From the moment I read the first chapter of The Little Women, I felt like this story was a fairy tale.
In the cabin in the snow and wind, the four sisters talking around the stove on Christmas Eve, while worrying about their father who is far away from the battlefield with the army, while waiting for their mother who is about to return home. It was an old house with rudimentary furniture, but beautiful paintings hanging on the walls, cupboards filled with books of all kinds, and flowers on the windowsills. Regardless of whether the outside of the house is war or the wind and snow, the four sisters in the hut whisper and look forward to it, and the image of a home jumps in front of them, warm and unpleasant.
Like a paradise in a fairy tale.
Mr. March is a military chaplain, Mrs. March is at home to take care of her four daughters, the family although living in poverty, but the life of a positive and optimistic life. Under the positive guidance of the Marche couple, the four daughters take poverty as a teacher, are industrious and kind, firm and brave. Mr. and Mrs. March seem to be using the noble character of their daughters to declare to the world that even poor parents can successfully raise their daughters.
First, spiritual abundance is the greatest wealth left by parents to their children
The story begins with four daughters of the March family surrounding the stove, playing wool while discussing what gifts to buy for Christmas.
Sixteen-year-old Meg is the eldest of four sisters, and she likes to wear new dresses most of all because of her beautiful looks.
Fifteen-year-old Joe has a boyish personality, but he is a bookworm who wants to buy himself a new book with pocket money.
Thirteen-year-old Beth is gentle and shy and loves music the most, and wants to buy herself a new sheet music at Christmas.
The youngest, Amy, a reserved lady who excels at drawing, wants to buy a box of beautiful drawing pencils with pocket money.
Christmas is coming, the four sisters don't have much pocket money, and if they buy these favorite things, there is nothing left.
"The poor family is so miserable!" Meg couldn't help but complain. She missed the days when her family was rich and she had a lot of beautiful clothes and jewelry.
Now their lives are so poor that she has to work as a governess, Joe has to take care of Aunt March, who lives alone, the sisters work to earn money and subsidize the family, sister Beth stays at home to help her mother take care of the housework, and little Amy goes to school.
Sisters argue with each other: teaching children to read and taking care of the elderly has to endure their bad temper, tidying up the house is very tired, because dad has no money, so little Amy will be bullied by classmates at school... The voices of the four sisters faintly reached the window, drowning in the wind and snow outside the window.
Until the hands of the clock pointed to six o'clock, the atmosphere in the hut suddenly changed, and the four girls invariably stopped chatting and consciously got up and got busy. Their mother is coming back.
Meg lights up the room, Amy gives up her easy chair, Beth cleans the floor, and Joe takes her mother's slippers closer to the stove to dry.
When Joe discovers that her mother's slippers are very old, her sister Beth decides to use her pocket money to buy a new pair of slippers for her mother with her pocket money for Christmas presents. When the other sisters heard this, they also had to scramble to buy gifts for their mothers, and finally they decided that they did not want gifts, they would take out their pocket money, and each of them would buy a gift for their mother.
The four sisters, who were still looking forward to Christmas gifts one second, scrambled to take out all their pocket money to buy gifts for their mothers the next.
At this moment, I saw the precious wealth that this not-so-wealthy family had given to these girls. To be able to educate children of such good character, I suppose, their parents must have been well-educated, even if they were poor.
The Marches didn't disappoint me.
With a cheerful greeting coming from the door, the girls saw a "tall, amiable lady." She was dressed plainly, but with nobility. The girls greeted them with joy, this is their mother, the best mother in the world.
"Honey, how are you doing today?" Watching her daughters get busy, Mrs. March was not idle, she asked Beth about the situation at home, while caring about the cold of the eldest daughter Meg, took the younger daughter Amy on her knees, and announced that she had brought them a letter from her father, which was what Joe was most looking forward to.
From this description of Mrs. March's return home, it can be seen that she is a good mother who is delicate and cares about her daughter. A few short words of dialogue, caring and greeting each daughter's situation, without neglecting and snubbing any one. She answered her daughters' questions carefully, not feeling that they were young and ignorant, not impatient and perfunctory, and not coping with things with three or two sentences.
Listen carefully to the child's speech and answer the child's questions, which is the recognition and respect of a child's independent personality as a parent.
As the father of the girls, although Mr. March is away from home because of his status as a military pastor, he cannot accompany the children at all times, but he often expresses his ardent expectations for the children by writing letters. He wrote in the letter: "In the days of waiting, we should all work hard and not waste time. I know they will remember what I said, be a good child for moms, fulfill their responsibilities, bravely face the demons of the heart, and overcome themselves. When I return to them, they will grow into little women who make me extremely happy and proud. "This is the most sincere expectation and wish for my daughter as a father.
Spiritual abundance is the greatest wealth that parents leave to their children.
Mr. and Mrs. March may not be able to prepare expensive Christmas gifts for their four daughters, but they will bring their children to perform stage plays, memorize lines with their daughters, make their own costumes and props, and set the stage background together. In the clean and tidy cottage, the family greeted the grand festival with laughter. For the four sisters, this happy childhood memory cannot be bought with much money.
Take the poor as a teacher, find fun in the poor life, cultivate noble character and love for life. Mr. and Mrs. March taught their four daughters to be brave, kind, optimistic, and loving, which is the noblest virtue of parents and the most precious gift they have received as children.
Second, boldly let go, dare to let the child to try and make mistakes
Forward-thinking parents do not use the excuse of "being good for you" to choose every path in life for their children in advance. Such a smooth life is like a fine porcelain bottle, although it looks good, but it can't withstand any bumps. Once a setback is encountered, the child's perfect life may collapse in an instant, because no one has taught the child how to stand up and heal the wound after falling, so once the perfect world in the child's eyes collapses, it is difficult to recover.
Truly far-sighted parents know how to let go at the right time, dare to give their children the opportunity to let themselves try and make mistakes.
In the book "Little Women", Mrs. March's education of the four sisters can be called a model.
The eldest daughter, Meg, was invited to an upper-class party, a beautiful and cultured girl who always restrained her speech and manners by the standards of a lady. Walking in the dance, anyone will be attracted to this young and beautiful girl.
And Meg also liked to attend the gatherings of these so-called high-class people, because her dream was to live in a beautiful big house in the future, there were many servants who heeded her call, she had many beautiful dresses, hats of all kinds, and exquisite gloves, she hoped to be able to ride in a big carriage when she went out, and she envied the life of the rich girls.
Mrs. March initially disagreed with Meg's trip, which had always envied high-society life, and she feared that her daughter would not be satisfied with the poor and hard life once she came into contact with the glitzy world of the rich. But unable to resist her daughter's pleading, Mrs. March finally let go of Meg.
Before leaving home, Meg was excited about the long-awaited trip, and the sisters in the family also lent Meg's beautiful ribbons and gloves to help her pack. But after actually going out with these rich ladies, Meg suddenly found that her clean and tidy dress was a little old, and the beautiful things that her sisters happily lent her when she went out had no more attraction to her. In Meg's eyes, her own cottage was so empty and simple compared to this grand and magnificent house.
Although Meg has a beautiful face, a well-behaved and pleasing personality, and everyone around her likes her, she dances well, as if she was born for the dance, but the problem is that Meg is the daughter of a poor family, and she does not even have the right dress to attend the dance.
On the eve of the dance, Meg was dressed by several rich ladies, gorgeous long skirts and jingling jewelry, so that she lost the original fresh beauty of a sixteen-year-old girl, when she appeared at the ball in this doll costume, although it attracted the attention of many people, but Meg felt uncomfortable, she knew that she was teased by these rich ladies, a real lady would not dress herself like this.
The glitzy world of the rich family seems to have really experienced it, and it is only then that it feels like this.
As a sixteen-year-old girl, Meg, like most of her peers, had been driven by her own vanity, but at this moment she truly realized that the high society that had been in her heart was not as beautiful as she had imagined, and this luxurious house had lost its color in an instant, and Meg missed the place that was not big, but it was warm and comfortable, her own home.
As a mother, when she learned that her daughter Meg did not have expensive pearl jewelry to decorate herself, Mrs. March told her daughter: "Flowers are the most beautiful decoration for young girls." ”
Upon learning of Meg's ornate and exaggerated dress at the ball in order to win the admiration of others, Mrs. March said to her daughter: "You must learn to discern and cherish the appreciation you deserve, and win the admiration of decent people with humility and beauty." ”
Learning that Meg regretted indulging herself at the ball and was upset by the teasing of others, Mrs. March said: "I want my daughter to be beautiful, versatile, kind, praised, admired and respected, and happy and happy in her youth and happily married." May God bless them to live a happy and meaningful life without worries. ”
When her daughter tentatively entered the envious high society, Mrs. March did not stop her, she let her daughter try the bittersweet and bittersweet in the flashy world, to distinguish whether this was the life she longed for, to judge whether this road was the one she really wanted to go.
Just like a child who is just learning to walk, Mrs. March did not lead her daughter Meg and told her which way she must go, she just stood behind her daughter and boldly let go of the child's hands, letting her daughter try, choose, and try and make mistakes. Then give her guidance and comfort when her daughter needs her.
Good parents know that no matter how the road in front of them is chosen, it is the child's life and the child's right. And truly far-sighted parents will only guide their children's values in a positive direction, and will not try to control their children's lives.
Third, take the poor as a teacher, and blossom into a flower of virtue and nobility in the soil of poverty
Truly far-sighted parents, even if the family is poor, will establish a correct view of money and values for their children. They will not blindly instill in their children the paranoid concept of money first, nor will they talk about money discoloration, and they will not be ashamed to talk about money. Instead, they will tell their children that money is not the only pursuit and teach them to love everything in life. Children will also be told that if money is used correctly, it can bring happiness to this society.
For the March family, the Marches' approach to the marriage of their four beautiful daughters is commendable.
The eldest daughter, Meg, likes the glamorous and gorgeous life of a rich man, but she prefers a poor boy with no background as a governess. The youngest daughter, Amy, has aspired to be a noble and elegant lady since she was a child, and once refused to marry for money, not wanting to marry into the rich for love in the end. Mrs. March looked at the troubles of the children in her eyes, and she said to her daughters in a serious voice:
"Dear children, I have high hopes for you, but I do not want you to hurry up and marry rich people, only because their families are rich and prominent. A mansion is not a home because there is no love in it. Money is useful and precious, and if it is used in a way, it can also be sublime. But I don't want you to think that money is the most important thing, the only thing worth pursuing. ”
"I would rather see you be a happy, contented poor lady than a queen with no self-esteem and no peace."
Whether it was the eldest daughter who married the poor boy or the younger daughter married into the rich, the Marches calmly accepted the choice of the children and supported their decision. Because the Marches know that whether they are poor or rich, the marriage partners their daughters choose are of excellent character. They will form a new family, and the two people will work together and work hard for a happy life in the future.
In addition, for the lively and active second daughter Joe and the shy and shy third daughter Beth, the March couple is also very caring and loving.
Joe has been a maverick since childhood, likes to run and jump and mingle with boys, for Joe refused to play with the boy from childhood to adulthood, Mrs. March looked in the eyes, although she also felt that the two children were too similar in personality and not suitable for marriage and life together, but she did not make her own decisions for her daughter, but naturally waited for Joe to choose. In the end, Joe rejected the boy and ran away. Mrs. March didn't stop her daughter, she knew that Joe needed more space.
For their daughter Beth, the Marches are mostly distressed and worried. The gentle and kind Beth was like a little angel, but a serious illness took away the girl's health, and Beth, who was originally shy and shy, became even more pale and weak after that. But Beth is still understanding and is a little angel that everyone cares about and loves, although sometimes, Beth envies everyone who can have a good body and live a healthy and healthy life. She knew she didn't have much time left.
The Marches watched their daughter Beth's face gradually approach transparent, and their hearts were worried, but there was not much they could do, and at the last time, they were sad, but they had no choice but to be calm. The Marches accepted this unavoidable reality, led the whole family to face it optimistically, supported each other with love, and tried to make Beth spend her last days happily.
The life of the March family is poor and hard, and sometimes full of regrets, but the four daughters are the eternal hope and sustenance of the March family:
"Children, remember one thing, Mom will always be your confidant and Dad will always be your friend. We all hope and believe that our daughters, whether married or single, are the pride and comfort of our lives. ”
Although in the end, the second daughter Joe married a professor who was much older than her, daughter Beth calmly faced death in the midst of illness. The Marches were calmly praying for their blessings.
A life of poverty is no excuse for educational failure.
Truly far-sighted parents will raise their children on a spiritual level, rather than just knowing how to give their children more pocket money and take their children to buy and buy. Truly far-sighted parents will boldly let go at the necessary moment, give their children the opportunity to let themselves try and make mistakes, to hit walls, to experience setbacks and growth, rather than blindly controlling their children's lives and interfering with their children's choices and decisions. Truly far-sighted parents will become children's friends, but also children's leaders and backers, they know how to listen, will give children timely support and companionship. Rather than just standing on a high judgment platform, turning a blind eye to the child's plight, and only blindly criticizing the child's mistakes.
Material poverty does not mean spiritual poverty. A life of poverty can temper children's hearts even more, and taking poverty as a teacher can also raise daughters richly.