"Tomboy Lou"
by Susanna Steeg
"Louisa!! Slow down! When are you ever going to learn how to act like a lady??"
I heard this phrase and many like it during the years I was growing up. My mother despaired of me ever growing up and learning how to act politely and delicately. But I had an older sister named Anna who seemed to do those things good enough for the both of us. I wanted to run, hide, play and dance. I raced all the boys and beat them too! Why walk when you can run?
I grew up with my family in Concord, Massachusetts during the mid-1800’s. Life wasn’t easy—especially during the war years when Father was gone and supplies were short. There were always people in need, but I came to believe that during those dark times, we created our own light. I had three sisters; Anna was the oldest and liked to sit quietly and sew. She didn’t think much of my shenanigans, although I always knew she loved me. I was next in line, and then Beth was younger than me. Beth was kind and gentle and became my special sister. I suppose some would think it strange that we could be so close when we were so different—me a fearless tomboy and Beth a quiet and gentle spirit, but nobody could tell me that she wasn’t the most special person in the world. Abba May was the baby of our family. I must admit that she was a bit spoiled, and since we both had short tempers we quarreled often. But we always forgave each other quickly.
I loved to imagine all sorts of wonderful things, and wrote stories in my head all the time about the daily things in life. My sisters and I played at acting when we were growing up, and I enjoyed writing, directing and playing the bad guy as well as the damsel in distress! I must admit that sometimes my wild ways got me into trouble. Like the day I almost died. I was running along the pond daydreaming about some wild scheme when I fell into the water. I didn’t know how to swim and nobody was around to hear me scream! I panicked as I sank and fought and splashed. And suddenly there were two strong hands pulling me out of the water. When I finally recovered enough to thank him, he was gone! I never forgot the kindness of that boy who saved my life.
Whenever anybody was in need, it seemed they found their way to our door. Marmee and Father never turned them away, and so we often watched God provide for our own needs when we had given everything we had away to others. Even though Marmee never complained, I knew she didn’t like being so poor, so I vowed when I was small that I would take care of my family when I grew up.
Even though it was my life-long desire to go to college, our family was too poor to send me when I reached the age. When my roaming spirit and adventurous ways could keep me at home no longer, Marmee arranged for me to stay with a friend in the big city of New York. It was there that I satiated my thirst for knowledge about different lives and wrote furiously about all that I saw around me. I had begun to think that I had to write about exciting and scary things to get a good story, but while I was in New York I began to learn differently. I discovered that it was important to remember the sometimes mundane and everyday details that made growing up in a small town and a large family so wonderful. I decided to write the story of my childhood, and titled it "Little Women." I am glad to say that I fulfilled my dream of caring for my family as a result of that book’s success, but I found more joy in the lesson that one must find peace with who God made them to be.
Comprehension Questions
- What war do you think Louisa was referring to? (Answer: the Civil War)
The following questions don’t have a specific answer, but are instead designed to prompt some thinking and imagination.
- Speculate as to why you think Louisa’s rescuer ran away after he saved her.
- What made the Louisa’s family a happy or good family? Why do you think they were happy even though they were poor?
- What role does money play in your life? How important is it?
- Why do you think is it important to learn the lesson that Louisa said that she had learned in the end? Is it good to pretend to be somebody you are not? Why or why not?
- Give some similarities and differences of expectations for girls who lived during the 1800’s and those who live now. Is it socially unacceptable to be a tomboy now? Why or why not?
Outline for Storytelling
- Slow down!--Mother wanted me to act like a lady
- But Anna did that well enough for both of us
- Raced all the boys
- Family
- Life was hard during the war
- We helped people
- Sisters
- Anna-quiet and reserved older sister
- Beth-special one to me
- Abba May-spoiled and quarrelsome, but still loved
- Life
- Always imagined stories and played at acting with sisters
- One day my tomboyish ways got me into trouble:
- Fell into the pond and couldn’t swim
- Rescued by a boy who didn’t stay around for me to say thanks
- Finances
- We always gave away what little we had to help people
- Marmee didn’t like being poor
- I vowed to support my family when I grew up
- Adult life
- Couldn’t go to college
- Went to New York
- Exciting city with lots of chances for imagination and writing
- Decided that I should write about things I knew
- Wrote "Little Women"
- Book was successful
- Learned about making peace with God’s plan
Prop Ideas for Storytelling:
Bonnet
Old fashioned bat and ball
Paste-on mustache
Food (to give away)
Quill Pen (feather) and Paper
Book
My Sources for Information:
"Little Women." 1997 movie by Warner Bros.
American History, Abeka Books, 1987
Personal Knowledge