Shalit tells us that in 1994 she rushed off to see the new movie version of Little
Women, only to discover that our hidden cultural censors, fearful of anything that does not cohere with prevailing orthodoxy, had expunged one of «the best lines» in the story, when Marmee says: «To be loved by a good man is the best and
sweetest thing which can happen to a
woman; and I
sincerely hope my girls may know this beautiful experience.»