19 March 2010

Cristmas roses.



While my concept of home has been shaped by Montgomery's works, the feel of a home that I aspire to emulate stems from this description in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women (1868):

[W]e will take this moment to give ... a little sketch of the four sisters, who sat knitting away in the twilight, while the December snow fell quietly without, and the fire crackled cheerfully within. It was a comfortable old room, though the carpet was faded and the furniture very plain; for a good picture or two hung on the walls, books filled the recesses, chrysanthemums and Christmas roses bloomed in the windows, and a pleasant atmosphere of home-peace pervaded it.

I have yet to discover what "Christmas roses" are, but they sound absolutely delightful, as though the promise of June is made apparent in winter. I like to wonder what Alcott considered a "good" picture, and I bless her authorial decision to allow us the reader to decide that for ourselves. And of course the recesses filled with books warm the cockles of my heart. Nooks and crannies, filled with what I love best! I also like the implied, unpretentious feel of the furniture.

Montgomery would take issue with the lack of a cat, but Alcott does get around at some point to noting Beth's armful of kittens. Also a must for me!

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