Little Women
Synopsis
The March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy live with their mother (who they call Marmee) in New England while their father is serving as a chaplain in the Civil War. The sisters try to support themselves and their mother, especially with domestic duties. They become close friends with their wealthy neighbor, Laurie. Each girl has her own coming of age journey. Jo learns to repress her tomboy tendencies and has ambitions to be a great writer. Meg, the oldest, must put aside her desire for wealth to follow her heart. Beth tries to overcome her shyness, and Amy has to give up her pride. After Meg falls in love with John Brooke, Laurie's tutor, they marry and start a family. Soon after, Laurie reveals to Jo that he has fallen in love with her, but she doesn't share his feelings. Jo goes to New York as the governess for a family friend, Mrs. Kirke, while trying to become a professional writer. Meanwhile, Amy travels through Europe with her wealthy Aunt Carroll and cousin Flo. Separately, Laurie goes to Europe with by his grandfather. He pursues his passion for music and tries to forget Jo. In New York, Jo meets Professor Bhaer, who sparks her interest. Laurie and Amy become jaded by their art, but they discover they share romantic feelings. When Beth dies young of illness, Amy and Laurie grow closer and Jo returns home to care for her parents. Eventually, Jo and Professor Bhaer marry and start a boarding school for boys, while Amy and Laurie marry and use their money to support struggling young artists. The novel ends with a birthday party for Marmee, celebrating the family and the progress of Jo's boarding school, Plumfield.
Characters
Josephine "Jo" March*: the second eldest March sister, marries Professor Bhaer, smart,
impatient, hot headed, "tomboy"
Theodore "Laurie" Laurence*: the March family's neighbor, rich, charming, caring, marries Amy
Margaret "Meg" March*: the eldest March sister, responsible, gentle, enjoys indulgence,
marries Mr. Brooke
Beth March*: the second youngest March sister, shy, kind, loves music
Amy March*: the youngest March sister, vain, temperamental, loves pretty things including art,
marries Laurie
Mrs. March*: aka Marmee, the March sisters' mother, affectionate, hard working, charitable,
protective, emotionally strong
Professor Frederick Bhaer*: an esteemed German professor, marries Jo, kind, paternal
Mr. Laurence*: Laurie's grandfather, the March family's neighbor, rich, generous, thoughtful
Mr. March: the March sisters' father and Mrs. March's husband, serves as a chaplain in the Union
army during the Civil War
Mr. Brooke: Laurie's tutor, falls in love with and marries Meg, poor, noble, smart
Aunt March: the March sisters' aunt, rich, crotchety, supportive
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*appears in You on the Moors Now
Symbols / Themes
Fire: anger, passion, wit
Umbrellas: protection, gender roles
Art: beauty, refinement, creativity
"Little": youth, weakness, physical smallness
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Women are forced to prioritize either themselves or their family.
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A woman's feminine existence should not define or constrain her identity.
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Hard work and generosity are the keys to living a fulfilled and genuine life.
Historical Context
Novel Setting
Time Period
Early to mid 1860s
Government + Politics
Civil War Era (1861-1865)
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The United States split into the Union of northern states and the Confederacy of southern states
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The two sides fought over "state rights," which basically boiled down to the question of allowing or abolishing slavery, particularly in the western states
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The idea of "manifest destiny" led to the violent colonization of land as westward expansion
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On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all enslaved people to be freed
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Three months later, Lincoln was assassinated
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On June 19, 1865 (now celebrated as Juneteenth), the Emancipation Proclamation was brought into effect in Texas, freeing the last slaves
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On August 20, 1866, the Union won, the war ended, and the United States was reunited
Novel Writing and Publication
Published September 30, 1868
Reconstruction era (1865-1877)
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After the end of the Civil War, several constitutional amendments were passed
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13th: abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime​
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14th: addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law
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15th: prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude"
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In the South, Jim Crow laws were created using legal loopholes to disenfranchise Black people
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Examples include repressing their ability to vote and segregating public areas and resources​
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Many newly freed people moved to the North to seek out jobs in cities
Economy + Class
In the North, the industrialization prior to and during the war bolstered the economy. The need for weapons and resources for the army funded the creation and stability of many Northern factories.
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The Southern economy almost collapsed during the war due to the blockage of resources and property destruction by the Union army. Following the war, inflation and debt made it difficult to rebuild. The South's economy was also primarily agricultural, and the lack of industrialization was a source of economy hardship during and after the war.
Gender + Family
Women were characterized as morally strong, becoming more vocal in championing causes from abolition to sewing socks for troops.
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During the Civil War, between five hundred and one thousand women enlisted as soldiers on both sides, disguised as men. Women were allowed to participate as nurses, but some also found work as spies and activists.
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Although women in the Union and Confederacy enjoyed different levels of freedom, they all were still expected to be subservient to the men in their lives.
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Some impoverished women in the North started working in factories as it became more common for women to have jobs.
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Marriage was most women's only hope of upward social mobility, so a high importance was placed on keeping up appearances to win the favor of rich men.
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Religion (i.e. Christianity) was often seen as an extension of a woman's domesticity.
Religion + Beliefs
Both the Union and Confederacy used the Christian God as justification for their actions.
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Military chaplains (like Mr. March) were common to keep up the spirits of soldiers. They often marched with regiments or were stationed in field hospitals.
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One popular sect of Christianity leading up to the war was transcendentalism, which asserted that there was inherent goodness of people and nature, but society and its institutions corrupted them.
Culture + Art
Realism became extremely popular during this time. Art was used to reflect the simple truth of daily life in addition to the intense potency of war.
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Landscape paintings were also popular as a form of appreciating the natural world and contrasting the destruction caused by the war.
Science + Technology
The train and telegraph were heavily utilized for the war effort. Hot air balloons and steam-powered warships were also new and important forms of transportation.
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Newly invented repeating firearms were capable of firing multiple shots before reloading. Machine guns were also in the early stages of development.
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In 1867, Christopher Scholes created a prototype for what became the typewriter.
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Having been invented in the 1820s, photography became more common.
Louisa May Alcott
November 29, 1832 – March 6, 1888
Born in Germantown (now part of Philadelphia) to an educator father and social worker mother, Louisa was the second of four daughters. As a kid, she was regarded as a wild tomboy. When she was two, the family moved to Boston and her father established a school and joined the Transcendental Club with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Louisa received her education from her father, Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne, some of the most well regarded writers of the time. Because of her family's dire economic situation, Louisa worked as a teacher, seamstress, governess, domestic helper, and writer. In 1860, she began writing for the Atlantic Monthly (now known as The Atlantic). When the Civil War broke out, she worked for six weeks as a nurse. She then began to wrote several stories and novels, including one of the earliest works of detective fiction in American literature, under the pseudonym A. M. Barnard. In 1868, the publication of the first part of Little Women was even more successful. She followed it up with Part Two, called Good Wives, and two sequels called Little Men and Jo's Boys. The series is semi-autobiographical, drawing upon her own life and the experiences of her sisters. One marked difference is that Jo gets married, whereas Alcott remained single for her whole life. In the last ten years of her life, she co-founded the Women's Educational and Industrial Union in Boston. She passed away in 1888 with her cause of death being unsure, often attributed to mercury poisoning, lupus, or a stroke.
Fun fact: Alcott enjoyed going on long walks and runs, challenging gender norms and encouraging other women to do the same!
