It’s deeply satisfying to discover and recognize a literary reference buried inside another book. Louisa May Alcott was a master at weaving these into her works, and though many of them are allusions to Greek and Roman myths, which, reading her books as a child, I generally knew, there were plenty I had to go look up. It’s not just classical tales that get referenced by well-regarded authors — sometimes it’s the work of their contemporaries, often it’s a biblical story, and occasionally you’ll see a fairy tale mentioned. Allusions are meant to strengthen our understanding of a moment in the story, whether it’s a way to reinforce a character’s vice or virtue, emphasize their looks, or tease out the motivation of their actions. They also serve as a way to stitch mankind together, weaving our common experience in and out of the stories we read, write, and share with one another.
Oftentimes these days, it’s difficult to make these references — even biblical ones — and count on being understood. We’ve forgotten many of the literary touchstones that everyone once knew and have to resort to pop-culture ones. All is not lost, however, and you never know how you might start repairing this knowledge gap.
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