Concord, Massachusetts

Concord as a setting represents both comfort and frustration for May. Concord, Massachusetts is a small town roughly 20 miles Northwest of Boston. This is the Alcott family’s hometown, where her older sister Anna and her sons live along with their parents. Louisa is in and out of Concord, especially as she gains literary fame with Little Women. The novel starts in Concord as Louisa opens the reviews to Little Women in Orchard House (the name of their home), surrounded by the family about whom she based her novel. Part 1 starts with the label of Concord, though May does return home in Parts 2 and 3. In Part 2 she returns by choice after frustration in Rome, but quickly grows tired of Concord and its simplicity. In Part 3 she is forced to return home by Louisa, but when she departs for Europe again she decides she would “never return home...