Alcott's Humor or Lack Thereof
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Ruth Berman’s article “Spirituous Consolation”: Alcott’s Jokes on Drinking and Religion explores the works of Louisa May Alcott, an author of the mid 1800’s, famous for books such as Little Women and Hospital Sketches. Alcott was asked to remove allusions to rebels from her civil war era pieces, drinking from nearly all of them in favor of temperance, and all of her allusions to the Bible (Berman 169). Her publishers wanted her books to have the appeal of everyone and felt these aforementioned topics would create a niche audience without these revisions, therefore not creating as much revenue. The Robert’s Brothers’ goal would print books appealing to a broader audience while maintaining the same level of comedic value.
Berman notes, “of the two topics, sober-sided treatment of drink as a teenager is the more prominent in Little Women, and comparable portrayals of drinking appeared in her work throughout her career” (Berman 174). This stance on alcohol by Alcott is not only a way to sell more books but is also a reflection of her own personal experiences in having to watch a loved one struggle with an addiction to alcohol. She doesn’t want anyone to have to go through the struggle of an addict or the pain of watching a loved one fall victim to this illness as it tears the family apart. Ideologies led her to remove references to drinking alcohol or even possessing alcoholic beverages in her works. However, there were still a few incidences, such as Alcott’s reference to cider, which would have still meant hard, alcoholic cider. The technology of her time would not have allowed for in home brewing of non-alcoholic cider to be made available to people of every social standing. Knowing this was unavoidable and that drinking was still a social activity, she had to leave these references in the books.
By removing religion from her works, Alcott was thought to be less offensive. It is stated that there were just two short religious jokes that did not poke fun at religion in any harmful way. The omission of these types of jokes was thought, again, to sell more copies. She also used religious humor to express cleverness. This is noted by Berman in Alcott’s Hospital Sketches where a character, Aunt Kipp’s pet fly, Buzz, is confused by the “topsy-turvy children” in her picture of the Madonna (176). Of course, the reader knows these children are angels and that one does not usually have a pet fly which makes this interaction amusing. Alcott uses her religious humor to try to bring about changes in society.
By making the books more lighthearted to all types of audiences, not only did she appeal to more people in the of the United States, but she sold just as well in the rest of the world. This dulling, in my own opinion, made her books more boring by softening her more taboo topics such as drinking, during a time of temperance, or religion, in a nation where while freedom of religion is what is preached isn’t always practiced. However, she was able to sell more copies, keep more customers happy, and have a broad audience able to share and enjoy her stories for generations. She is able to use her material satirically in order to bring issues such as the dangers of drinking, religious practices and differences, and political standpoints to the societal forefront and try to bring about change in the world.
Work Cited
Berman, Ruth. “’Spirituous Consolation’: Alcott’s Jokes on Drinking and Religion” Children’s
Literature in Education 39.3 (2008): 169-185. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Sept.
2015