Louisa was a very talented writer who was, self-admittedly, prone to mood swings. One of the original pieces in the house, a horsehair sofa, has a pillow on it that was Louisa's "mood pillow." When it was upright, it signified that she was in a good mood and would entertain conversation from friends and family. But if it was lying on its side, watch out! Kelsey and Kendall decided to spend a little of their trip money on mood pillows in the Orchard House gift shop. Another quirk of Louisa's is that she had self-taught ambidexterity. Her 14-hour-long days of writing, when on one of her creative binges, put too much pressure on her right hand; she decided to write left-handed when her right hand began to cramp. Louisa was determined in many other aspects, as well. Long an outspoken supporter of equal rights, she was the first woman in Concord to place a vote following the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
Orchard House is actually two structures that were hodge-podged together by Louisa's father when he bought the run-down property in the late 1850s. The house, never in great shape, is now in terrible condition, with large cracks in the plaster walls and growing gaps in the woodwork. A few years ago, it was discovered that the place didn't have a foundation; engineers have since added one, shoring up things as best as possible. But it doesn't appear as though it will be around forever. In fact, we were surprised that visitors were given access to the entire house (on a guided tour). There's not a square window or level floor to be found, to the point that some beds look as though the sleeper would roll right out of it.
Louisa and her youngest sister, May, helped the Alcott family move out of poverty and spruce up the place a bit--including Louisa's gift to her mother of a soapstone sink that cost $100--what her father made in one year as Superintendent of Concord schools. Louisa's "Little Women" gained world-wide acclaim (it was the "Harry Potter" of its day) and has been translated into more than 50 languages. And May was a talented painter whose work was in demand by collectors around the world. Her artistic ability was detected early on thanks to pictures she drew as a child on the walls and doorposts of Orchard House. Her father, a leader in the transcendentalist philosophical movement, believed that his girls should be allowed to express themselves in whatever way seemed the most natural, and asked only that May's drawings on the walls would continuously improve! Many of her wall sketches have been preserved and are visible through plexiglass covers mounted throughout the house. One of her art pupils, whom she mentored through his early training, was Daniel Chester French, who went on to sculpt the seated Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. He credited May with having had a huge influence on his life, even though she died relatively young following complications in the birth of her daughter.
Seeing the shelf desk at which Louisa wrote "Little Women," as well as the piano on which her sister Beth played, made me feel as though I'd stepped into the pages of the book--one of my all-time favorites. We watched the 1994 movie version tonight, and the girls are hooked. Even the teary parts of it are so satisfying...not as good as reading the book, but close. :-)
Tomorrow can't get here soon enough; we're excited to have my mom fly into Boston for a seven-day visit with us! Stan and I have told the girls they're not allowed to put their new mood pillows in the sideways position for the next week or so.
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| Orchard House. Notice how lop-sided the 2nd floor, 2nd from left window appears...a tiny taste of the inside! |
It's one of my all time favorites, too. Along with Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom. Wonderful books!
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