Then and Now: The Impact of Rereading
Written by Caitlin Bootsma
“You’re definitely Meg,” my younger sister insisted. “You’re the oldest, and…well, I’m obviously Jo.” I did NOT want to be Meg; couldn’t we both be Jo? There was no question then that our next sister was Amy, and, in our teenage years, no one wanted to be assigned Beth’s fate.
Twenty years have passed since we grew up with these Little Women, and I was thrilled to revisit the classic with my Well-Read Mom group during the Year of the Artist. Would I discover I was a Jo after all? Maybe I had more in common with Amy than I realized?
However, what happened in the reread is that another character entirely jumped out at me – Marmee. I had barely noticed her as a teen. She melted into the background like one of those nonverbal adult characters in an old Peanuts cartoon. This time around, though, as a mom of four myself, she is the one I emphasized with. Just like her girls, she strove for virtue. She ran the household on scarce resources while her husband was at war, helped the war effort, and gracefully negotiated her girls’ squabbles and challenges.
What a treasure! Little Women was no longer only a childhood memory for me but is a book that has grown with me, still revealing timeless truths about the world and life.
Fortunately, Little Women is just one of many jewels of books that have blessed my life in these last few years as – at 37 – I recognize I am no longer “young,” but a wife, mother, and friend, who has more of life’s joys, sorrows, peaks, and valleys behind her.
One cool night, our Well-Read Mom group debated how we saw Sense and Sensibility’s Marianne and Elinor back when we all had read the book as teenagers (team Elinor!) and how we see their strengths and weaknesses now through the lens of our own experiences of love and marriage.
And what of the spirited Anne? I devoured those books as a 7-year old and have reread them countless times. However, this year, I am less immersed in Anne’s journey and notice more how this child full of hope and life changed Marilla and Matthew and all of Avonlea.
When I read Kristin Lavransdatter as a young adult, lugging that huge volume around on the Washington, DC, subway on my commute to an internship, I knew Kristin’s life had something to show me. How will these themes of motherhood, sin, and life’s journey impact me today?
The chance to immerse myself in these rereads is a tremendous gift. Knowing how much I’ve received from classics at ages 7, 16, 20, and 37, I can’t wait to reread them at 60 – at 80. What book is sitting on your shelf, just asking to be reread so it can enrich your life again?
About Caitlin Bootsma
Caitlin Bootsma facilitates a Well-Read Mom group in Richmond, VA, and is a wife and mother to four. A life-long bibliophile, her first book is coming out next year. She talks about all things books and writing on Instagram at @theinkyswan.
About Well-Read Mom
In Well-Read Mom, women read more and read well. Our hope is to deepen the awareness of meaning hidden in each woman’s daily life, elevate the cultural conversation, and revitalize reading literature from books. If you would like to have us help you select worthy reading material, we invite you to join and read along with us. We are better together! For information on how to start or join a Well-Read Mom group visit our website wellreadmom.com
