Little Women Masterclass: Louisa May Alcott and Goethe

Louisa May Alcott´s favourite writer was the German poet Goethe and not only did Alcott use Goethe´s plot devices in her novels such as Little Women, but Goethe also seemed to have been one of the main models for professor Bhaer´s character, especially in the way he encourages Jo to become a serious writer and Goethe had a similar impact on Alcott’s writing career.

Little Women has multiple references to German culture and German people. In 1865 Louisa May Alcott travelled to Europe and one of the places she visited was Goethe’s house in Frankfurt she wrote about this event in her journal. Alcott was an avid book collector and often send messages to her friends to send her new publications of Goethe’s books whenever they appeared.

Alcott has multiple leading male characters in her novels. Friedrich Bhaer in Little Women, Augustus Bopp in the “King of clubs” and the kind German soldier John in “Hospital Sketches”. In the 19th century, Germans were widely discriminated against in America, so it is remarkable that Alcott introduces German characters in her books and often pairs them with her American heroines. She also studied German and often used German phrases in her stories. Goethe’s stories represent the height of the Sturm und Strang movement. When Alcott was in her early 20s she practised writing by copying storylines from the Sturm und Strang tales. These characters are dramatically filled with emotional distress and we can find them in many Alcott novels.

Small Umbrella In The Rain is an ongoing series of video essays, articles and podcast episodes that examines the intersections in Louisa May Alcott´s Little Women.