Laurie and Werther, Louisa May Alcott's Love For German Romanticism

Summary

There are great deal of similarities between the arcs of Laurie in Little Women and Goethe's "sorrows of young werther." Both stories follow a young man's journey from innocence to experience and disillusionment, but the endings are vastly different. In this book we compare and contrast the two arcs to see which is more tragic. One of Louisa May Alcott´s favourite writers was the German poet Goethe and Laurie´s character arc in Little Women is surprisingly similar to Goethe´s young hero, Werther. Little Women Podcast is an ongoing series of video essays, articles and podcast episodes that examines the intersections in Louisa May Alcott´s Little Women.

Hosted by Alcott essayist Niina Niskanen. Regular visits from literal scholars and Little Women fans. You can listen to Little Women Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, I Heart Radio and all other major podcast platforms.

Goethe was one of the most praised German authors of his time. Louisa May Alcott was a big fan of Goethe. Louisa was a transcendentalist. The whole worldview of the transcendentalist could be described as a nature-centric form of Christianity. It was based on German philosophy and German romanticism. Goethe was one of the most important literal inspirations for the transcendentalist because he captured the essence of their belief into poetic form.

Louisa May Alcott according to her own words, grew up hearing stories of Goethe on her father's knee. Bronson Alcott's library included a contemporary translation of Goethe's biography, and we can assume that it was one of the first books that Louisa read. One of Lou's most famous literal characters, Laurie from Little Women is partially based on Goethe and Goethe's literal heroes.