This verse, taken from a poem by nineteenth-century British writer, cleric, and social reformer Charles Kingsley, was at some point pasted by Abigail Alcott onto the desk of her youngest daughter and namesake while she was still living in Concord. Following her mother's death in 1878, May shared the verse with her family and stated that it was advice that she was still trying to follow. To some extent she uses the poem as a kind of defense mechanism, asking her sisters if it was not better to stay in Europe and “do great things, having dreamed of them for so many years?” Here May was primarily referring to her pursuit of a career as a professional artist (which indeed would have been a “great” thing for a woman to accomplish in that period). However, I intend to show in this chapter that May also achieved other “noble things,” such as being an advocate for social justice issues affecting the lives of less-privileged people. Alcott Nieriker's profound empathy and social consciousness is quite at odds with the character of her literary alter-ego Amy, who was more concerned about the shape of her nose and traveling to Europe than helping people in need. To some extent, this social consciousness even seems at odds with the real-life “Parisian May,” whose letters reveal her interest in the performative aspects of dressing well and looking fashionable, despite having to live frugally. Yet as will be shown, Alcott Nieriker's social justice advocacy was a deeply rooted aspect of her character, and something that was often expressed in her travel writings.

In this chapter I will examine how May Alcott Nieriker did “noble things” in relation to three aspects of social justice: (1) her responses to the issue of enslaved Blacks, from the time she was a child helping African Americans learn how to read, to her mature work as an artist; (2) her advocacy on behalf of lower-class individuals to be able to freely enjoy and gain inspiration from viewing art in US museums;