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Little WomenWithout a doubt, Little Women remains Louisa MayAlcott’s best-known work. Its charm and innocencecontinue to engage readers, despite the fact that thesocial and familial reality depicted is very differ-ent from contemporary domestic life. Jo March isregarded as one of the most complete, self-pos-sessed, and best-loved characters in children’s lit-erature. In fact, many boys find that they can re-late to her almost as easily as girls can. While somepresent-day readers find Jo and her sisters too goodto be realistic, according to the standards of Al-cott’s society, the March girls are flawed and vul-nerable. The author dared to give her charactersfaults such as selfishness, vanity, temper, and bash-fulness—qualities never seen before in such youngcharacters.

Alcott wrote the book for girls with the soleaim of making money with its publication. Afterpart one was published as a complete work, read-ers demanded to know more about the fates of theMarches. Alcott wrote Good Wives which is nowpublished with part one as a complete work. Al-though the author wrote the books reluctantly, sheearned the money she sought and found that hersubsequent titles of all kinds were widely read. Shenever imagined, however, that Little Women wouldenchant generations of readers and become a clas-sic of children’s fiction. Critics often note that thebook’s particular appeal lies in its illustration of auniquely American household and its individualmembers. Almost any reader can identify with atleast one of the four girls. Readers are also drawn

Louisa May Alcott

1868

1 1 6 N o v e l s f o r S t u d e n t s

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into the story by the colorful minor characters, thedevelopment of the March girls, and the attentionto detail. The intricacies of education, housework,speech patterns, and manners are depicted with re-markable clarity, which better enables modernreaders to envision and understand the world of theMarches.

Author Biography

Born on November 29, 1832, in Germantown,Pennsylvania, Louisa May Alcott is best remem-bered for her books about the March family, espe-cially her children’s masterpiece, Little Women.From the 1840s into the late 1860s, Alcott (underthe pseudonyms A. M. Barnard and Flora Fairchild)also wrote sensational novels and thrillers foradults, most of which are no longer in print. Iron-ically, Alcott preferred her adult novels to the chil-dren’s novels that account for her lasting fame.

The Alcotts lived in Concord, Massachusetts,with friends and neighbors such as Ralph WaldoEmerson, Henry David Thoreau, and NathanielHawthorne. Alcott’s youth was shaped by both thephilosophical climate and the poverty in which shelived. Bronson Alcott, Louisa’s father, was a tran-scendentalist thinker and writer who refused to takework that was not related to education or philoso-phy. (Transcendentalism is a philosophy that holdsthat there is an ideal spiritual reality beyond mate-rial reality.) Unemployed, he committed to educat-ing his four daughters, Anna (Meg in LittleWomen), Louisa (Jo), Elizabeth (Beth), and May(Amy). A radical pioneer in education, his experi-ments yielded an erratic but thorough education forhis daughters. In 1843, he initiated a large-scale ex-periment known as Fruitlands, an effort to create autopian society. Within a year, it failed, and whileAlcott seemed flippant about the failure, this ex-perience showed that Bronson could not be reliedupon to support the family. Responsibility fell onAlcott’s mother, Abba, who came from a respectedBoston family. For thirty years, she did the house-work and supported the family as a social worker.

Recognizing their daughter’s talent, Bronsonand Abba placed heavy expectations on her. Shewas a creative, difficult, and willful girl who wasboth moody and loyal. As a child, Alcott doted onEmerson and accompanied Thoreau on naturewalks in the area of Walden Pond. Although sur-rounded by transcendentalists, she eventually re-jected the philosophy as too abstract, using fiction

to give voice to her objections. Still, Alcott’s writ-ing demonstrates her acceptance of the transcen-dentalist emphasis on self-reliance and indepen-dence.

Little Women contains many autobiographicalelements, and critics are quick to note that thestormy character Jo is modeled after Alcott herself.This novel, along with the seven others featuringthe March family, is cherished for its cheerful de-piction of domestic life, its wholesomeness, and itsability to teach life lessons without the preachyquality found in other children’s novels.

Alcott began Little Women in 1868, after theCivil War, in which she had served as a nurse dur-ing the winter of 1862–1863. She completed partone in only six weeks, and did not revise it as shewas in the habit of doing for her adult fiction. Itwas published as a complete novel. When her pub-lic demanded to know more about the Marches, shewrote part two the following year. The novel al-ludes to the war, but does not include lengthy pas-sages about its disastrous effects on American families and the country as a whole. Her contem-poraries, after all, did not need such explanations.In her introduction to the novel, Ann Douglas ob-serves, “Little Women, like its avowed model, Pil-grim’s Progress, is in part an allegory. Alcott waswriting about a house in conflict but not divided, a

L i t t l e W o m e n

Louisa May Alcott


family that offered an analogy and possibly a cor-rective to America.”

By the time Little Women was published, Al-cott had already become fiercely private. Shedreaded interacting with her readers, preferring in-stead to stay home with her family. Her brief stintas a nurse left her health permanently weakened, acondition that got worse with age. She never mar-ried, and, as she grew older, she took very seriouslyher role as the provider and caretaker of her fam-ily. In the end, she was unhappy and unsatisfiedwith her life. She believed, as do many critics, thather talent was greater than the children’s books forwhich she is so fondly remembered. Alcott died onMarch 6, 1888, in Boston.

Plot Summary

Part One, Chapters 1–12The March girls—Meg, 17, Jo, 16, Beth, 14,

and Amy, 12—bemoan the fact that Christmas willbe lacking because their poverty prevents themfrom having gifts and their father is away in theCivil War. Resolving to be better people, they de-cide to play Pilgrim’s Progress, an ongoing make-believe in which they follow the allegorical travelsof Christian in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.On Christmas day, the girls take their breakfast tothe Hummels, a needy family nearby. Later, theydiscover that their wealthy neighbor Mr. Laurencehas rewarded their kindness with flowers and treats.

Jo and Meg attend a dance at a neighbor’shouse, and while Meg dances, Jo hides behind acurtain. She finds Mr. Laurence’s grandson,Theodore (“Laurie”), also hiding. They becomequick friends, and when Meg twists her ankle, Lau-rie gives the girls a ride home.

With the holidays over, the girls resume theirroutines. Meg is a governess, Jo is the companionof feisty Aunt March (Mr. March’s aunt), Bethstudies at home, and Amy goes to school. Each girlhas an artistic talent: Beth loves music, Jo writesstories and plays, Meg acts in Jo’s plays, and Amydraws and sculpts clay.

The girls readily befriend Laurie and his grand-father and visit their luxurious house, enjoying theconservatory, the library, and the piano. The Marchgirls even allow Laurie into their secret club. Theyset up a post office between the houses in whichthey can exchange letters, books, flowers, andpackages.

Amy buys pickled limes for her friends atschool, as this is the fashionable thing to do. Whenthe teacher, who has forbidden students to bringlimes to school, catches her with them, she isscolded, her hands are swatted, and she is made tostand in front of the class until recess. Humiliated,she goes home, where Mrs. March tells her she canstudy at home with Beth rather than return toschool.

In a tantrum because Jo and Meg will not lether accompany them to the theater with Laurie,Amy burns the book Jo has been writing. Jo is fu-rious and unforgiving until Amy follows her to iceskate with Laurie and falls through the ice becauseJo did not caution her. Jo is ashamed and forgivesher sister while resolving to control her anger.

Meg visits her wealthy friend, Annie Moffat,and feels uncomfortable in her shabby clothes. Herfriends dress her up for a dance and she soon feelsfoolish for being treated like a doll.

While Aunt March and Meg’s employers areaway, the girls say how much they would like todo nothing but play. To teach them a lesson,Marmee agrees to free them of all chores for oneweek. One disaster after another ensues, and thegirls learn the value of work.

Laurie hosts a picnic across the river and in-vites the girls to join him and his friends. They eat,talk, and play games, and it becomes apparent thatMr. Brooke, Laurie’s tutor, has eyes for Meg.

Part One, Chapters 13–23Jo submits stories to a local newspaper, and

the family is ecstatic when they are published.Marmee receives a telegram with the news that herhusband is ill and she should come right away. Mr.Laurence sends Mr. Brooke to accompany her onthe trip, and the girls worry and promise to writeoften. Because Marmee is faced with borrowingmoney, Jo sells her beautiful hair for twenty-fivedollars. While Marmee is away, Beth tries to getthe other girls to visit the Hummels. When Bethcontracts scarlet fever from the sick Hummel baby,the other March girls are ashamed of their selfish-ness. To protect her from the disease, Amy is sentto live with Aunt March until Beth recovers, andthe old woman is quite taken with the young girl.When Beth’s condition worsens, they send forMarmee, but the fever breaks just before she ar-rives. All are relieved and happy to be reunited.

Jo tells Marmee that Mr. Brooke is in love withMeg. Marmee explains that on the trip, Mr. Brooketold her and Mr. March that he loved Meg and


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hoped to marry her. They said he could make plans,but that Meg was too young to be engaged. WhenLaurie suspects that Jo knows something about thecouple that she will not tell, he plays a cruel joke.He sends Meg letters signed with Mr. Brooke’sname. When he is caught, he is regretful and Megis embarrassed.

Christmas arrives again and Laurie surprisesthe Marches by bringing Mr. March home.

Mr. Brooke visits Meg and tells her that heloves her and hopes she can learn to feel the sameway. Playing games, she acts very cruelly towardhim until Aunt March interrupts and Mr. Brookeleaves. Aunt March tells Meg that Meg can do bet-ter than Mr. Brooke, and that if she marries him,she will be out of her aunt’s will. Indignant, Megsays she can marry whomever she pleases and thatMr. Brooke is a fine man. Aunt March leaves, andMr. Brooke returns, having overheard everything.The couple agrees to marry, although they will haveto wait three years for Meg to grow older and Mr.Brooke to make living arrangements.

Part Two, Chapters 24–35Three years have passed, and Meg prepares for

her wedding. The war is over, and Mr. March is aminister. Aunt March has released Jo from her dutyand instead employs Amy to be her companion,paying her with expensive art lessons. Beth is stilla homebody, and her health is frail since her fever.Jo sells stories and enjoys life as a writer, feelingquite independent. She enters a contest and wins$100, and the family is very impressed with thesensational story. Papa commends his daughter,adding that he thinks she can do even better. WhenJo finishes her novel, she submits it for publicationbut is advised that it requires major revisions. Tornbetween her commitment to the novel as it is andwanting to get it published, she decides to go aheadand “chop it up.” Reviews are mixed, and Jo re-grets her compromise, but she learns about the rig-ors and trials of being a novelist.

Resigned to the upcoming marriage, AuntMarch’s stance has softened, and she purchasesbeautiful linens for the couple’s new home. Laurietells Jo she will be the next to marry, but she re-sponds that she has no interest in such things. Onthe day of the wedding, family and a few friendsgather at the March home for a lovely, simple wedding.

Meg soon finds that married life is satisfying,if not a fairy tale. She has twins, a boy and a girlnamed Demi and Daisy.

Aunt Carrol plans a trip to Europe, and AuntMarch pays for Amy to go along so she can studyart. Jo decides to go to New York, where she willteach at a boarding house. There, she meets Pro-fessor Bhaer, a charming, poor, German man.When Jo returns home in the summer, Laurie tellsher he loves her and wants to marry her. She turnsdown his proposal, which devastates him. A fewweeks later, Mr. Laurence leaves for Europe andLaurie decides to accompany him.

Part Two, Chapters 36–47Beth’s health has been declining steadily over

the years, and now she dies peacefully.

In Europe, Laurie makes a last effort to changeJo’s mind by correspondence. When she again de-clines, he begins to correspond with Amy, whomhe has seen in his travels. The news of Beth’s deathsends Laurie to find Amy at once, and romanceblooms.

Amy and Laurie return from Europe married,and Jo is surprised but delighted for the union ofher little sister and best friend. Professor Bhaer be-comes a regular visitor to the March home. Oneday, he tells Jo he loves her and she kisses him.Aunt March has died and left a country home,Plumfield, to Jo. When she and Bhaer marry, theyopen a boys’ school there.

The family has expanded with husbands andchildren, but the girls find it as happy as when itwas just the four of them, Marmee, and Papa.

Characters

Professor Friedrich (“Fritz”) BhaerOn her trip to New York, Jo meets Professor

Bhaer, a German man with a thick accent. He is astout, educated, older man who takes care of histwo orphaned nephews, Franz and Emil. Becausehe is a bachelor, he undertakes such domestic tasksas cleaning and darning his own socks.

When Jo returns home, Bhaer makes frequentvisits, and he and Jo eventually marry. He encour-ages her to keep writing, but to challenge her tal-ent by writing good fiction rather than the sensa-tionalistic pieces she usually writes. He and Jo opena boys’ school at Plumfield.

Mr. John BrookeMr. Brooke is Laurie’s tutor. As he gets to

know Meg, he falls in love with her. In accordance



with her parents’ request, he waits to marry Meguntil she turns twenty. This period gives him an op-portunity to establish himself and buy a house. Al-though Mr. Laurence offers to help Mr. Brooke, theyoung man refuses, preferring to make his own waywithout incurring any debt.

Mr. Brooke takes a job as a clerk and earns amodest living for himself and his new bride.

HannahHannah is the March family’s housekeeper.

She is colorful and energetic, and she loves the fam-ily dearly. She has been with the family since Mr.and Mrs. March married, and she gave Mrs. Marchher first cooking lessons.

Mr. LaurenceMr. Laurence is Laurie’s grandfather. Until the

March sisters meet him, they imagine him to be adaunting man who is distant and stern. Once theyget to know him, however, they find him to be gen-erous and warm. He takes a special liking to Jo forher audacity, and he feels special warmth towardBeth.

Theodore LaurenceSee Laurie

LaurieLaurie is the next-door neighbor and is the same

age as Jo, his best friend. Although Laurie iswealthy, the economic difference between himselfand the Marches does not factor into their relation-ships. Laurie is instructed at home by a tutor, Mr.Brooke, and later attends college. Laurie is a hand-some, friendly, intelligent, witty, and dashing youngman who delights in the capers of his neighbors.

Laurie lives with his grandfather, Mr. Lau-rence, because both of his parents have died. Mr.Laurence was very displeased when his son mar-ried Laurie’s mother, an Italian woman who wasaccomplished in music. Living with only his grand-father, Laurie is lonely and therefore treasures hisfriendships with the March girls and Marmee.

After graduating from college, Laurie proposesto Jo, who rejects him. Devastated, he accompa-nies his grandfather to Europe, where he and Amyfall in love and marry.

Amy MarchAmy is the youngest of the March girls and is

twelve at the beginning of the novel. She is spoiled


MediaAdaptations

• Little Women has been adapted for the screen onnumerous occasions. The first was a silentmovie produced by G. B. Samuelson in 1917.In 1918, William A. Brady Picture Plays pro-duced another silent version, adapted by AnneMaxwell. One of the best-known adaptationswas produced in 1933 by RKO Radio Pictures,adapted for film by Sarah Y. Mason and VictorHeerman, starring Katharine Hepburn as Jo. In1949, an adaptation by Mason, Heerman, andAndrew Solt was produced by MGM, starringJune Allyson as Jo, Elizabeth Taylor as Amy,Janet Leigh as Meg, and Peter Lawford as Lau-rie. In 1994, Columbia Pictures produced a filmadaptation by Robin Swicord, starring WinonaRyder as Jo, Kirsten Dunst as Amy, ClaireDanes as Beth, Eric Stoltz as Mr. Brooke, andSusan Sarandon as Marmee.

• Little Women was adapted for television in 1958in a production by CBS Television. Anothertelevision production was released in 1970, di-rected by Paddy Russell. In 1978, an adaptationfor television by Susan Clauser was producedby Universal TV, starring Meredith Baxter asMeg, Susan Dey as Jo, Eve Plumb as Beth,Greer Garson as Aunt March, and William Shat-ner as Professor Bhaer.

• Numerous audio adaptations have been made forlisteners to enjoy the story on tape. These in-clude releases by Books in Motion, 1982; Au-dio Book Contractors, 1987; Harper Audio,1991; DH Audio, 1992; Dove Entertainment,1995; Soundelux Audio Publishing, 1995; Ster-ling Audio Books, 1995; Penguin, 1996; Black-stone Audio Books, 1997; Random House Au-dio Books, 1997; Trafalgar Square, 1997;Bantam Books, 1998; Books on Tape, 1998;Brilliance Audio, 1998; Monterey Soundworks,1998; and Naxos Audio Books, 2000.

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and throws tantrums, and her family strives to cor-rect her behavior before she gets older. Like Meg,Amy loves luxuries and takes an interest in her ap-pearance that is unusual for someone so young. Sheis also concerned with behaving properly and be-ing popular among her peers. Her pride is her beau-tiful hair, which falls into golden ringlets. Amy isthe artist of the family and spends time drawingand sculpting animals out of clay.

When Beth becomes ill, Amy is sent to staywith Aunt March, who likes the little girl verymuch. Aunt March releases Jo from her duty as acompanion and instead employs Amy, for whomshe provides expensive art lessons. Amy travelswith another family member to Europe (at AuntMarch’s expense). While Amy is in Europe, Bethdies and Laurie (also traveling in Europe) findsAmy to comfort her. The two fall in love and marry.

Amy’s marriage is comfortable because shemarries a man she cares for who happens to bewealthy. Unlike the other sisters, Amy never hasto worry about work and has all the fine things shealways desired.

Aunt MarchMr. March’s aunt, Aunt March is a wealthy

widow whose views represent the typical opinionsof the time. She believes that Meg, with her beauty,should set her sights on marrying a rich man to pro-vide for her and her family. When Meg considersMr. Brooke’s offer of marriage, Aunt March threat-ens Meg, saying that if she marries him, she willnever get any of Aunt March’s money. However,she eventually softens and makes a lovely gift oflinens for the couple.

In the beginning of the story, Aunt March paysJo to be her companion but later hires Amy instead.She is taken with Amy’s lively, yet prim nature andhopes to mold her.

When Aunt March dies, she leaves her coun-try home, called Plumfield, to Jo.

Beth MarchBeth is the second youngest of the March girls.

She is fourteen as the story opens, and she ispainfully shy and withdrawn. Although she lovesher family and is comfortable with them, she isfearful of strangers and relies on Jo to watch overher. Too shy to attend public school, she studies athome. Beth never makes plans for the future andnever talks about having any dreams; she seemsperfectly content with her life as it is and expectsit to stay the same.

Beth’s disposition is sweet, selfless, and warm.She never asks for anything for herself and seeksonly to make those around her happy. Her talent isfor music, and she makes do on an old worn-outkeyboard until Mr. Laurence allows her to play thebeautiful piano at his house. She and Mr. Laurencedevelop a grandfather-granddaughter relationshipthat fulfills them both.

While caring for a poor family, Beth contractsscarlet fever and becomes extremely ill. Her feverbreaks before it claims her life, but her health ispermanently compromised by the ordeal. Yearslater, her health finally gives out, and Beth dies asa young woman.

Josephine MarchThe second eldest of the four March sisters, Jo

is independent, tempestuous, vivacious, clever, andself-confident. She struggles throughout the storyto learn to control her temper and her tendency tohold a grudge. She is a tomboy who is more inter-ested in reading and playing games than in primp-ing or gossiping with girls her age. She is sixteenwhen the story opens, and she has no desire to getmarried, preferring the happy and satisfying life sheenjoys with her family. In fact, when Meg preparesfor marriage, Jo is very upset at the prospect of thefamily breaking up. No longer in school, Jo is thepaid companion of Aunt March, a duty she fulfillsout of obligation.

Jo has a special relationship with Beth, the nextyoungest sister. While all of the girls look toMarmee for guidance and advice, Jo watches overBeth and provides additional sisterly support. Jo’srelationship with Beth reveals a soft, maternal sideof Jo that is rarely seen.

Besides reading, Jo loves to write plays andshort stories. The girls enjoy performing Jo’s plays,in which she always plays the men’s roles. Afterhaving two of her stories accepted for publicationby a local newspaper, Jo takes her writing more se-riously, falling into whirlwind “fits” of writing.Writing brings her success and allows her to earnmoney doing something she loves. As she observesother young women, Jo is proud of herself becauseshe is able to earn her own money and feel inde-pendent. Jo writes a novel, which is accepted forpublication only after substantial revision. Joagrees to the overhaul because she is anxious to getthe book published.

Jo’s best friend is the wealthy young man nextdoor, Laurie. Jo appeals to him because he can re-late to her almost as if she were a boy. Their friend-



ship is characterized by equality, love of books, anda sense of adventure. After graduating from col-lege, Laurie proposes to Jo, but she rejects his pro-posal, despite knowing that their friendship will beforever changed. Most critics agree that she turnshim down because he will never take seriously hercareer as a writer and because she loves him in asisterly way, not as a lover. When Laurie marriesAmy, Jo is genuinely happy for them. Eventually,Jo marries Professor Bhaer, an older man who ispoor, educated, and supportive of her career. To-gether, they start a school for boys at Plumfield andlater have two boys of their own.

Marmee MarchMarmee is the girls’ mother. She is a strong,

confident, reliable woman who provides moral in-struction, guidance, and support for her daughtersat every stage of their lives. While her husband isaway at war, Marmee must care for the house andthe four girls on her own. She never appears tostruggle, however. She makes certain demands onthe girls so that they will learn valuable lessonsabout life.

Marmee encourages her girls to think for them-selves and to pursue true happiness, which, she be-lieves, does not necessarily come from havingmoney. If her daughters never marry, Marmee willbe satisfied as long as they are wise, respectable,and accomplished women. She tells Meg that thesecret to a good marriage is mutual understanding.She and Mr. March each have their gender-specificduties, but they cooperate with each other and havetheir own identities.

Meg MarchMeg is the eldest of the four girls. Seventeen as

the book opens, she is drawn to domestic affairs andfeels rewarded when she is able to please thosearound her. Being old enough to remember times be-fore her family lost its money, she longs for many ofthe luxuries she can no longer enjoy. She works as agoverness for the Kings, who have two children.

Meg has a special relationship with Amy, andacts as her advisor and protector. Meg and Amyhave some superficial qualities in common, such asvanity and love of finery, but Meg’s temperamentis much gentler than Amy’s is.

Meg is regarded as beautiful and, as a result,she struggles with her own vanity. She adores wear-ing fine dresses and having nice things, but suchitems remain out of reach. When Laurie’s tutor, Mr.Brooke, proposes to her, she accepts despite the

fact that he is a poor clerk. She sees that he is agood and honest man, and overcomes her disap-pointment that they are not a well-to-do couple.

Meg delights in domestic activities such ascooking, sewing, and keeping the house in order.Her marriage to Mr. Brooke is happy, but she hasdifficulty with the initial transition because shewants so badly to be the perfect wife to him. Theyhave twins, a boy named Demi and a girl namedDaisy. Meg and Mr. Brooke’s gender roles are tra-ditional—he works and disciplines the children,and she does all household work.

Mr. MarchThe March girls’ father, “Papa” (or “Father”),

is away serving as a chaplain in the Civil War. Hewrites loving letters home to his family, and whenhe is stricken with illness, Marmee leaves the girlsto take care of him.

After the war, Mr. March returns and takes aposition as a minister in a local church. His daysare filled with ministering to his parishioners andinteracting with an interesting and diverse group ofpeople. Just as the sisters are based on Alcott’s ownsisters, Mr. March is based on Alcott’s father. Al-though Mr. March is an important figure in the fam-ily’s life, he is seen very little in the action of thenovel.

Annie MoffatA wealthy friend of Meg’s, Annie invites Meg

to stay with her for two weeks, and they dress upfor a dance.

TeddySee Laurie

Themes

Gender RolesLittle Women challenged assumptions about

women in nineteenth-century America. Marmeetells her daughters that they should not feel oblig-ated to find husbands, but should seek fulfillmenton their own. In chapter 9, she tells Meg and Jo:

My dear girls, I am ambitious for you, but not to haveyou make a dash in the world—marry rich menmerely because they are rich, or have splendidhouses, which are not homes because love is want-ing. . . . [B]etter be happy old maids than unhappywives, or unmaidenly girls, running about to havehusbands. . . . Leave these things to time; make thishome happy, so that you may be fit for homes of your


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own, if they are offered you, and contented here ifthey are not.

Through her example, Marmee shows that ahome can be run successfully without a man sup-porting it, as hers is while Mr. March is away atwar. While many women, like Aunt March, ex-pected young women to pursue wealthy men,Marmee sees the value of marriage differently.

Jo is fascinating as a study of female inde-pendence in early American society. She is atomboy who is scolded by her sisters for whistling,using slang, and behaving in “unmaidenly” ways.In chapter 1, Jo tells Meg:

I hate to think I’ve got to grow up, and be MissMarch, and wear long gowns, and look as prim as aChina aster! It’s bad enough to be a girl, anyway,when I like boys’ games and work and manners! Ican’t get over my disappointment in not being a boy;and it’s worse than ever now, for I’m dying to go andfight with Papa, and I can only stay at home and knit,like a poky old woman!

Jo is brash, outspoken, lively, and clever. Sheproclaims, “I am not afraid of anything,” voicingan attitude altogether different from that of thestereotypical prim and proper young lady. As shematures, she takes more care with her appearanceand adopts more ladylike mannerisms, but she doesnot sacrifice the sense that she is equal to any man.

Adolescence and IdentityAlthough Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy grow up in

the same household, they develop very distinctidentities. Marmee encourages them to be confi-dent in themselves and to mature in wisdom andself-knowledge. Adolescence is a difficult periodfor anyone, so the girls’ struggles are universal.Throughout the novel, the girls’ basic identities re-main consistent, but as they grow up, they come tounderstand their faults and work to improve them-selves.

Meg’s identity is anchored in pleasing her fam-ily, be it her mother and sisters or her husband. Sheis domestic and thrives on homemaking. Jo isstormy and independent, but eventually learns tocontrol her temper. Even as an adult, the self-re-liance she values is important in her decision-mak-ing. Jo is an unconventional person, so it is no sur-prise that she ultimately lives an unconventionallife. Beth is harmonious and selfless. Were it notfor her untimely death, she would likely have con-tinued to grow as a warm and giving person whostays close to home. As the youngest, Amy is some-what spoiled and acquires a taste for the finerthings. This identity is fed by her marriage to Lau-

rie, a wealthy husband who will dote on her andgive her everything she desires.

Wealth and PovertyThe Marches are poor, although not so poor

that they cannot help others. There is never any dan-ger of the March family starving or losing theirhome, but they all know that they have little moneyto spare and must economize. Alcott teaches thateveryone, even those who have little, has somethingto offer the world. Marmee and Beth’s dedicationto the poor German family, the Hummels, is evi-dence that for all their complaints, the Marches arequite fortunate. Laurie, who comes from a wealthy


Topics forFurther

Study• Imagine you are assigned to create a soundtrack

for Little Women. Think about each of the fourMarch girls, Laurie, and Marmee. Choose a songor musical composition that best reflects eachcharacter’s personality, dreams, and emotionallandscape. What are the songs that you choose?

• Research birth-order theories and consider howthe dynamics among the sisters support or re-fute such theories. Report on your findings.

• Although modern wars have important roles forwomen, the Civil War was much more of aman’s war. See what you can learn about womenduring the time of the Civil War. In what waysdid they contribute to the war effort both on thefront (in hospitals, for example) and at home?

• Examine the lives of other prominent Americanwomen writers to see if there are parallels be-tween their life experiences and Louisa May Al-cott’s. Do you find that they are vastly differ-ent, or that there are significant similarities?Also, did most women use their given names,or did they take pseudonyms, perhaps even malepseudonyms (such as British author GeorgeEliot)? How do you account for the decision toreveal female gender (or not) as a writer in thenineteenth century?


family, lives right next door to the Marches, and thecontrast between the two houses is striking. In chap-ter 5, Alcott writes, “A low hedge parted the twoestates. On one side was an old, brown house, look-ing rather bare and shabby. . . . On the other sidewas a stately stone mansion, plainly betokeningevery sort of comfort and luxury.”

The economic inequality between the families,however, has no effect on their relationships. Thegirls enjoy visiting the Laurences’ home to browsethe library, admire the art, or stroll among the flow-ers in the conservatory. Yet there is no bitternessor deep envy. In fact, when the Laurences offergifts, the Marches feel compelled to return the kind-ness, and do so without feeling that their offeringsare any less valued. The affection between the fam-ilies neutralizes economic differences that wouldtaint weaker relationships.

Alcott shows, too, that the Marches are rich inways that the Laurences are not. The Marches, af-ter all, have a house full of lively girls who loveone another and have fun together. There is amother and a father, neither of which Laurie has,and a strong family foundation. Laurie admits to Jothat he watches the activities of the March house,and she understands his loneliness. Once they arefriends, the girls make an effort to include Lauriein their fun, including initiating him into their se-cret club. By presenting the disparities between thetwo families as she does, Alcott clearly shows heryoung readers that there are many kinds of wealthand poverty.

The “Good Match”Although Aunt March attempts to exert her in-

fluence to see that Meg is married to an appropri-ately rich young man, Marmee knows better. Mr.Brooke accompanies Marmee to visit her sick hus-band and is forthright about his feelings for Meg.Marmee and Mr. March see that he is an honorableman who is a good match for their daughter. Still,the decision is Meg’s—if she could not love Mr.Brooke, her parents would in no way force theunion. This difference of opinion about what con-stitutes a “good match” shows the social views ofthe time, as expressed by Aunt March, in contrastto Alcott’s own views, as expressed by Marmee.

Readers are often surprised and disappointedthat Jo rejects Laurie’s proposal of marriage. Theyare great friends, and he is charming, handsome, andpassionate. Jo knows, however, that Laurie regardsher writing as just another “lark” and would neverfully support her efforts to make a career of writ-

ing. Further, it is clear that Jo’s feelings for Laurieare friendly, even sisterly, and she cannot love himromantically. Her decision not to marry him is re-spectful of herself and of Laurie, as she wants himto have a wife who will love him as a wife should.By marrying Professor Bhaer, Jo can be herself, anindependent woman who enjoys writing and teach-ing. Bhaer does not discourage her writing, but en-courages her to try to do better than the sensationalstories that come so easily to her. Sarah Elbert in AHunger for Home: Louisa May Alcott and “LittleWomen,” concluded, “Jo’s journey is the only fullycomplete one in Little Women and it involves herlearning to tell true love from romantic fancy.” El-bert added that while the girls are ultimately pairedup with men they truly love, Jo’s marriage comesclosest to Alcott’s ideal, largely because Jo is clos-est to Alcott’s ideal woman.

At first, the marriage of Laurie to Amy seemsodd, but Alcott shows how well-matched they arefor each other. They both have fine tastes and pre-fer a lifestyle of luxury to hard work. Further, Amylikes to be taken care of, something Jo would neverallow Laurie to do for her.

Style

Point of ViewLittle Women is written from a third-person

omniscient perspective. The narrator knows thegirls’ personalities, thoughts, and feelings inti-mately. This allows the reader to see happeningsthat the family often does not, such as when Jo criesbecause she is secretly disappointed that Amy isthe one going to Europe.

The narrator also knows the girls’ futures, asthere are occasional references to what will happenat a future time. Alcott uses both subtle foreshad-owing and explicit references to future events.When the Marches and the Laurences set up theirmakeshift post office, the Laurence’s gardenersends a secret love letter to Hannah, the March’shousekeeper. Alcott comments, “How they laughedwhen the secret came out, never dreaming howmany love letters that little post office would holdin the years to come!” This statement not only in-trigues adolescent readers, but also foreshadows fu-ture pleasant letters as well as the cruel joke Lau-rie plays on Meg by sending forged love letters.

The omniscient narrator does not abuse herpower by censoring the characters’ faults andmishaps. On the contrary, flaws and bad judgment


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are included in the story to add a dimension of re-alism and make the characters believable. Laurie’scruel joke on Meg, Meg’s silly domestic dramas asa wife, Jo’s intentionally not telling Amy to be care-ful on the ice—all of these show the characters ashuman beings with faults.

StructureThe structure of Little Women is episodic, al-

ternating stories of each of the sisters. Each chap-ter focuses primarily on an incident in one of thegirls’ lives. This structure accomplishes two things.First, it requires a relatively short attention span thatis appropriate for Alcott’s young audience. Second,this structure makes it easier to see the girls’ growthas young women. Rather than charting subtle cues,as an author might in an adult novel, Alcott allowsthe reader to see changes in the characters each timethey are revisited. For example, at the beginning ofthe novel, Jo is unconcerned with her appearanceand keeps her hair down, her clothes crumpled, andher boots untied. In subsequent scenes, Jo is seentying her boots and putting her hair up, so that thereader notices the changes easily. Readers becomeaware that while they were watching Meg, Beth,and Amy, Jo grew up a little. The same is true forthe other sisters, too.

Domestic-Centered SettingsGiven the novel’s time period and cast of char-

acters, it is no surprise that the book is filled withdomestic concerns and activities. Alcott takes thisfocus further, however, with her attention to detailand her settings. She is frequently commended forthe amount of detail in the story with regard toclothing, manners, appearance, sewing, and enter-taining. The critic Madeleine B. Stern commentedthat Alcott’s accomplishment is in presenting uni-versal themes brought to life by domestic detailsand “local flavor.” She adds, “By its documentaryvalue alone, Little Women, as an index of New Eng-land manners in the mid-century, would be ac-corded a place in literary history.”

Most of the action in the story takes place inthe March home. When family members travel, aswhen Amy goes to Europe, news of the trip is re-lated through letters sent home. When scenes un-fold somewhere other than the March home, theyare generally in a nearby house (such as Laurie’sor Annie Moffat’s) or some other domestic settinglike the outdoor picnic Laurie hosts. Confining thesettings in this way serves to keep the reader’s attention on the household as the girls’ lives unfoldin familiar surroundings.

ForeshadowingThroughout the novel, Alcott uses foreshad-

owing to suggest to her readers what lies ahead.Foreshadowing is a technique that establishes thenarrator’s credibility and creates an air of suspensethat compels the reader to keep reading. At the endof part one, Jo bemoans the fact that Meg will marryMr. Brooke and leave home. Laurie tries to con-sole her by saying that they will have great fun af-ter Meg is gone, and that they will go on a tripabroad to lift Jo’s spirits. Jo only responds that Lau-rie’s plan is nice, but “there’s no knowing whatmay happen in three years.” Three years later, Megmarries, and, shortly after, Laurie graduates fromcollege and proposes to Jo. When she rejects him,he is devastated and goes abroad without her.

Beth’s death is foreshadowed on at least threeoccasions. Early in the novel, in chapter 4, Alcottwrites:

There are many Beths in the world, shy and quiet,sitting in corners till needed, and living for others socheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the lit-tle cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet,sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence andshadow behind.

This passage foreshadows Beth’s untimelydeath and the deep grief felt by her family at herpassing. Later, as Jo considers whether or not tooverhaul her novel manuscript for publication, Bethsays only that she wants to see the book printedsoon, and there is something in the way Beth says“soon” that propels Jo into action. Finally, as Amyprepares to leave for Europe, she tearfully hugs Lau-rie good-bye as she asks him to look after the fam-ily. He promises to do so and says that if anythingshould happen, he will come and comfort her. Al-cott adds that he promises this “little dreaming thathe would be called upon to keep his word.” In fact,Beth dies shortly thereafter. She is able to see Jo’sbook in print, and her death comes while both Lau-rie and Amy are in Europe. He finds her and com-forts her, after which they fall in love and marry.

Historical Context

The Role of Women in Nineteenth-Century America

In the nineteenth century, women were re-sponsible for creating warm, happy homes for theirhusbands and children. While some families hiredservants, most could not afford to hire help. Theduties of running a household were staggering. Awoman prepared three rather elaborate meals every



day. Housecleaning, laundry, mending, and ironingwere all done with painstaking care. Daughterswere expected to help with housework to expeditechores and also to learn skills for their own futurehouseholds.

Women were also accountable for the actionsof the family outside the home. If a man took upexcessive drinking or gambling, for example, hiswife was blamed for not creating a suitable homeenvironment. To create an ideal home, the wife

handled all housework in addition to being polite,selfless, virtuous, and loving.

Despite the heavy domestic demands placed ona woman, it was sometimes necessary for her toseek additional work for economic reasons. Whilemany tried to take work they could perform athome, such as laundry or sewing, others worked asgovernesses, teachers, or companions to the el-derly. In some cases, women were able to make aliving in the creative arts, such as writing. This was


Compare&

Contrast• 1860s: Children’s books generally depict inno-

cent, flawless children in innocent stories. Char-acters are one-dimensional and stories arestrongly oriented toward teaching virtue.

Today: The Newbery Medal is awarded toChristopher Paul Curtis’ Bud, Not Buddy, a storyabout a ten-year-old boy who runs away fromhis foster home in search of his father. One ofthe Caldecott Honor Books is AudreyCouloumbis’ Getting Near to Baby, which tellsthe story of two sisters dealing with the death oftheir baby sister. Another Caldecott Honor Bookis Molly Bang’s When Sophie Gets Angry—Re-ally, Really Angry, a story about a little girl’stemper tantrum.

• 1860s: Scarlet fever, which typically afflictschildren between the ages of two and ten, is of-ten fatal, as treatments are terribly inadequate.Even when children survive, they often sufferpoor health for years.

Today: Since the discovery of penicillin, scar-let fever rarely claims lives. In fact, patientstreated for the disease rarely even suffer linger-ing problems. In addition, scarlet fever is not assevere as it once was, either because the strainhas weakened or because people have becomemore resistant to the disease.

• Early 1860s: The best-selling fiction books areCharles Dickens’ Great Expectations and LittleDorrit, Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White,

Mrs. Henry Woods’ East Lynne, and Mary E.Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret. They are sto-ries of crime with plots featuring bigamy, incest,and apparitions.

Today: The best-selling fiction books include J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, John Gr-isham’s The Testament and The Brethren, Sea-mus Heaney’s translation of the classic Beowulf,Isabel Allende’s Daughter of Fortune, andArthur S. Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha. Thesewide-ranging stories feature wizard apprentice-ship, deception in a federal prison, adventureand romance, and coming of age in pre-WorldWar II Japan.

• 1860s: Young women are expected to learncooking, sewing, laundering, and parenting. In addition, proper young ladies are well-mannered, graceful, polite, and soft-spoken. Al-though many women work in “men’s” jobs dur-ing the Civil War, they return to their places athome once the men return from war.

Today: Women occupy virtually every careerfield available. They are doctors, judges, astro-nauts, scientists, writers, legislators, engineers,and more. At the same time, they have the op-tion of choosing to stay home and take care ofthe home and rear children. Although there arelingering social norms about what constitutes ladylike behavior, millions of women have lit-tle regard for such social restrictions.

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quite challenging because women were assumed tobe inferior to men, and proper women were not ex-pected to know very much about the outside world.

Philosophical and Social ReformsLittle Women opens during the Civil War,

which took place from 1861 to 1865. Prior to thatevent, New England experienced a rise in philo-sophical interest and the spread of reform-minded-ness. The Transcendental Movement was under-way, especially in Massachusetts, where RalphWaldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau lived.Transcendentalism rejected Puritanism, religiousdogma, and strict adherence to rituals. Instead, itembraced individualism and naturalism, maintain-ing that there is a deep connection between the uni-verse and the human soul. American transcenden-talism officially began in 1836 in Boston, with theformation of the Transcendental Club, whose mem-bers included Emerson, Thoreau, Margaret Fuller,and Bronson Alcott.

Early in the nineteenth century, middle-classwomen began joining evangelical societies thatpromoted social and moral reform. As conflictmounted over the issue of slavery, women becameinvolved, and by 1850 most members of abolition-ist groups were women. From these beginningssprang the women’s rights movement, which wouldsteadily gain momentum well into the twentiethcentury.

EducationNineteenth-century formal education in Amer-

ica was limited, as evidenced by the fact that in1860 there were only a hundred public highschools. Although there were more elementaryschools, only about half of all children attended,and then only for forty-five days per year. Childrenwere taught reading, writing, spelling, and arith-metic, and sometimes history, geography, andgrammar. Learning took the form of memorizationand recitation, as opposed to critical thinking orcreativity. This approach contrasts to Bronson Al-cott’s teaching methods, which were designed toencourage his daughters to think for themselves andlearn facts instead of memorizing them for the shortterm.

Louisa certainly understood the distinction be-tween her educational experience and that of manyof her peers. Many families who were dissatisfiedwith public schooling opted to teach their childrenat home. Those who could afford it hired tutors fortheir children, as represented in the novel by Lau-rie’s tutor, John Brooke. Formal education gener-

ally ended when a student turned fourteen or fif-teen, especially when the student was female.

Discipline in public school was often harsh andhumiliating. Corporal punishment, such as spank-ing or swatting, was common, although not all par-ents agreed with these methods. In Little Women,Amy is subjected to this sort of treatment by herteacher when she is caught with limes at school.Her teacher swats her hands and forces her to standin front of the class until recess. Mrs. March agreesnot to send Amy back to school, so she pursues herstudies at home with Beth.

The Civil WarWhen the Civil War ended, more than 600,000

men had lost their lives and others were disabled.More Americans died in the Civil War than in allother American wars combined from the colonialperiod through the Vietnam War. It is unknownhow many civilians were killed by guerrillas, de-serters, and soldiers.

Because so many men were killed or seriouslywounded in the war, American families were facedwith the difficult task of supporting themselveswithout the help of the man of the house. Meagerpensions to widows and veterans were not enoughto restore financial stability. To make mattersworse, most men were forever changed by the ex-perience. Most had never traveled beyond theirhome towns, and serving in the military took themfar away where they faced loneliness, fear, anddaily confrontation with death and suffering. Asveterans, they assembled in organizations and fos-tered a sense of patriotism for their sacrifices. ForAfrican Americans, serving in the military was ben-eficial in its own way because they could then makestrong cases for citizenship.

During the war, women assumed larger rolesin the social structure. They became temporarynurses, clerks, and factory workers. A few hundredwomen even disguised themselves as soldiers andfought on the battlefields. Once the war was over,however, traditional roles were resumed.

The economic consequences of the war wereformidable. Consider that in 1860, the federal bud-get was $63 million, and by 1879, the total expen-ditures for the war were calculated at over $6 bil-lion. This created extreme debt and limited thegovernment’s ability to function as it had prior tothe war. In the South, economic hardship becamethe norm. Railroads, industrial operations, me-chanical equipment, and livestock had been spentor destroyed. In contrast, the economy in the North



thrived during and after the war. Statistics showthat between 1860 and 1870, Northern wealth in-creased by 50 percent, while Southern wealth de-creased by 60 percent. The Reconstruction Period,which represented efforts to reunite the country inpolitical, economic, and social terms, would lasttwelve years—triple the length of the war.

Critical Overview

Although Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Womenin 1868 for the sole purpose of making money, thenovel is without question her most notable and en-during work. In fact, the book as it is read todaycontains the original text and its sequel, GoodWives, which was written a year after the first part.The second part was written in response to the de-mands of Alcott’s young female readers, who weredrawn to the individuality displayed by the novel’scharacters and wanted to know what would becomeof them. Upon the April 14 release of part two, Al-cott’s publisher was shocked by its sales. By theend of May, more than 13,000 copies had sold—an incredible number at the time, and especiallysurprising because the book was written for young

girls, not the general public. Critical response in1868 and 1869 was as favorable as the readers’ re-sponse, and Alcott was among the first children’sauthors to be taken seriously by literary critics. Areview in Nation declared Little Women an “agree-able” story that appeals to juvenile and adult read-ers alike. The critic wrote that the March girls were“drawn with a certain cleverness.”

When the second part of the novel was pub-lished, a critic wrote in Harper’s New MonthlyMagazine that it was perhaps too mature for ado-lescent girls, but that it rings true by not resortingto the “false sentiment” so common in children’sliterature. In fact, Alcott’s contemporaries as wellas modern-day critics agree that the novel is re-markable for its reality and depth, standing in starkcontrast to the too-sweet, overly didactic storiesavailable to children at the time. Children were gen-erally depicted as perfect and innocent, but Alcottgave her characters flaws and made no effort toconceal them. They remain virtuous, however, be-cause they are aware of their weaknesses and striveto correct them. In modern terms, the characters inLittle Women seem a bit too perfect, as many crit-ics argue, but in the context of the mid-nineteenthcentury, they were characters whose likeness hadnever been seen. Not all critics praise the novel,


(From left) Winona Ryder as Jo, Trini Alvarado as Meg, Kirsten Dunst as Amy, Susan Sarandon asMarmee, and Clare Danes as Beth in the 1994 film version of the novel

V o l u m e 1 2 1 2 9

however. Biographer Martha Saxton viewed LittleWomen as a sell-out for Alcott, who, according toSaxton, had great talent, yet squandered it on abook that was preachy and sentimental. Jane Gabinin Reference Guide to American Literature, on theother hand, deemed Little Women “markedly supe-rior to other books of its genre” because of its un-obtrusive “sermonizing” and its well-rounded char-acters. She added that in other books of the time,the villains and the heroes were clearly identified,but in Alcott’s book, even the heroes have flawsand make mistakes. Lavinia Russ of Horn Book hada different view on the appeal of the book, arguingthat the story teaches that life does not always pro-vide neatly bundled happy endings, but that girlsshould still strive to be good people.

Alcott’s sense of the challenges and joys ofadolescence continues to impress readers. Since itspublication, Little Women has never gone out ofprint, and some scholars attribute its staggering suc-cess to the universal themes of growing up and toAlcott’s honest portrayal of the feelings, thoughts,worries, and delights that accompany it. In NewEngland Quarterly, Madeleine Stern observed:

The author’s knowledge of adolescent psychology re-veals itself in twofold form throughout the work, forit consisted first of an appeal to adolescents, the skillof making them laugh or cry, and secondly of an abil-ity to describe adolescents, to catch and transfix thevaried emotions and thoughts of the young.

Feminist critics are divided about the portrayalof females in Little Women. While some criticizethe heavily domestic depiction of womanhood, oth-ers praise Jo as a breakout figure who blazes herown path and is able to have both love and a ca-reer. The fact that, in part two, Jo marries a manwho is older and lacks passion seems too great acompromise to some critics who admired Jo’ssteadfast adherence to her principles in part one.Further, they interpret her working at Plumfieldwith her husband as sacrificing her writing aftermarriage.

Although the book is filled with submissivewomen who are content with domestic life (suchas Meg), a great deal of feminist attention concen-trates on Jo. Brigid Brophy of New York TimesBook Review agreed that while the book is heavilysentimental, it still works because of the extraordi-nary character of Jo. Less taken with the novel,Elizabeth Janeway in Only Connect: Readings onChildren’s Literature, described it as “dated andsentimental and full of preaching and moralizing,”but admitted that Jo makes the book worth readingnonetheless. She wrote that “Jo is . . . the one young

woman in nineteenth-century fiction who maintainsher individual independence, who gives up no partof her autonomy as payment for being a woman.”Alison Lurie of New York Review of Books seemsto agree with this notion, as she commented:

From a mid-nineteenth century perspective, LittleWomen is both a conservative and a radical novel. . . . In contemporary terms, [Jo] has it all: Not only ahousehold and children but two careers and she doesn’t have to do her own housework and cooking.

Critics continue to debate the lasting qualitiesof Little Women. Whether it is the novel’s touch-ing presentation of growing pains, the triumphantfemale figure Jo, or the overall “human truth,” asBritish author and critic G. K. Chesterton claims,there is no doubt that the novel as a whole has anenduring appeal. Despite its setting in a time andplace unfamiliar to modern readers, the novel con-tinues to speak to children and adults in a way thattranscends mere nostalgia.

Criticism

Jennifer BusseyBussey holds a master’s degree in interdisci-

plinary studies and a bachelor’s degree in Englishliterature. She is an independent writer specializ-ing in literature. In the following essay, she dis-cusses autobiographical elements in Alcott’s novelin contrast to the fictional decisions the authormade. Factors such as Alcott’s duty to her reader-ship and wish fulfillment are considered.

That Louisa May Alcott’s classic Little Womenis heavily autobiographical is well known amongliterary scholars. Perhaps because she wrote thebook merely for money, she found it economicalto lift people and events out of her own life to cre-ate the story. Part one was written in 1868 and wasintended to be the only story about the March fam-ily. Readers, however, were captivated by the girlsand demanded to know more about their lives. Thefollowing year, Alcott wrote Good Wives, whichnow appears as part two in Little Women. Readerswere thrilled with the continuing story of theMarches, although Alcott’s intentions were notmerely to appease her readers by writing a naiveand romantic story. In part two, fiction overshad-ows fact, which leaves readers and scholars to won-der how Alcott made decisions about the fates ofthe sisters. While it is clear that certain aspects ofpart two are designed to satisfy her readership, oth-



ers clearly are not. Was Alcott compromising withher readers (between what she knew they wouldwant and what she thought was realistic), or wasshe exercising a bit of wish fulfillment in her novel?

Part one of Little Women is brimming with au-tobiographical elements, from important plot de-velopments to minor details. Some scholars sug-gest that Alcott’s initial reluctance to write thebook, her quick completion of the manuscript insix weeks, and her minimal editing all indicate thatshe undertook writing the novel as a task to finishas quickly as possible. Using her life as a templateallowed her to make shortcuts without sacrificingrealism, characterization, or interesting story de-velopments.

Each of the four sisters was modeled after oneof Alcott’s own sisters. Meg is the literary coun-terpart to Anna, Jo is Alcott’s alter ego, Beth is thebook’s version of Elizabeth, and the letters ofAmy’s name can be rearranged to spell out her real-life inspiration, May. Most of the events in part oneare based on actual events in Alcott’s life, such asMeg’s marriage and Jo’s profound disappointmentat having the family separated. Also, the Alcottgirls donated their Christmas breakfast to a needyfamily one year, Alcott won a hundred dollars in awriting contest, and the girls often performed playsfor neighborhood girls. Growing up, Alcott lovedspending time with her sisters as much as Jo does,and she resolved early in life to be responsible fortaking care of the family. After the failure of Fruit-lands (Alcott’s father’s attempt to establish autopian society), Alcott realized that her fathercould not be relied upon to support his wife anddaughters. Alcott’s mother realized this, too, and,like Marmee, worked diligently to be sure the fam-ily’s needs were met. Mr. March is physically or

emotionally absent throughout Little Women, andAlcott’s father was not a reliable breadwinner orconfidant.

Part one is more character driven than part two,presumably because Alcott is simply telling aboutthe people in her life. It is unsatisfying as a self-contained story, as it only introduces the girls, de-scribes some of their scrapes, and tells how Megcomes to be engaged. Many scholars regard it asplotless, concluding that its success came from itsdetailed setting, quick pace, and delightful charac-ters with whom young readers could readily iden-tify. Because most characters in children’s booksat the time were too perfect, readers were less in-terested in what eventually became of them. In Lit-tle Women, however, readers saw themselves in thepages of the story and longed to know how thingsturned out for the March girls. Thus, being char-acter driven is part one’s strength.

In addition, part one reveals a great deal aboutAlcott’s perceptions of her family life. Mr. March’sabsence reflects Alcott’s inability to create a be-lievable, involved father in an autobiographicalwork. Because her father was not an ideal paternalfigure, she would have had difficulty imagining thefamiliar setting with a wonderful, warm, and con-nected father. Alcott’s solution is to have Mr.March away at war, and then busy with his own af-fairs when he returns. Unlike the father, the sistersare all drawn with loving detail. Each sister has aunique personality, rather than a generic childliketemperament. Alcott’s presentation of young girlswho are flawed and struggling with growing up wasrevolutionary at the time. Her multidimensionalcharacters reveal her closeness to her sisters andperhaps her belief that readers would love themeven with their flaws, as she did.

In the character of Jo, Alcott reveals muchabout her perception of herself. Jo, like Alcott, ismore interested in writing and in seeing her fam-ily happy than in finding a husband or in beingproper. Jo is a coltish young woman who has farto go before she matures into her own brand ofwomanhood. Alcott never quite fit into the socialcircles around her, and she was never much inter-ested in making friends or marrying. In fact, by thetime Little Women was released, Alcott had becomerather private and withdrawn. While her adoringreaders wanted to know all about the woman whowrote such a lovely book, she preferred to keep toherself. Neither Jo nor Alcott can be described asa misfit, but their priorities are themselves and theirfamilies.


After the failure of

Fruitlands (Alcott’s father’s

attempt to establish a utopian

society), Alcott realized that her

father could not be relied upon

to support his wife and

daughters.”

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The novel’s Laurie does not have a directcounterpart in real life, as Alcott never had such afriend as Laurie. He is a composite of many youngmen Alcott knew, and her inclusion of him in Jo’ssmall circle indicates that Alcott felt more at easewith young men her age than with young women.The things Jo and Laurie have in common are thethings that interested Alcott, and things she did notobserve as being important to women in her peergroup.

Not having planned a part two, Alcott had adifficult task before her as she set about writing it.In part one, she relied on her own immediate sur-roundings for material and inspiration, but with parttwo, she created characters and events. Alcott hadimportant decisions to make about the paths hercharacters’ lives would take. She was writing in re-sponse to her readership, so she made some effortto appease them, but some of the plot developmentsare unexpected and disappointing to readers. De-spite her desire for luxurious things, Meg marriesa poor clerk and learns to be happy with a simplelifestyle. (Alcott’s sister Anna also hoped forwealth yet married a poor man, so, here again, theauthor draws from her own life for material.) Mostreaders want Jo and Laurie to marry, but Jo rejectsLaurie’s proposal, only to marry an unlikely hus-band. Students of Alcott are curious about her rea-sons for these plot developments.

While it is tempting to imagine that Alcottwrote for Jo a fate she had hoped for herself, theauthor’s correspondence proves otherwise. Sheknew that readers desperately wanted to see Jomarry, but Alcott was unwilling to make the obvi-ous choice of Laurie as a husband. Alcott under-stands Jo so completely that she cannot allow herto marry Laurie, even though it disappoints mostreaders. Jo loves Laurie as a brother, not as a hus-band, and she knows that he does not fully appre-ciate how important her writing is to her. As hiswife, she would be expected to socialize in highsociety and behave like a lady. Knowing herselfwell enough to know that the marriage would notbe fulfilling, Jo refuses his proposal. When Laurieeventually meets up with Amy in Europe and theyfall in love, Jo is truly happy for them both. Sheunderstands that her sister will love Laurie as hedeserves to be loved and that she will be able toenjoy the wealthy life she so desires. Amy will letLaurie take care of her, something with which Jowould never be comfortable, even though it makesLaurie feel manly and needed. For Laurie, the unionis ideal because he can be loved and he has some-one interested in fashion, society, and entertaining.


WhatDo I Read

Next?

• Little Men (1871) is the sequel to Little Women,and tells of Jo’s life at Plumfield, where she runsa school for boys. Although the boys are oftenrowdy, Jo and her husband enjoy teaching them,along with their own two sons.

• In Jo’s Boys (1886), Alcott continues the ad-ventures of the boys from Jo’s school at Plum-field. Now that the boys have grown into men,they follow very different paths in life.

• Nina Baym’s Women’s Fiction: A Guide to Nov-els by and about Women in America, 1820–1870(1978) provides a useful overview of trends inwomen’s literature in the mid-nineteenth cen-tury. Baym considers 130 novels by forty-eightauthors.

• Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic The SecretGarden (1911) is the story of Mary, Colin, andDickon, whose moody dispositions are lightenedby the discovery of a secret garden that inspirestheir imaginations. As they restore the little par-adise, they learn about life and personal growth.

• Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of GreenGables (1908) is the story of a lively, mischie-vous orphan sent to a family who was expect-ing a boy. As she and her new parents learnabout each other, they learn that their findingeach other was lucky after all.

• Louisa May Alcott: A Reference Guide is AlmaJ. Payne’s 1980 guide to the work of one ofAmerica’s most beloved children’s authors. It isa handy reference for any serious student of Al-cott’s work.

• Critical Essays on Louisa May Alcott isMadeleine B. Stern’s 1984 collection of origi-nal criticism on Alcott’s work. Stern is regardedas an expert on Alcott, and these essays cover awide range of issues and considerations of theauthor’s work.


In other words, Amy thrives in the lifestyle thatLaurie loves. (The union between Amy and Laurieis completely the product of Alcott’s imagination,as May never married in real life.)

To provide a fitting husband for Jo, Alcott cre-ated Professor Bhaer, not because he is the type ofman Alcott herself dreamed of meeting, but be-cause he is almost comical as a romantic figure.While unusual, he is a good match for Jo, but Al-cott’s decision to direct Jo’s life in this way was,in a sense, her way of snubbing her nose at tradi-tional, predictable, sentimental romance. ProfessorBhaer, then, seems to be a literary compromise be-tween readers’ desires and writer’s attitudes. It isreasonable to believe that Alcott hoped to demon-strate to her readers the importance of keepingone’s mind open in matters of love. After all, otherpassages in the book advise against marrying forany other reason than true love and happiness, aview that was not widespread at the time.

Professor Bhaer is not the dashing romanticfigure Laurie is. Like Laurie, Bhaer is also a com-posite, but seems to be largely modeled after theAlcotts’ friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson, whom theauthor admired very much. Jo respects Bhaer be-cause he is poor but happy, thoughtful, self-suffi-cient, and good-hearted. Further, he takes her writ-ing seriously, encouraging her to give up workingon the sensational stories she is accustomed to writ-ing and instead to concentrate on writing qualityfiction. He supports her talent and admires herlively independence. Jo’s marriage to him allowsher to be herself and to have both a career and love.

Alcott never married, but instead fulfilled hercommitment to care for her family. She lived athome her entire life, writing and earning a consid-erable income for the household. Scholars specu-late that in the novel, if Beth had not died, Jo wouldprobably never have married. Beth’s passing, how-ever, left Jo free of family obligations. Yet in Al-cott’s life, Elizabeth died and the author still stayedhome. Perhaps this was because her father did notcontribute to the family’s finances much, or per-haps it was because Alcott never met her unusual-but-fitting match, as Jo did. She once commentedthat writing seemed to be her destined lifelong com-panion.

Perhaps the most disappointing event in thebook is Beth’s passing. Alcott’s sister Elizabethdied at the age of twenty-three, so writing aboutBeth’s death in the novel was undoubtedly verypainful for Alcott. Here there is neither compro-mise nor wish fulfillment. Like Jo, Alcott was up-

set by the loss of her older sister to marriage andthen devastated by the loss of her younger sister toillness. In Alcott’s characterization of Beth as asaintly and frail child, the reader has a sense of Al-cott’s feelings about her own sister. It is commonfor people to exalt those who have died, especiallythose who have died young. Throughout the novel,Beth is regarded as a dear and selfless child whoseexample the sisters try to follow.

Undoubtedly, the life of Alcott’s fictionalcounterpart Jo turned out happier than the author’sdid. Jo’s life with Professor Bhaer was one Alcottdid not want for herself, but one that did please herreaders. While Jo had a devoted husband and aschool for boys, and maintained her zest for life,Alcott had only her writing. She did not even par-ticularly care for the children’s books that broughther such fame and success; she preferred her adultthrillers, which garnered little attention. Unfortu-nately, Alcott could not foresee that, regardless ofher own opinions of her work and her solitary life,she would be remembered fondly for generationsand regarded as an American literary treasure.

Source: Jennifer Bussey, Critical Essay on Little Women,in Novels for Students, The Gale Group, 2001.

Ann B. MurphyIn the following essay excerpt, Murphy surveys

critical approaches to Little Women, finding “thenovel does not permit rigid answers” to attemptsto analyze its meaning and significance. Compar-ison is made with Mark Twain’s Adventures ofHuckleberry Finn.


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Source: Ann B. Murphy, “The Borders of Ethical, Erotic,and Artistic Possibilities in Little Women,” in Signs: Jour-nal of Women in Culture and Society, Vol. 15, No. 3, Spring1990, pp. 562–85.

Sarah ElbertIn the following essay excerpt, Elbert discusses

the major themes in Little Women: “domesticity,the achievement of individual identity throughwork, and true love.”


The Alcott home in Concord, Massachusetts

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Source: Sarah Elbert, “Reading Little Women,” in A Hungerfor Home: Louisa May Alcott and “Little Women,” TempleUniversity Press, 1984, pp. 151–65.

Sources

Brophy, Brigid, “A Masterpiece, and Dreadful,” in New YorkTimes Book Review, January 17, 1965, pp. 1, 44.

Chesterton, G. K., “Louisa Alcott,” in A Handful of Authors:Essays on Books and Writers, Sheed and Ward, 1953, pp.163–67.

Elbert, Sarah, A Hunger for Home: Louisa May Alcott and“Little Women,” Temple University Press, 1984.

Gabin, Jane S., “Little Women: Overview,” in ReferenceGuide to American Literature, 3rd edition, St. James Press,1994.

Janeway, Elizabeth, “Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, and Louisa,” inOnly Connect: Readings on Children’s Literature, edited bySheila Egoff, G. T. Stubbs, and L. F. Ashley, Oxford Uni-versity Press, 1969, pp. 286, 288, 290.

Lurie, Alison, “She Had It All,” in New York Review ofBooks, March 2, 1995, pp. 3–5.

Moss, Joyce, and George Wilson, eds., Literature and ItsTimes: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the His-torical Events That Influenced Them, Vol. 2: Civil Wars toFrontier Societies (1800–1880s), The Gale Group, 1997.

Review of Little Women, in Harper’s New Monthly Maga-zine, Vol. 39, August 1869, pp. 455–56.

Review of Little Women, in Nation, Vol. 7, No. 173, Octo-ber 22, 1868, p. 335.

Russ, Lavinia, “Not To Be Read on Sunday,” in Horn Book,October 1968, pp. 524, 526.

Saxton, Martha, Louisa May: A Modern Biography of LouisaMay Alcott, Houghton Mifflin, 1977.


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Showalter, Elaine, Sister’s Choice: Tradition and Changein American Women’s Writing, Clarendon Press (Oxford),1991, pp. 42–64.

Stern, Madeleine B., “Louisa May Alcott: An Appraisal,”in New England Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 4, December 1949,pp. 475–98.

For Further Study

Cogan, Frances B., All American Girls: The Ideal of RealWomanhood in Mid-Nineteenth Century America, Univer-sity of Georgia Press, 1989.

Cogan presents a historical perspective on women’sroles in mid-nineteenth century America, includingtheir expected educational levels, skills, aspirations,and manners. She suggests that in addition to the tra-ditional view of womanhood, there was a competingview of a more dynamic, independent type of womanemerging in literature.

Fetterley, Judith, “Little Women: Alcott’s Civil War,” inFeminist Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2, Summer 1979, pp. 369–83.

Fetterley proposes that Alcott’s text reflects com-promises in style and content that came about as theresult of the demands placed on the author by herpublisher and her public.

Jefferson, Margo, “Books of the Times: Little Women,Growing Up Then and Now,” in New York Times, Decem-ber 21, 1994.

Jefferson describes the March household as being asdivided as its author, and relates the classic novel toGerald Earley’s Daughters: On Family and Father-hood.

Meyerson, Joel, and Madeleine B. Stern, eds., The SelectedLetters of Louisa May Alcott: A Life of the Creator of “Lit-tle Women,” University of Georgia Press, 1995.

This collection of Alcott’s correspondence gives in-sight into her domestic life, her thoughts, and her per-sonality apart from her success as a children’s writer.

Stern, Madeleine B., ed., Behind a Mask: The UnknownThrillers of Louisa May Alcott, William Morrow, 1997.

These frightening, passionate, and suspenseful talesreveal the other side of Alcott’s writing, which shepreferred to her better-known children’s stories.


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