Castles

Castles

In Little Women, the theme of castles is oft repeated and represents the individual dreams and desires of each of the four little women and Laurie. Chapter 13 is full of allusions to these fantastical dream castles which the young people imagine are waiting for them in the "Celestial City". The Celestial City is an allusion to the heaven in Pilgrim's Progress, the ultimate goal of the pilgrim, and consequently, the ultimate destination goal for the children. They imagine the heavenly city to be a difficult place to reach, and likewise, the dreams they hope to achieve in their lifetimes seem just as improbable. All of their castles have realistic impediments which frustrate their progress towards achieving their goals. The most important of these obstacles is the struggle which all of the young ones face between their duties to their families and their duties to themselves to achieve their dreams. In chapter 13, aptly named "Castles in the Air", Laurie is torn between his grandfather's wishes for him to attend college and his own desire to become a world famous musician, while Jo is torn between her desire to pursue her writing and "get rich and famous"(140) and her domestic duties as a woman and a daughter. The castles in the air represents the dreams and fantasies of youth before its adulteration by the realities and expectations of societal mores and familial duties.