Louisa May Alcott (post 9): In Part II of “Little Women,” Jo, Alcott’s alter ego, will call her productive periods of writing a “vortex,” but what is that?

A vortex is a whirling movement that draws you into it, irresistibly, as, for example, a whirlpool.

And a whirlpool would not be a good metaphor for the manic episodes of bipolar disorder, which some people have associated with creative genius.

However, a vortex could be a metaphor for being drawn into an altered state of consciousness in which the person feels taken over by forces beyond their control (perhaps alternate personalities).

But let me read Part II and see what Jo actually says.