Louisa May Alcott Quotes

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations.

I'm afraid I couldn't like him without a spice of human naughtiness.

You don’t need scores of suitors. You need only one… if he’s the right one.

Laurie, you're an angel! How shall I ever thank you?" "Fly at me again. I rather liked it," said Laurie, looking mischievous, a thing he had not done for a fortnight.

…she was one of those happily created beings who please without effort, make friends everywhere, and take life so gracefully and easily that less fortunate souls are tempted to believe that such are born under a lucky star.

Be comforted, dear soul! There is always light behind the clouds.

Do the things you know, and you shall learn the truth you need to know.

Housekeeping ain't no joke.

I did fail, say what you will, for Jo wouldn't love me.

...the love, respect, and confidence of my children was the sweetest reward I could receive for my efforts to be the woman I would have them copy.

...and the most intense desire gave force to her passionate words as the girl glanced despairingly about the dreary room like a caged creature on the point of breaking loose.

My book came out; and people began to think that topsy-turvy Louisa would amount to something after all.

...for love casts out fear, and gratitude can conquer pride.

politics were as bad as mathematics, and that the mission of politicians seemed to be calling each other names

For the wise old man was universally beloved, and ministered so beautifully to his flock that many of them thanked him all their lives for the help given to both hearts and souls.

I never knew how much like heaven this world could be, when two people love and live for one another!

I can't get over my disappointment in not being a boy.

Some books are so familiar that reading them is like being home again.

You are like a chestnut burr, prickly outside, but silky-soft within, and a sweet kernel, if one can only get at it. Love will make you show your heart some day, and then the rough burr will fall off.

Don't try to make me grow up before my time.

I don't worry about the storms, I am learning to sail my own ship.

Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us - and those around us - more effectively. Look for the learning.

…she rejoiced as only mothers can in the good fortunes of their children.

He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions precede great actions.

I will make a battering-ram of my head and make my way through this rough and tumble world.

You have a good many little gifts and virtues, but there is no need of parading them, for conceit spoils the finest genius. There is not much danger that real talent or goodness will be overlooked long, and the great charm of all power is modesty.

Better lose your life than your soul.

…men never forgive like women.

He looked at her an instant, for the effect of the graceful girlish figure with pale, passionate face and dark eyes full of sorrow, pride and resolution was wonderfully enhanced by the gloom of the great room, and glimpses of a gathering storm in the red autumn sky.

The fear of being an old maid made young girls rush into matrimony with a recklessness that astonishes.

A faithful friend is a strong defense; And he that hath found him hath found a treasure.

Wouldn't it be fun if all the castles in the air which we make could come true and we could live in them?

Human minds are more full of mysteries than any written book and more changeable than the cloud shapes in the air.

Liberty is a better husband than love to many of us.

Help one another is part of the religion of our sisterhood.

…for no matter how lost and soiled and worn-out wandering sons may be, mothers can forgive and forget every thing as they fold them into their fostering arms. Happy the son whose faith in his mother remains unchanged, and who, through all his wanderings, has kept some filial token to repay her brave and tender love.

Don't mind me. I'm as happy as a cricket here.

People cannot be molded like clay.

It’s amazing how lovely common things become, if one only knows how to look at them.

Good, old-fashioned ways keep hearts sweet, heads sane, hands busy.

We don't choose our talents; but we needn't hide them in a napkin because they are not just what we want.

It was fortunate that tea was at hand, to produce a lull and provide refreshment,— for they would have been hoarse and faint if they had gone on much longer.

The small hopes and plans and pleasures of children should be tenderly respected by grown-up people, and never rudely thwarted or ridiculed.

I do like men who come out frankly and own that they are not gods.

Sympathy is a sweet thing.

I’m not like the rest of you; I never made any plans about what I’d do when I grew up; I never thought of being married, as you did. I couldn’t seem to imagine myself anything but stupid little Beth, trotting about at home, of no use anywhere but there. I never wanted to go away, and the hard part now is leaving you all. I’m not afraid, but it seems as if I should be homesick for you even in heaven.

The violin - that most human of all instruments.

Fame is a pearl many dive for and only a few bring up. Even when they do, it is not perfect, and they sigh for more, and lose better things in struggling for them.