897 Quotes by Louisa May Alcott

He was not a perfect child, by any means, but his faults were of the better sort; and being early taught the secret of self-control, he was not left at the mercy of appetites and passions, as some poor little mortals are, and then punished for yielding to the temptations against which they have no armor.

Where’s the use of looking nice, when no one sees me but those cross midgets, and no one cares whether I’m pretty or not?

Women have been called queens for a long time, but the kingdom given them isn’t worth ruling.

No, I drank champagne and romped and tried to flirt, and was altogether abominable,” said Meg reproachfully.

It does seem pleasant to be quiet, and not have company manners on all the time. Home is a nice place, though it isn’t splendid.

If we are all alive ten years hence, let’s meet, and see how many of us have got our wishes, or how much nearer we are then than now.

I like to help women help themselves, as that is, in my opinion, the best way to settle the woman question. Whatever we can do and do well we have a right to, and I don’t think any one will deny us.

If rank and money come with love and virtue, also, I should accept them gratefully, and enjoy your good fortune, but I know, by experience, how much genuine happiness can be had in a plain little house, where the daily bread is earned, and in some privations give sweetness to the few pleasures. I am content to see Meg begin humbly, for if I am not mistaken, she will be rich in the possession of a good man’s heart, and that is better than fortune.

Fathers and mothers are too absorbed in business and housekeeping to study their children, and cherish that sweet and natural confidence which is a child’s surest safeguard, and a parent’s subtlest power.