Eight Cousins

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Eight Cousins; or The Aunt-Hill is an 1875 novel by American novelist Louisa May Alcott. It narrates the story of Rose, a rich but lonely and sickly girl who has been recently orphaned and sent to live with her maiden aunts. When Rose's guardian, Uncle Alec, returns from abroad he takes over her care. Through his unorthodox theories about child-rearing and her exposure to the exploits of her seven male cousins and numerous aunts, Rose becomes happier and healthier. She also makes friends with Phebe, her aunts' maid of her own age, whose cheerful attitude in the face of poverty helps to illustrate to Rose her own good fortune.

The book supports helping others make good choices, as to the end Rose becomes concerned over some of her cousins. She tells Phebe that she thinks the role of girls is to help boys, acting as peacemaker and caretaker. There's also a bit of 'romance' with the cousins.

[edit] Major themes

The story has a highly moral feel in parts, as Alcott used the novel to display some of the theories of the time which she supported. For instance, Uncle Alec proposes the rejection of women's fashions of the time such as corsets, in favour of less restrictive clothing. He also educates Rose in subjects such as physiology, typically thought inappropriate for girls at the time. Other incidents in the book illustrate the evils of cigar-smoking and pot-boiler novels.

The sequel to Eight Cousins is entitled Rose in Bloom (1876), and tells the story of Rose's early adulthood, including her courtship and that of her friends and cousins.