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Alcott’s Little Women is a novel that focuses on the development of the characters to
weave a morality tale. It follows the story of four girls who are sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy
— and how they overcome obstacles to become “little women.” It is a well-told story that
features suspense, humor, and engaging characters, as well as lessons about the importance of
The story is set in nineteenth-century America during the time of the Civil War. The
March family is without a father for the most part of the novel because Mr. March is serving as a
chaplain of the Union. In his absence, Marmee—that’s how the girls call their mother—raises the
girls as faithful and caring individuals. She teaches the girls to be involved in their community;
from time to time, they will visit their less-fortunate neighbors, give them food and medicine,
and look after the little children. But the most significant point is that charity begins at home:
When Mr. March gets sick, Marmee goes to tend to him; and to help finance the expenses, Jo
Little Women is like a compendium of experiences as each sister explores life and
pursues happiness. Each of them learns a lesson or two, but the most important lesson of all is
adversity.
Meg, the oldest daughter, is the typical vain teenager who cares little about work; she has
to learn to devote more time to the family. She marries John Brooke, Laurie’s tutor; and in their
Jo, the second daughter, is the opposite of Meg. While Meg is ladylike, Jo is tomboyish;
she is independent, not afraid to speak her mind, and adventurous. Most of all, she dreams of
becoming a writer, something which most people do not consider womanly during her time. Her
challenge is to control her impulses and be gentle, poised, and patient like the typical socially
adept girls. She befriends her neighbor, Laurie; they become so close that he later proposes to
her, but she refuses because she believes that she cannot reciprocate his feeling. She then goes
to New York to work as a governess and to try her luck in writing while Laurie goes to Europe to
heal his broken heart. In New York, she meets Professor Bhaer whose character sparks her
interest; he encourages her to write. They later marry in the story and start a school for boys.
The presence of the author is considerably revealed in Jo’s character. Alcott helped
support her family by doing several domestic jobs like sewing, running a small school, and
writing. She was an advocate of women’s rights, and she remained unmarried when most women
There is always an impending sense of death in the novel, and this is personified in Beth,
the third daughter. Although she is a good pianist, she has to overcome her
shyness. Reading the story, one can say that Beth is silently in love with Laurie, but she never
reveals this. Silent and sickly, she is the most gentle of the sisters. In part 1, she catches scarlet
fever from their neighbor, but she recovers from this and gradually overcomes her shyness.
Just like many youngest daughters, Amy is impractical and thoughtless; she has to learn
to think of others and be more selfless. She is portrayed as artistic; but when she goes to Europe
with her aunt, she realizes that she lacks the genius to be a great artist (www.shmoop.com). She
meets Laurie in Europe, and they fall in love with each other and get married—to the great
dismay of the fans of the Jo-Laurie tandem (this proves that, in life, you will never know who
This novel is essentially based on Alcott’s family and their adventures. Mr. March is her
father, Bronson; Marmee, her mother, Abigail May; Meg, her older sister, Anna; Jo, Louisa
herself; Beth and Amy, her younger sisters, Elizabeth and May respectively. The author also
honored her friend and fellow writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, in the kind and benevolent Mr.
The story is full of lessons, and it is a great read especially for teenagers. It reflects issues
that many teenagers face no matter what era. It allows them to think of their own challenges,
their attitude toward them, and how they overcome them. It also makes them reflect about their
ultimate desire or goals. Most of all, it reminds readers of the real priorities in life such as the
Like a looking glass, Alcott’s Little Women reveals the different faces and issues of
learn to become “little women.” Just like many youngest daughters, Amy is impractical and
thoughtless; she has to learn to think of others and be more selfless. She is portrayed as artistic;
but when she goes to Europe with her aunt, she realizes that she lacks the genius to be a great
artist (www.shmoop.com). She meets Laurie in Europe, and they fall in love with each other and
get married—to the great dismay of the fans of the Jo-Laurie tandem (this proves that, in life, you
This novel is essentially based on Alcott’s family and their adventures. Mr. March is her father,
Bronson; Marmee, her mother, Abigail May; Meg, her older sister, Anna; Jo, Louisa herself; Beth
and Amy, her younger sisters, Elizabeth and May respectively. The author also honored her friend
and fellow writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, in the kind and benevolent Mr. Laurence, Laurie’s
grandfather.
The story is full of lessons, and it is a great read especially for teenagers. It reflects issues that
many teenagers face no matter what era. It allows them to think of their own challenges, their
attitude toward them, and how they overcome them. It also makes them reflect about their
ultimate desire or goals. Most of all, it reminds readers of the real priorities in life such as the
Like a looking glass, Alcott’s Little Women reveals the different faces and issues of women in
society, the family. Old as this may be, this looking glass reflects that even today girls need to
Works Cited
“Little Women.” Novel Summaries Analysis. Novel Explorer, January 26, 2009. Web.
May 8, 2012. http://www.novelexplorer.com
“Little Women Summary: How It All Goes Down.” Shmoop. Shmoop University Inc., 2012.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/littlewomen/summary.html