The exact words
“Mothers are the best lovers in the world, but I don't mind whispering to Marmee that I'd like to try all kinds.”Louisa May Alcott, Little Women, Part Second (1869), chapter 42, “All Alone”
✓ VerifiedFound in a primary source: the original book, speech transcript, letter or recording.
What people get wrong
Common reading
A romantic or odd line about mothers.
A romantic or odd line about mothers.
Closer to the original
In the 1800s “lover” could simply mean someone who loves you. Jo means that no one loves her as completely as her mother does.
In the 1800s “lover” could simply mean someone who loves you. Jo means that no one loves her as completely as her mother does.
Timeline
- 1869In the second part of Little Women, grieving and lonely, Jo confides in her mother, Marmee, about her feelings. Marmee gently guesses more than Jo says.
Use it in a speech
Jo March says in Little Women that mothers are the best lovers in the world, meaning nobody loves you like your mom. She was right. Happy Mother's Day.
~8 secondsto say aloud
Pausenone needed in a card
Best spotthe main line of the card
Questions people ask
Who said “mothers are the best lovers in the world”?
Jo March, in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Part Second (1869).
What does “lover” mean here?
Someone who loves you. The romantic sense was not the only one in Alcott's day.
Cite this quote
These cite the original source directly, so you can use them in an essay or paper. Always check your teacher's required style.
MLAAlcott, Louisa May. Little Women. Part Second, chapter “All Alone”. 1869. Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/514.
APAAlcott, L. M. (1869). Little Women. Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/514
CHICAGOLouisa May Alcott, Little Women, Part Second, chapter “All Alone”, 1869.
IN TEXT (APA)(Alcott, 1869)