Little Women PDF
Little Women was published in 1868 and was written by Louisa May Alcott. It presents the role of women in 19th-century American society, highlighting family values, sacrifice, and self-independence. The novel revolves around the lives of four sisters, focusing on their experiences, dreams, sacrifices, and love.
Background of the novel
Louisa May Alcott was born in 1832, when the Industrial Revolution was at its peak. The women’s movements were emerging. The Alcott family was facing issues that forced Louisa to work early in life. The March family in the novel is the representative of the Alcott family.
This autobiographical novel covers the lives when people who were moving from villages to cities. The family structure was broken, and at that time, it was an effort the restore family values.
Plot summary of Little Women
The plot of the novel is about a March family who is struggling to maintain moral values in spite of poverty. The novel starts with Christmas when four sisters are sitting with their mother, Marmee. Their father works in the military, and the financial condition is not good.
All sisters have different dreams in their lives. Meg is a sixteen-year-old beautiful girl and has a dream to become rich. Jo is fifteen years old and self-independent and wants to become a writer. Beth, a thirteen-year-old shy and kind girl, loves music, while Amy Curti, twelve years old, wants wealth and fame.
In the second part of the novel, four sisters go through their life experiences. Meg makes friends with the rich family of Lawrence Laurie. Laurie falls in love with Jo, but Jo refuses to convert the relationship. Beth becomes a victim of Measles while taking care of a poor family kept in bed for a long period of time.
Amy faces a difficult situation just because of her selfish behaviour, and later learns from her mistakes. In the third part of the novel, the sisters go their separate ways. Meg gets married to John Brooke, and their beginning life is full of financial issues. Later, she becomes a twin baby mother and leads a simple life.
Jo goes to New York and works in governance. There she meets Professor Friedrich Bhaer. He inspires her educationally and makes her personality strong. Beth’s health is down and weak day by day, and she dies in her youth. This incident is proving tragic for the entire family.
Amy goes to Europe and starts studying to be an artist. She meets Laurie, who is travelling in Europe. Both come closer. In the four parts of the novel, the story ends when Jo comes back home. She publishes books and achieves success. Professor Bhaer and Jos marry and open a school to educate girls and boys.
Amy and Laurie get married and lead a good life. Amy becomes a successful artist, and Laurie becomes a successful trader. Meg is happy with her children, but she is not rich.
Characters analysis
Meg:
Meg is the elder daughter of the March family and plays an intellectual character. She is beautiful and dreams of fame and wealth. She gets married to a poor but kind-hearted person.
Jo:
Jo plays a dynamic character in the play, and she is a strong, open-minded and audacious character. She is interested in literature and wants to become an author. Her character is the reflection of an independent woman.
Beth:
Beth is the shy and innocent daughter of the March family. She works for welfare and takes an interest in music. She suffers from a disease while helping the poor.
Amy:
Amy, the younger daughter of the March family, is beautiful and takes an interest in artists. She gets an education in Europe and gets married to Laurie. Army is the one character who overcomes her weakness and improves.
Message and lesson of Little Women:
Louisa May Alcott has presented the entire philosophy of life through A Little Women. The first message of this novel is family union. March’s family members do not leave each other having differences. At the time of Beth’s suffering, all the sisters take care of her. Family is the first for us where humans get unconditional love.
Secondly, the plot is full of self-consciousness. Jo March’s role presents a perfect example, and being a girl, she challenges the traditional society. She has a desire to become a writer and works hard to achieve success. Its role teaches us that we should continue our struggle to achieve goals in life.
The messages of this novel do not end here but also extend beyond this. Meg’s marriage teaches us that marriage is more important than money. No marriage tells us there should be intellectual harmony in marriage, while Amy’s marriage lesson is that love grows with the passage of time.
The novel ends with this lesson on how to lead a happy life living with family. It teaches us that family love, self-trust, hard work, moral values and challenging life are the fundamentals which help humans to lead successful lives.