes her own crossing to meet her sister in heaven:
Henceforth, safe across the river,
I shall see forever more
A beloved, household spirit
Waiting for me on the shore.
Hope and faith, born of my sorrow,
Guardian angels shall become,
And the sister gone before me
By their hands shall lead me home.
Alcott borrows Bunyan's metaphor to enhance Beth's story and imbue her death with significance. Her passing marks the novel's greatest tragedy, so it's no surprise that Alcott chooses to memorialize it through an allusion to the same book (Pilgrim's Progress) Marmee lauded for its ability to guide people through the tribulations of life and death.
Related Themes:
Part 2, Chapter 45: Daisy and Demi
Explanation and Analysis—Plato & Socrates:
Alcott makes frequent allusions to Greek philosophers including Socrates and Plato, which demonstrates her (and her characters') erudition. In Chapter 12, Jo hangs her hat on a bust of Plato as she reads letters from Marmee.
And hanging the antique broad-brim on a bust of Plato, Jo read her letters.
This charmingly careless gesture has more significance than meets the eye. Firstly, it shows Jo putting aside a gift from Laurie in order to focus her attention on Marmee's message. And secondly, it suggests that Jo always has great progenitors of writing and ideas at the back of her mind.
In Chapter 45, the narrator calls Demi a "young philosopher" and extends the comparison by dipping into the thoughts of his grandfather:
"If he is old enough to ask the question he is old enough to receive true answers [...] Now, Demi, tell me where you keep your mind." If the boy had replied like Alcibiades, "By the gods, Socrates, I cannot tell," his grandfather would not have been surprised, but when, after standing a moment on one leg, like a meditative young stork, he answered, in a tone of calm conviction, "In my little belly," the old gentleman could only join in Grandma's laugh, and dismiss the class in metaphysics.
Socrates embodied this sort of playful innocence and curiosity. This moment shows the great erudition and great sympathy that the March family passes down to its youngest generation. Knowledge, like love, proves to be far more valuable than money, and continues to elevate the March family throughout the story.
Related Themes:
