Referring to The Pilgrim’s Progress in the preface of her novel, the author

starts her story of the four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy engaged in
discussing the situation of their poverty and the arrival of Christmas. It is an
allegorical novel that focuses on leading a Christian life. The four sisters
decide that they will buy Christmas gifts for themselves to enjoy it but later
they change their decision and decide that their mother, Marmee, needs a
good gift instead of them. Meanwhile, Marmee comes with a letter in her hand
from their father, who is serving as a Union chaplain in the Civil War, advising
them not to complain regarding their poverty. When Christmas arrives, the
girls find The Pilgrim’s Progress on their bed in the morning.

Meanwhile, their mother asks them to distribute their breakfast to the poor

family of the Hummels after which they are brooding over their good action
when Mr. Laurence, the neighbor, arrives with a good feast for the girls. Sally
Gardiner, the friend of Meg, too, arrives with an invitation to enjoy the New
Year’s party at her house. When Jo and Meg, both, attend the party, At the
party, Jo retreats to an alcove and meets Laurie, a boy who lives with Mr.
Laurence while Meg enjoys dancing. Later, Meg causes injury to her ankle
and Laurie comes to escort both of them home. The holiday enjoyments last
for a few days after which the girls have to revert to their daily academic
routine.

After a few days, the girls come to know about Laurie being ill. Jo visits Mr.
Laurence, his grandfather, to ask about his grandson’s health. She also
passes insulting comments on his painting but the old man admired her
spunk. He then befriends the girl, and when all the girls go to meet him one
day, he makes Beth his chum and donates his granddaughter’s piano to her.
Life is going on as usual when one day Amy is caught in school for playing
hooky, inviting the teacher’s fury. Fed up of these mischievous acts, Mrs.
March then withdraws her from school. When Jo visits the theatre, she does
not allow Amy to accompany her. Amy then burns Jo’s manuscript and Jo in
return nearly allows Amy to drown during ice-skating. On the other hand, Meg
also enjoys parties with Annie Moffat, her friend, and learns how appearances
and beauty are not everything. She also hears rumors about her wanting to
marry Laurie for his money.

Soon the family starts a newspaper, The Pickwick Club, that becomes a

popular paper in the area. Jo also brings Laurie secretly to the meetings after
which he starts a postbox activity for the paper. Although the family often
neglects work and even the mother takes a day off, the whole family enjoys it.
They also enjoy a picnic when Laurie brings his English friends over there.
Later, Jo succeeds in publishing her story in the paper for the first time that
the whole family enjoys. After some time, the family receives a telegram about
Mr. March falling ill and is admitted in the hospital in Washington, D.C.
Marmee is going to him and Jo is selling her hair to help finance her trip.
However, the girls soon find themselves in hot waters for neglecting
everything at home, while Beth, too, catches scarlet fever on account of her
visits to Hummels. Marmee has to make a run to the home to save her from
dying until Meg falls in love with Laurie’s teacher, Mr. Brooke, and they finally
get engaged.

Three years after that, Mr. March returns from the war. Meg marries and
leaves with Mr. Brook while Laurie is also free from schooling. Jo publishes
her first novel after meeting the publishers’ demands, while Meg starts her
own home, giving birth to twins. Meanwhile, Amy leaves for Paris after which
Jo leaves for New York to leave Laurie and Beth to engage with each other.
However, she herself meets her German professor, Bhaer, to have his advice
on her writing and after some time returns to find Beth dead. Laurie, after this,
leaves for France and meets Amy where they marry, while Jo marries Bhaer,
her German professor. Jo opens a school on the Plumfield and the novel ends
on the sister reunion, thanking each other.

Major Themes in Little Women

1. Feminism: The book shows a female perspective through the lives of
four girls and their families. Four March’s daughters grow up living
together with their chaplain father, Mr. March, and homemaker mother,
Marmee. They teach them how to live in the best possible way.
Although they leave schooling, their upbringing, enjoyment of festivities,
and matchmaking continue until all of them settle and gather together to
recall their childhood memories. The novel shows how personal
responsibilities are ignored in the larger interests of the family when Joe
abandons her career and Amy follows suit. The life of Meg and Beth as
they care for each other. Their father, Mr. March, too, points to this
domination of feminism in the novel.
2. Anti-Stereotyping: The novel shows the theme of anti-stereotyping by
presenting girls taking up unconventional roles in the family. First, the
family, having four girls, could hardly afford their education as it
happened during those times. For example, Jo wants to work to earn for
the family, a patriarchal responsibility that is unconventional during
those times. Similarly, when Laurie goes to learn music, that too is
unconventional and doesn’t suit him when it is considered a purely
 feminine pursuit. Therefore, the novel shows the major characters
breaking stereotyping.
3. Necessity of Work: Although femininity and domesticity were
intertwined at that time, the novel shows that even women can choose
professions and work. The March sisters demonstrate
their activities that femininity cannot stay confined to homes and
domestic chores. Whereas Jo and Amy follow what they want to do in
life, Laurie starts learning music. In fact, this shows the Puritan ethic of
working to show one’s passion for religion.
4. Integrity: The novel shows the theme of integrity in the family and
among the characters through the March family. A down-to-earth family
living in a relatively tight situation demonstrates how its girls should and
should not behave. It seems that the March girls have been put
into contrast with other ladies such as Sally and Amy. The constant
struggle of Amy and Meg to shed their vanity shows that they want to be
honest and down-to-earth sincere persons in their lives. When it comes
to showing this cultivation of attributes, Amy shows it during her
rejection of Fred which if accepted would have caused an uproar about
her acceptance based on Fred’s riches. Even the presentation of their
New England home seems to communicate this idea of Alcott that it is
better to be content than to be dissatisfied and be displeased.
5. Family: The novel, Little Women, shows the thematic strand of family
through the little girls, their assistance to each other, their help to their
father, and their simple way of living with each other. All of their efforts
and behavioral traits point to their one goal; keeping the family united
and supported. Even the family stays united to oppose Aunt March’s
proposal of adopting some child. When the March sisters do not see
money coming easily, they start clubs and create situations where they
can enjoy even without riches. Even some of the familial issues are
resolved within the family with the help of each other.
6. Marriage: With the familial thematic strand runs the idea of a happy
marriage. The novel, Little Women, shows that when given proper
training within a good family structure, girls can learn when and whom to
marry. The very first lesson of Marmee, the mother of the girl, is to teach
her daughters that they must have a good family and a loving husband
rather than riches. She also raises them to be loving to each other and
their parents. When Mr. March falls ill, almost all of them remain with
him. They also impact the neighbors, eventually, Laurie becomes their
household name and a family member because of the family first
approach.
 7. Poverty: The theme of poverty is significant in the novel that though it
draws the family and family members. It teaches a person how to keep
his head high in the midst of raging materialism. Amy knows that “poor
gentle folks fare badly” when talking to Laurie, but she also knows that
the March family is going through difficult times. So, Amy and Meg
mostly think of ways out of their tight situations to live within their
means. They also teach the same to Meg who marries Brooke. Within
this little context, the Gardiners and the Moffats are given to remind the
readers that poverty does not mean happiness.
8. Work: The theme of work and its reward is also apparent through the
March family where it has become a norm to work honestly and earn a
reward for it even though it might break conventions prevalent in
society. Meg who is an introvert by nature realizes her value when
rewarded by Mr. March for her work. That is also the reason for
Brooke’s defense of her. Similarly, Joe also sees her achievement in
writing, while she learns to be happy to work with Mr. Bhaer, her
German teacher.
9. Morality: The novel shows the theme of morality through the March
family and the four March girls. The reference to John Bunyan in the
preface and then the description of Mr. March in the initial pages point
to the ethical framework the novel is going to follow. This shows that the
sharing of their breakfast with the Hummels, assistance to Laurie and
even getting assistance from Mr. Laurence are the morals prevalent in
that society that good Christians always take care of their neighbors.

Major Characters Little Women

1. Meg: Meg March is the eldest among the four March girls whose
consciousness of her poverty leads her to desire a luxurious lifestyle.
However, she accepts her life as it is and learns to be happy quite early
when she marries a man for love instead of riches. She is the main
representative of goodness and social conventionality that syncs with
her mother’s character whom she follows in letter and spirit. Although
she, sometimes, follows the public agenda of pleasing people around
her, she comes to her senses after marrying John Brooke, knowing that
he likes politics and simple middle-class life.
2. Jo March: Although she could not be termed as the protagonist, she is
a central character who harbors a passion for writing, an unconventional
profession at the time when mostly patriarchy followed it. Jo has a
tomboy personality who dares to spurn Laurie’s offer and accept Bhaer
as her husband. In both ways, this proves a surprising move on her
 part, for she loses her independence to domesticity, marrying the man
beneath her status. The rebellious and outspoken attitude of Jo March
echoes the good March household until she becomes a conventional
submissive lady, leaving an example to follow.
3. Beth March: The third significant character of Little Women, Beth
March is quiet by nature, yet she is known for her caring attitude. Her
concern for family unity and her penchant for keeping others happy is
highly noticeable. It seems that the author has made her very soft, with
angelic nature, to survive the pragmatic lifestyle. When she dies, she
leaves the March sisters to learn a lesson from her good nature. Despite
her resemblance to Jo, she does not compete to live anymore where
social conventions stifle one’s personality.
4. Amy March: A very dexterous and amiable, Amy is the youngest of the
March sisters who not only pleases but also manipulates people around
her. She wins popularity as well as Laurie in the end and also visits
Europe. Although she seems quite in contrast to her elder sister, Jo, by
the end of the story she submits to the social norm and becomes a
household woman after marrying Laurie.
5. Laurie Laurence: One of the charming male characters in Little
Women, Laurie is the neighbor of the March and son of the Laurence
family. Although he seems on the verge of marrying Jo, he ends up with
Amy, though, his life experiences are more similar to Jo than others.
Instead of entering the business world, he defies his grandfather’s
desires and takes up music instead.
6. Mr. Robert March: Mr. Robert March heads the March family with his
wife, Mrs. March, and his four daughters. He appears highly
irresponsible for leaving her with her daughters to take care of the family
when he leaves with the army to fight in the Civil War. However, he
wants to set moral examples for his daughter with the assistance of his
wife when he returns which seems quite contrary to the idea he
preaches.
7. Mrs. Margaret March: She is addressed as Marmee in the novel. Mrs.
March is a gentle character who only takes care of the household and
almost the entire responsibility when Mr. March leaves for the Civil War
to work as a chaplain. Her character seems an epitome of calmness
and morality who she takes it upon herself to teach the girls to be
content, even in poverty, and keeps themselves balanced.
8. James Laurence: The head of the neighboring family, the Laurence,
Mr. James Laurence is an educated person and also benevolent when it
comes to helping the poor. However, his piquant behavior often makes
 the girls play fun at him when he becomes their guardian, though, he
always complains about his daughter-in-law, Laurie’s mother.
9. Esther: Working as the maid with the March family, Esther is French by
birth and catholic by religion. She helps Amy to learn French and
becomes her best friend.

Writing Style of Little Women

Little Women shows Louisa May Alcott’s mastery in describing people and
their behavior. The author paints realistic pictures through the dexterous use
of different images, evoking the feelings of the readers toward their favorite
character. Despite being written in the style of the last century,
the sentences show variety in phrases and clauses where the suitability of
the diction is excellent and fitting to the modern era. The author has relied
heavily on metaphors and similes along with personifications.

Analysis of the Literary Devices in Little

Women
1. Action: The main action of the novel comprises the childhood, poverty,
and maturing of the four March sisters. The falling action occurs when
Beth dies after a long illness and Amy marries Laurie. The rising action,
however, occurs when it transpires to the father that the sisters have
started growing in character and career after meeting Laurie.
2. Allusion: The novel shows excellent use of different allusions as given
in the examples below,
i. Mrs. March broke the silence that followed Jo’s words, by saying in
her cheery voice, ‘Do you remember how you used to play Pilgrims
Progress when you were little things? (Chapter-II)
ii. They had a charming time, for THE SEVEN CASTLES OF THE
DIAMOND LAKE was as brilliant and wonderful as heart could wish.
(Chapter-VIII)
iii. They called themselves the Pickwick Club. With a few interruptions,
they had kept this up for a year, and met every Saturday evening in the
big garret. (Chapter-X)
iv. ‘I’ll teach you whether we play HAMLET or not. It’s grand fun and will
straighten you up capitally. (Chapter-XV)
These examples allude to different books such as the first to John
Bunyan’s, the second to The Seven Castle and the last alludes to The
 Pickwick Papers. The last one alludes to the Shakespearean tragedy of
Hamlet.
3. Antagonist: There is no antagonist or villain in the novel but it could be
stated that Jo March is the protagonist and also the antagonist of the
novel as she always obstructs her own avenues to progress and
maturity.
4. Conflict: The novel shows both external and internal conflicts. The
external conflict is going between the world and the March family girls’
struggle to ward off the wolves of pangs of hunger from their doorsteps.
The internal struggle is going on in the minds of Jo March about her
ways and her character.
5. Characters: The novel shows both static as well as dynamic
characters. Both Jo and Amy are dynamic characters as they show a
considerable transformation in their behavior and conduct by the end of
the novel. However, all other characters are static as they do not show
or witness any transformation such as Mr. Bhaer, Laurie, the
grandfather, Marmee, and even Mr. March himself.
6. Climax: The climax in the novel occurs when Jo March rejects the
proposal of Laurie and shows her autonomy in thinking and acting.
7. Foreshadowing: The novel shows many instances of foreshadows as
given in the examples below,
i. Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,’ grumbled Jo,
lying on the rug. ‘It’s so dreadful to be poor!’ sighed Meg, looking down
at her old dress. (Chapter-1)
ii. ‘It seems so long to wait, so hard to do. I want to fly away at once, as
those swallows fly, and go in at that splendid gate.’. (Chapter-XIII)
The mention of Christmas and poverty shows that the March family is
going to have hard times ahead.
8. Hyperbole: The novel shows various examples of hyperboles as given
below,
i. ‘Well, I do believe the world is coming to an end. (Chapter-VII)
ii. Everyone scattered like leaves before a gust of wind, and the quiet,
happy household was broken up as suddenly as if the paper had been
an evil spell. (Chapter-VI)
Both of these examples exaggerate things as the world and a gust of
wind have been exaggerated when giving in the description. For
example, the world is not going to end in this way, nor the gust of wind
could come quietly.
9. Imagery: Little Women shows the use of imagery such as given in the
below examples,
i. Margaret, the eldest of the four, was sixteen, and very pretty, being
 plump and fair, with large eyes, plenty of soft brown hair, a sweet
mouth, and white hands, of which she was rather vain. Fifteen-year-old
Jo was very tall, thin, and brown, and reminded one of a colt, for she
never seemed to know what to do with her long limbs, which were very
much in her way. (Chapter-I)
ii. Jo was very busy in the garret, for the October days began to grow
chilly, and the afternoons were short. For two or three hours the sun lay
warmly in the high window, showing Jo seated on the old sofa, writing
busily, with her papers spread out upon a trunk before her, while
Scrabble, the pet rat, promenaded the beams overhead, accompanied
by his oldest son, a fine young fellow, who was evidently very proud of
his whiskers. (Chapter-XIV)
These two examples show images of feelings, sight, color, and sound.
10. Metaphor: Little Women shows excellent use of various metaphors as
given in the examples below,
i. ‘If Jo is a tomboy and Amy a goose, what am I, please?’ asked Beth,
ready to share the lecture. (Chapter-I)
ii. Oh, my goodness! That little goose means a centaur, and she called
him a Cyclops,’ exclaimed Jo, with a burst of laughter. (Chapter-VII)
These examples show that several things have been compared directly
in the novel as the first shows the comparison between a girl and a
goose, and the second shows it again with the addition of Cyclops and a
centaur.
11. Mood: The novel shows various moods; it starts with a very funny
and jolly mood but becomes tragic at times when the girls face poverty
and again turns to happiness and jubilation when it comes to an end.
12. Motif: Most important motifs of the novel are weather, family,
poverty, and marriage.
13. Narrator: The novel is narrated from a third-
person omniscient point of view, who is the author, Louisa May Alcott.
14. Parallelism: The novel shows examples of parallelism as given below,
i. So Beth lay down on the sofa, the others returned to their work, and
the Hummels were forgotten. (Chapter-XVII)
ii. I think it very appropriate to you, and feel very grateful for your efforts
to make it so pretty, but we must give up our private wishes, of course,
and I will see that you have a good place elsewhere. (Chapter-XXX)
The phrase in both of these examples shows the use of parallelism in
that the conjoining phrases are equal in the word count.
15. Personification: The novel shows examples of personifications as
given below,
i. There was a simultaneous sigh, which created quite a little gust, as
 the last hope fled, and the treat was ravished from their longing lips.
(Chapter-VII)
ii. Perhaps curiosity might have conquered resentment, if Beth had not
been there to inquire and receive a glowing description of the play.
(Chapter-VIII)
iii. She did earn several that year, and began to feel herself a power in
the house, for by the magic of a pen, her ‘rubbish’ turned into comforts
for them all. (Chapter-XXIX)
These examples show as if the gusts, curiosity, and rubbish have life
and emotions of their own.
16. Protagonist: Jo March is the protagonist of the novel on account
of her central role, her dynamism as well as her obstruction to
her dreams.
17. Rhetorical Questions: The novel shows good use of rhetorical
questions at several places such as,
i. Why should I complain, when we both have merely done our duty and
will surely be the happier for it in the end? ‘I never dreamed of such a
thing. What will Mother say? I wonder if her…’. (Chapter-IX)
ii. “Once more, how do you know? By what instinct do you pretend to
distinguish between a fallen seraph of the abyss and a messenger from
the eternal throne—between a guide and a seducer?” (Chapter-XV)
This example shows the use of rhetorical questions posed but different
characters not to elicit answers but to stress upon the underlined idea.
18. Setting: The setting of the novel is New England, Boston, and
Massachusetts.
19. Simile: The novel shows good use of various similes as given in
the below examples,
i. ‘Never mind, you’ve got the tarlatan for the big party, and you always
look like an angel in white. (Chapter-IX)
ii. Like bees swarming after their queen, mother and daughters hovered
about Mr. March the next day, neglecting everything to look at, wait
upon, and listen to the new invalid, who was in a fair way to be killed
by kindness. (Chapter-XXIV)
iii. Just now it’s the fashion to be hideous, to make your head look like a
scrubbing brush, wear a strait jacket, orange gloves, and clumping
square-toed boots. (Chapter-XXV)
These are similes as the use of the word “like” shows the comparison
between different things.
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POPULAR LITERARY DEVICES

View Full List of Literary Devices

 Ad Hominem
 Adage
 Allegory
 Alliteration
 Allusion
 Ambiguity
 Anachronism
 Anagram
 Analogy
 Anapest
 Anaphora
 Anecdote
 Antagonist
 Antecedent
 Antimetabole
 Antithesis
 Aphorism
 Aposiopesis
 Apostrophe
 Archaism
 Archetype
 Argument
 Assonance
 Biography
 Cacophony
 Cadence
 Caricature
 Catharsis
 Characterization
 Cliché
 Climax
 Colloquialism
 Comparison
 Conflict
 Connotation
 Consonance
 Denotation
 Deus Ex Machina
 Dialect
 Dialogue
 Diction
 Didacticism
 Discourse
 Doppelganger
 Double Entendre
 Ellipsis
 Epiphany
 Epitaph
 Essay
 Ethos
 Eulogy
 Euphemism
 Evidence
 Exposition
 Fable
 Fallacy
 Flash Forward
 Foil
 Foreshadowing
 Foreword
 Genre
 Haiku
 Half Rhyme
 Homage
 Hubris
 Hyperbaton
 Hyperbole
 Idiom
 Imagery
 Induction
 Inference
 Innuendo
 Internal Rhyme
 Irony
 Jargon
 Juxtaposition
 Limerick
 Line Break
 Logos
 Meiosis
 Memoir
 Metaphor
 Meter
 Montage
 Mood
 Motif
 Motto
 Narrative
 Nemesis
 Non Sequitur
 Ode
 Onomatopoeia
 Oxymoron
 Palindrome
 Parable
 Paradox
 Parallelism
 Parataxis
 Parody
 Pathetic Fallacy
 Pathos
 Pentameter
 Persona
 Personification
 Plot
 Plot Twist
 Poem
 Poetic Justice
 Point of View
 Portmanteau
 Propaganda
 Prose
 Protagonist
 Pun
 Red Herring
 Repetition
 Rhetoric
 Rhyme
 Rhythm
 Sarcasm
 Satire
 Simile
 Soliloquy
 Sonnet
 Style
 Subtext
 Superlative
 Syllogism
 Symbolism
 Synecdoche
 Synesthesia
 Synonym
 Syntax
 Tautology
 Theme
 Thesis
 Tone
 Tragedy
 Tragicomedy
 Tragic Flaw
 Transition
 Utopia
 Verisimilitude

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