« prev	next »
Edition:	Barnes & Noble (Hardcover)
Author:	Louisa May Alcott
Published:	September 2005
Pages:	528
ISBN 10:	1593083661
New:	$4.91 (40)
Used:	$0.50 (40)
+ add to my profile

Little Women is about the story of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy is one that will forever be a part of American liteary culture. Set in the mid-1800s in a small New England town.

CHAPTER 1: PLAYING PILGRIMS

It is Christmas and Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March are discussing presents. Each has a dollar and despite their mother’s suggestion that they forgo gifts this year due to hardships of war and poverty, each desires a small luxury suited to her interests. Meg bemoaning her position as governess to wealthy, spoiled children wants pretty things to compliment her beauty and to remind her of her lost social standing. Jo, insisting her position as companion to their Great Aunt March, a demanding and caustic old woman, is far more tiresome, craves a long-wished for novel. Amy, the youngest, demands superior grief in having to attend school with impertinent girls who snub her for her poverty. She desires drawing pencils. Beth quietly states that although housework and doing dishes have stiffened her hands so that it is difficult to play the piano, she did want new music to play.

The girls continue their talk, admonishing each other for the faults of vanity (Meg), self-absorption (Amy), and unladylike behavior (Jo). As the clock strikes six, the girls scramble to prepare for Marmee’s return home. Warming her slippers by the fire, Beth mentions how worn they look and suggests buying a new pair with her dollar. Amy decides SHE will spend her dollar on Marmee’s new slippers. Jo, stating that while father is gone, she is the man of the family and is thereby responsible for the purchase. Meg settles the matter by suggesting that each girl, rather than spending her dollar on herself, spend the dollar on a gift for Marmee.

Jo reminds them of the play they are to perform for Marmee on Christmas day. Meg demurs that she is too old for such nonsense. Amy, complaining that she will not faint onto the hard floor, demands that she be able to fall genteelly onto the sofa. As laughter ends their rehearsal of Jo’s dramatic tragedy, Marmee returns. The girls attend to their mother, taking her wet coat and shoes, putting warmed slippers on her feet, and settling her into the chair near the fire. Marmee has brought a Christmas surprise; she has brought a letter from father.

After reading the letter, each girl is thoughtful of the hardships being suffered by the soldiers in the war. Marmee reminds them of their childhood game of “Pilgrim’s Progress” when they would tie bundles on sticks and create imaginary adventures through attic and cellar. The girls, while remembering the fun fondly, tell Marmee they are too old for such games. Marmee gently tells them that now their bundles and burdens are not physical, but internal desires to be good despite mistakes and stumbling. She tells the girls, “Now my little pilgrims, suppose you begin again, not in play, but in earnest, and see how far you can get before Father comes home.” Marmee concludes her small talk by telling the girls to look under their pillows on Christmas morning and they will find their guidebooks.

CHAPTER 2: A MERRY CHRISTMAS

The girls woke early Christmas morning and each found a small book under her pillow. “[Jo] knew it very well, for it was that beautiful old story of the best life ever lived, and Jo felt that it was a true guidebook for any pilgrim going on a long journey.” Meg, a good and pious girl despite her vanities, explained to her sisters that Marmee would truly hope that they conscientiously love and read the books. She, as well as her sisters, promised to read and try to follow a little bit every day.

A short while later, after reading a small portion of their books, the girls descended the stairs to find their mother gone. Hannah, their loyal maid, informed them that she had gone to a neighbor who had come asking for help. The girls placed their gifts on the table. Jo laughed gently at Beth, who, in painstaking stitches, had put ‘Mother’ instead of ‘M. March’ on her monogrammed handkerchiefs. Meg, Jo, and Beth wondered what had happened to Amy, for neither she nor her gift was present. Suddenly, Amy flew through the door, explaining that although she did not anyone to know, she had gone ‘round the corner to exchange the small, cheap bottle of cologne she had purchased (in order to save money for her pencils) for a bottle of better quality. She told her sisters that in reading from her book that morning, she felt she should give totally and refrain from selfishness. (She failed just a tiny bit in exclaiming her gift as the prettiest).

Marmee returned and informed the girls that she had been to visit a very poor woman with six children and a newborn baby. They were starving and cold. She asks the girls if they would donate their Christmas breakfast to this poor family. Together, the girls and their mother carry their meal and firewood to their neighbor, returning to dine on bread and milk.

After their meal, the girls presented their presents to their mother. After much laughter, kissing, and exclamations of how each gift was perfect, the girls present Jo’s play for their mother. After the play, which was fraught with dramatics and mishaps, Hannah called the family to dinner. Realizing that Marmee would have made some effort to treat them, the girls were amazed at the table. There were two types of ice cream, cake, bonbons, and hothouse flowers on the table.

Marmee informed them that the special meal had been sent by their neighbor, Mr. Lawrence, who lived next door with his grandson who was about Jo’s age. Hannah, in spending an idle moment with his servants, had mentioned the March’s charity that morning and Mr. Lawrence, who had been a friend of her father’s, had been touched by their unselfish spirit.

Over the unexpected meal, the girls discussed old Mr. Lawrence and his grandson. Jo, having seen the boy out riding with his tutor, expressed a wish to know him. Marmee, acknowledging the boy to be a gentleman, encouraged Jo to make his acquaintance.

CHAPTER 3: THE LAURENCE BOY

Meg and Jo are invited to a New Year’s Eve party at the Gardiner’s home. The two girls, excited about the party, are still very concerned about their attire. Both must wear poplin although Meg wished for silk. Jo, remembering the scorch on the back of her dress, is cautioned by Meg to sit as much as possible or keep her back to the wall. Jo’s gloves also present a problem. Hers, because she is not fastidious about dress, are stained with lemonade. It is decided that each will wear one of Meg’s clean gloves and carry one of Jo’s stained gloves.

The evening of the party arrived. While primping, Meg decided she should have curls about her face. Jo diligently took the hot poker to form the curls but only managed to singe the hair off. Amy’s suggestion of a simple readjustment of her hair ribbon saved the evening and Meg and Jo left for the party.

The girls arrived at the Gardiner’s but entered with trepidation for they seldom went to parties. Mrs. Gardiner, however, greeted them graciously and put them into the capable hands of her eldest daughter. Meg was soon engaged with her friend Sallie Gardiner, but Jo, uninterested in girlish gossip and mindful of her scorched skirt, stayed against the wall away from the groups of young people. Several young men were enjoined in a conversation about skating, a sport Jo enjoyed, but Meg’s eyebrows raised so alarmingly when Jo's glance strayed towards the lads, that Jo backed further into the wall.

The music started and Meg was immediately asked to dance. A young man began to approach Jo but aware she must not show her dress and embarrass Meg, slipped backward into a curtained alcove. There she encountered a young man, apparently too shy to join with the other young people. Startled, Jo realized it was ‘that Laurence boy’.

They made initial apologies for interrupting but soon were chatting like old friends as Jo could not resist being friendly and Laurie (as he preferred to be called) was of the same temperament. Laurie asked Jo to dance and after her frank explanation of why she could not, they danced a grand polka in the hall adjoining the ballroom. When they were finished, Laurie left Jo on a bench to secure some refreshment. While Jo sat, Meg approached and told her she had sprained her ankle when her heel had slipped. Resting Meg on the sofa, Jo went to find her some coffee to revive her.

In the dining room, Jo encountered Laurie who offered to take the coffee to Meg. Meg, initially embarrassed by her condition, was soon set at ease by the company of Jo and Laurie. They talked and played games until Hannah came to gather the girls home. Meg, however, had not told anyone but Jo of her injured ankle. As she tried to rise from the sofa, it was evident that she would not be able to walk home. Frantically, Jo rushed out with the intention of finding a coachman who would drive them home and found Laurie mounting his coach. Laurie insisted on sharing his coach with Hannah and the girls.

On the way home, the girls talked of their time at the party. Meg indicated she had been invited, along with her friend Sallie, to spend a week with another friend. Arriving home, they gave many thanks to Laurie and once inside, spent a good deal of time reliving the party for Beth and Amy.

CHAPTER 4: BURDENS

The morning following the party was difficult for everybody. Both Meg and Jo dreaded returning from the holidays to the real world of work and responsibility. Meg, because her time at the party had reminded her of all the wonderful luxuries she now lived without, and Jo, because the long days of reading were over and she must once again be at the beck and call of crusty old Aunt March.

Beth had a headache and was amusing herself with the cat and kittens on the couch. Amy, fretting over lessons she had not completed and rubbers she could not find, proceeded to wail her complaints to all who would listen. Hannah, grumbly and out of sorts because she was not used to late nights, thumped in and out of the kitchen. Jo’s initial attempt towards a cheerful continence amongst the croaking, soon expired after she spilled some ink, broke her shoelaces, and finally sat on her hat. Marmee, who was attempting to finish a letter that had to be posted, finally exasperated, begged the girls to stop.

Humbled and ashamed, Meg and Jo said their goodbyes and set off for their respective work. Walking in the bitter air, Meg continued to grumble, but Jo chided and cajoled her into the promise that she would return home in high spirits no matter how poorly she experienced the day.

When Mr. March had lost his money and properties trying to help a friend, both Meg and Jo had requested that they be allowed to help by securing employment. Mr. & Mrs. March agreed, believing that the experiences would help the girls to cultivate independence and industry.

Meg soon found a position as a nursery governess with a family by the name of King. While she enjoyed working in the luxurious rooms of a spacious home, Meg continued to yearn for the days when she was the recipient of the accoutrements of wealth. Still, she bore up under her burdens despite her feelings of disappointment.

Jo was asked to be a companion by Aunt March, who after seeing her at a friend’s, took a liking to her blunt manners and vivacious ways. Despite Aunt March’s irascible nature, Jo actually got along quite well with her although there had been a few flare-ups, and there probably would be more. Each time Jo would storm out of the house, swearing never to return, Aunt March would relent and request (Aunt March never begged) that Jo return. Jo always did, for deep down, she truly liked the peppery old lady.

Jo’s true attraction to Aunt March, however, was the enormous library located in her house. The library, abandoned to dust and spiders since the death of Uncle March, was Jo’s refuge when Aunt March napped or spent time with visitors. Snuggled deep in the soft chairs, Jo contentedly read poetry, romances, histories, travels, picture books, and whatever else she could find on the shelves until the shrill cries of Aunt March drew her back to reality.

Jo has grand ambitions. She has not quite figured out what they are or how she will achieve them. She wishes she could spend all of her time reading, running, and riding. She knows that her quick temper and her impatience will continue to get her into trouble, but fortunately also realizes that the burden of enduring Aunt March’s demands and priorities, are helping to train her to curb her faults.

At the small March household, Beth, too shy to attend school (it had been tried with disastrous results), studies her lessons as best she can, helps Hannah with the household chores, practices on the old, and very out-of-tune piano, and tends to her dolls, for Beth is a child still. As all of the dolls are in dilapidated conditions, Beth has created a doll hospital where she tenderly cares for each one.

Beth, for all her goodness and saintly nature, is still a little girl with girlish wants and desires. On occasion, and only when no one is about, she does despair and “weep a little weep,” as Jo would say. Beth’s true love is music and she longs for music lessons as well as a piano that plays true and has a full working set of eighty-eight keys.

In the world of Amy, Amy’s greatest trial is her nose. When she was a baby, Jo had once dropped her and Amy is convinced that fall ruined her nose forever by flattening it beyond repair. Amy’s sisters call her “Little Raphael” for she has a great talent for drawing and is never happier than when she can spend her time sketching flowers and fairies, or anything else that captures her fancy.

A pleasant and good-natured for all the silly airs she puts on. She is well liked by her friends as school for they thoroughly enjoy her amiable face, her manners (for all that they are exaggerated), and pretty ways. Amy, however, as the youngest sister is generally petted and accommodated almost to the point of being spoiled. Consequently, Amy sometimes takes the cosseting for granted by becoming inconsiderate, selfish, and thoughtless.

Meg is Amy’s confidante and mentor. It is to Meg that she takes her worries and complaints. Conversely and by strange attraction, boisterous, rambunctious Jo provides gentle Beth with the same sisterly companionship.

That evening as the girls sat knitting with Marmee, Jo relates her day with Aunt March. She tells them that she was reading aloud Aunt March’s favorite Belsham when Aunt March began to nod off. Thoroughly bored with Belsham, Jo had whipped out the novel, The Vicar of Wakefield, and read fervently until she made the mistake of laughing aloud and awakening Aunt March. Aunt March, good-natured after her nap, requested that Jo read to her from the novel. After a time of reading, Aunt March declared she did not understand it at all, and told Jo to begin again. Gallantly Jo read the novel with verve and emotion.

Jo then informed her mother and sisters that several times she had stopped in the middle of an exciting portion, telling Aunt March that perhaps the book was tiring her. Aunt March had snapped up her knitting, (her hands had been idle throughout the recitation), and told Jo to stop being impertinent and read some more.

The girls and their mother laughed to know that Jo had mischievously penetrated Aunt March’s crusty demeanor and still provided her with an enjoyable afternoon.

Meg spoke up, telling the family that although her story was not a humorous as Jo’s, it had still caused her to ponder on it. Evidently, one of the boys in the King family had done something disgraceful and had been banished from the house. The family had been greatly upset. Meg declares that she is happy not to have brothers who could do disgraceful things to upset a family.

Amy related that her friend Susie Perkins had come to school wearing a carnelian ring and that she became jealous, as she truly desired such a ring for herself. Later in the day, Susie had drawn an unflattering picture of the teacher on her slate. The teacher had noticed the slate, pulled Susie to the platform by her ear, and made her stand there, holding the slate for half an hour. Amy declared that carnelian ring or not, she no longer envied Susie Perkins.

Beth told everyone that she had seen Old Mr. Laurence at the fish market, although she stayed hidden so he would not see her. A poor woman came in to offer work for a fish but was turned down by the owner. As she left, Mr. Laurence picked up a very large fish and dropped it into her arms. The girls laughed at the vision of the woman running down the street clutching a big, slippery fish.

Marmee, after speaking of a gentleman who had given four sons to the war, told the girls a story of four girls who were discontented with their lives. They went to a witch to ask for a spell. The witch told them to think of their blessings and be grateful.

“Being sensible girls, they decided to try her advice, and soon were surprised to see how well off they were. One discovered that money couldn’t keep shame and sorrow out of rich people’s houses, another, that though she was poor, she was a great deal happier, with her youth, health, and good spirits, than a certain fretful, feeble old lady who couldn’t enjoy her comforts, a third that, as disagreeable as it is to help get dinner, it was harder still to go begging for it, and the fourth, that carnelian rings were not so valuable as good behavior.”

CHAPTER 5: BEING NEIGHBORLY

One snowy afternoon after Jo had returned from her duties to Aunt March, she began to shovel pathways through the garden, as Beth needed a place to walk and sun her dolls, as well as herself. As she shoveled, Jo thought more and more of Laurie and how lonely he must be in the big house. After throwing snowballs at his window and discovering he was suffering from a cold in the head, Jo invited herself over to read to him.

Jo arrived bearing gifts of blancmange and a basket of Beth’s kittens, whose darling antics soon expelled any sense of shyness or reserve experienced by the two relative strangers. After Jo had done a quick clean up of Laurie’s little parlor, for it sorely needed it, the two talked as if neither had spoken to another soul in years. Laurie confessed to watching the March family through their open curtain and longing for the simple, loving companionship they shared. Jo spoke of her sisters, her days with Aunt March, and her determination to continue to visit with Laurie.

Laurie gave Jo a tour of the grand house and while they were in the library, the doctor called to examine Laurie. Left on her own in the library, Jo wandered about, perusing the books and finally stopping at the large and imposing portrait of Laurie’s grandfather. Speaking aloud to herself, she noted that although he was not handsome and his mouth was grim, he seemed to have kind eyes. Behind her, a deep voice expressed gratitude for her final judgment. Blushing to the tips of her toes, Jo turned to face Old Mr. Laurence.

After a small discussion of her observations of him and Jo’s sincere admission that she was not afraid of him, Old Mr. Laurence spoke of his proud friendship with Jo’s grandfather. He expressed his admiration for Jo and her kind willingness to bring cheer into Laurie’s life and invited her to tea.

After tea, which Jo thoroughly enjoyed for she found the Laurence’s not ‘prim and pokey’ but charming and conversant, Laurie took her to the conservatory where he cut many flowers for her to take to Marmee. The met Old Mr. Laurence in the drawing room and Laurie played the piano for Jo although Mr. Laurence soon ended his recital. Wondering about Laurie’s statement that his grandfather did not enjoy hearing him play, Jo, escorted by Mr. John Brooke, Laurie’s tutor, went home.

At home, Jo relived every moment of her visit with her mother and sisters. Marmee then explained Mr. Laurence’s dismay at Laurie’s musical talent. Laurie’s father had married an Italian woman, a musician, who proud Mr. Laurence disapproved of. After the marriage, the father and son became estranged. Both husband and wife died very young and their son, Laurie, was brought under the guardianship of the grandfather. Laurie’s playing reminded Old Mr. Laurence of the woman he disliked.

CHAPTER 6: BETH FINDS THE PLACE BEAUTIFUL

Each of the family, individually or together, soon made their acquaintance with Old Mr. Laurence and Laurie and their grand home. Meg was allowed to sit in the conservatory whenever she pleased, Amy was given permission to wander the house and admire or sketch to her heart’s delight. Laurie soon became a frequent visitor to the simple March home where the girls and he engaged in all sorts of hilarity, frivolity, and energetic play.

Only Beth, who longed to see the beautiful piano in the drawing room, stayed away from the Laurence home. On her first visit with Jo, Old Mr. Laurence, unaware of her delicate nerves, had frightened her with his loud voice and grim countenance. Upon hearing of this, and being a truly kind old man, Mr. Laurence arranged to visit Marmee at the March home. During their conversation, Mr. Laurence expressed a desire to have the girls come and play the piano as Laurie had been neglecting it in his new pursuits and it would soon be out of tune for lack of use. Beth, not quite hiding her shivering excitement, told Mr. Laurence she would be happy to use the piano only if he was positive it would not bother anybody. On an afternoon when she was sure the house was empty, Beth finally gathered her courage, entered the house, and began to play. After that, Beth slipped through the hedge nearly every day, although she was unaware that the new music occasionally placed on piano had been put there for her benefit, nor that on many occasions, Old Mr. Laurence would stand hidden behind the door to listen.

To thank Mr. Laurence for his kindness, Beth decided to make him a pair of slippers. After much discussion and many hours of sewing, the slippers were completed and a note written. Note and slippers, with the help of Laurie, were secretly put on Mr. Laurence’s study table. Two and one half days passed without a word. Beth, secretly fearing she had offended the old man, finally left the house to purchase some items for Hannah.

Returning home, Beth was surprised to find her sisters waving and yelling out the window to her, telling her a letter had come from Old Mr. Laurence. Upon entering the house, the girls excitedly escorted Beth into the small parlor where, in the corner, stood a beautiful cabinet piano, gleaming in the soft sunlight.

Mr. Laurence’s letter, written in a grand and formal style, expressed his great appreciation for the slippers and his desire for Beth to have a token of his respect and gratitude. The piano, he said, had once belonged to the granddaughter he had lost. Beth, seemingly overcome with amazement, suddenly startled the girls by announcing her intention of going directly to Mr. Laurence to thank him.

Beth found Mr. Laurence in his study and softly began a small speech of gratitude. She had only gotten as far as “Thank you, sir…” when she noticed how kind his eyes had become, and remembering the little granddaughter who had died, she reached her arms around his neck and kissed him softly on the cheek. The old man, overcome by the gentle touch, returned her hug with an emotion he thought he had lost. Beth, feeling the emotion, knew she was no longer afraid and the two were soon chatting away as old friends.

CHAPTER 7: AMY'S VALLEY OF HUMILIATION

In Amy’s school that season the latest fad was pickled limes. Pickled limes had become the primary basis for a girl’s popularity and were used as bartering agents for invitations, trinkets, favors, and even friendship itself. Amy, due to her humble means, had been unable to purchase limes for her friends and felt guilty for accepting so many while being unable to reciprocate. Meg, remembering her own school days and the caprice of little girls, gave Amy a quarter with to purchase some limes and heal her injured pride.

The following day, Amy brought 24 limes to school—having eaten one on the way. Word of her treasure swiftly passed through the class and many of the girls, who had previously snubbed Amy, began to try to wiggle their way into her good graces. Amy, remembering the snubs, made the error of snubbing back.

The teacher, Mr. Davis, was a petty and nervous man, unsuited for teaching. Having successfully banished many small girlish affectations in the past, he had, the week prior, told the girls that limes were forbidden and he would punish any girl who brought them to school. As could be expected, one of the girls Amy had so ruthlessly snubbed tattled to Mr. Davis about Amy’s limes.

Mr. Davis, who considered Amy one of his favorites but was in a very bad temper that morning, called Amy to front of the room, requesting her to bring her limes. He then had her throw each and every one out of the window. As promised, he proceeded to strike Amy’s palm several times with a ruler and then sent her to stand on the platform until recess.

It may seem a small thing, but Amy’s humiliation was insurmountable. She had never been struck in her life, having always been guided with love and gentle rebuke. Further, Amy, cosseted and petted as she was, carried a great deal of self-centered pride and vanity. To have to stand before the school in shame and disapproval was more than she thought she could bear. When the time for recess came and Mr. Davis dismissed her from the platform, Amy gathered her things and fled home.

At home, Amy’s story was met with varying degrees of dismay; Meg consoled and bathed her hand, Beth laid her head upon her lap as if to absorb her sorrow, and Jo, in typical fashion, roared and stomped and vowed revenge. Marmee quietly explained that she did not believe in corporal punishment but nevertheless, felt Amy deserved to be punished in some form for breaking the school rule. After telling Amy that she need not return to school, but continue her studies at home, she wrote a note for Jo to deliver to Mr. Davis. Jo entered the school just before closing, indignantly handed over the note, collected Amy’s things and left, rubbing her shoes grimly into the doormat as if stubbornly refusing to transfer anything from the school into the clean world.

CHAPTER 8: JO MEETS APOLLYON

In late winter, Meg and Jo were invited by Laurie to accompany him to the play The Seven Castles of the Diamond Lake. Amy, upon hearing of the invitation and desperately wanting to see the play, decided she would go with them. Jo, not wanting to ruin her own enjoyment by having to look after a fidgety child, firmly told Amy she could not. Amy began to beg and plead and scream and whine in the best manner of a spoiled child. As Meg and Jo left with Laurie, Amy screamed down the stairs that Jo would be sorry for her meanness.

Returning from the play and finding nothing more amiss than Amy quietly snubbing her, Jo decided that the issue would soon be forgotten. The following morning, however, when Jo could not find her small book of stories, she discovered that Amy, in her anger, had burned it. The book had contained many years of Jo’s hard work of writing small fairy tales that she hoped to publish. The book was irreplaceable and Jo’s natural temper exploded into realms never before encountered.

Jo’s anger continued for several days and Amy, who after initially trying to apologize, began to espouse her own virtues of forgiveness and goodness in such a grandiose manner, caused Jo’s anger to become even more intense. Jo had begun to cherish her anger, holding it close and relishing in its power. What had started as aggravated exasperation and turned into grievous revenge had turned into a battle of wills between Amy and Jo.

One afternoon, tired of the gloomy atmosphere of the house, Jo decided to go skating with Laurie to lift her moody spirits. Once again, Amy decided that she deserved to go and proceeded to follow them to the river. Jo noticed Amy behind her and Laurie but decided to ignore her sister’s presence, even after Laurie, after checking the ice, warned her to stay to the edge as the center ice was not safe.

Following Laurie as he skated around a bend, Jo, overcome with a feeling of importance, turned just in time to see Amy, who had headed for the smooth ice in the middle of the river, fall through the rotten ice. Totally distraught, Jo helped a calm and collected Laurie drag Amy from the water and carry her safely home.

Later that evening, Jo weeps out her sorrows on Marmee’s lap. Marmee tells Jo of her own daily battle in controlling her temper and her constant worry that she will fail in that endeavor. Jo is amazed, for her mother had always been the absolute example of deportment and patience. Marmee laughs, telling her that her desire to have her girls grow up to be patient, kind, and good, is her daily guidance and reminder to control her own willful emotions.

CHAPTER 9: MEG GOES TO VANITY FAIR

As had been promised at the New Year’s party, Meg was invited, along with Sallie Garnier, to spend a fortnight with her friend Annie Moffat. Meg packed her trunk with all the fineries that could be found in the house, including two new pairs of gloves and a pair of silk stockings provided by Marmee.

Arriving at the Moffat’s house, Meg was rather daunted by the splendor of the house, the displays of wealth, and the elegance of its occupants. In observing the Moffats, however, she came to have the feeling that for all their wealth, they were unpolished, uncultivated, and came across as rather unintelligent. Meg, however, soon began to enjoy the trappings of wealth and the carefree days of doing nothing but what was enjoyable. While at the Moffats, Meg and her friends spent their days in shopping, visiting, and riding in the Moffat’s fine carriages. Meg, unknowingly, began to adopt the small affectations and airs of the richer girls—speaking French phrases, crimping her hair, and gossiping about the latest fashions. Still, Meg, in seeing both Annie and Sallie’s fine clothes, felt envious and dissatisfied with her unfashionable dresses and accoutrements. More and more, she compared her home to the Moffat’s, and more and more began to despise its humble poverty.

The evening of the small party came, and Meg, in observing the other girls donning light dresses, realized her poplin would not do. She put on her old white tarlatan, which she had hoped to save for the big party the following week. Meg noticed the other girl’s stares and began to be embarrassed about her shabby, unfashionable dress. A maid entered with a box of flowers addressed to Meg. It was full of beautiful white roses and ferns that had been sent by Laurie as promised and Meg generously divided them among the girls to wear as bouquets.

The party was quite delightful and Meg had a wonderful time dancing. While resting in an alcove, she overheard a conversation that centered on her. Evidently, the speakers were convinced that Laurie was courting Meg by sending the flowers, and that Mrs. March was well advised to encourage such a match. Embarrassed and upset, Meg found it difficult to enjoy the rest of the evening.

On the afternoon of the big party, and after admitting that she would have to wear her tarlatan again, Meg was invited by Belle, Annie’s older sister, to wear a dress that Belle had outgrown. Initially apprehensive, Meg soon began to enjoy the fun of being dressed, powdered, crimped, bejeweled, and bedecked by both Belle and the maid, Hortense. Declared a beauty by the girls, Meg entered the ballroom and proceeded to thoroughly enjoy the attention paid to her.

Meg’s first discomfort occurred after overhearing Mrs. Moffat tell lies about her family’s position and relationship with the Laurences. Her second, more profound dismay, occurred when she turned from flirting with a group of youths to find Laurie standing behind her. Laurie made clear his disapproval of her low cut gown, her affected airs, and her masquerade as someone other than herself. After telling him he was rude, Meg hid herself by the window, mentally rebuking herself, for she knew Laurie had spoken the truth. As she stood, she overheard another conversation in which an older gentleman referred to her as a ‘doll’.

Laurie approached Meg, apologized, and begged her to dance. While dancing, Meg begged Laurie to allow her to tell her family about her lapse in judgment in her own way. He agreed and did not see her again until supper was served. He found her drinking champagne and surrounded by young men. Warning her that she would have a dreadful headache if she continued, he was told by Meg that she just wanted to have a good time and would put ‘her fuss and feathers’ away tomorrow. Laurie again promised his silence and made a melodramatic flourish of departure, which only fed the erroneous rumor of a romantic relationship between the two.

Meg was indeed ill for most of the next day and was quite happy to leave luxury for the quiet and comfortable March household the day after. At home, Meg told her sisters and mother of all the exciting and wonderful things she had done while away. She did not, however, tell all. After Beth and Amy had gone to bed, Meg placed her head upon Marmee’s lap and told her all. She confessed that she allowed herself to be dressed as a doll, drank champagne, romped, and flirted, and how Laurie had seen and disapproved. Marmee, who instinctively understood that this was not all, encouraged her to tell the rest.

Meg told Marmee and Jo of the gossip and rumor about her relationship with Laurie and how that relationship had been planned by Marmee. Jo asked Marmee if she did have plans. Marmee replied, yes, although her plans were not as Mrs. Moffat’s were.

“I want my daughters to be beautiful, accomplished, and good. To be admired, loved, and respected. To have a happy youth, to be well and wisely married, and to lead useful, pleasant lives, with as little care and sorrow to try them as God sees fit to send. To be loved and chosen by a good man is the best and sweetest thing which can happen to a woman, and I sincerely hope my girls may know this beautiful experience. It is natural to think of it, Meg, right to hope and wait for it, and wise to prepare for it, so that when the happy time comes, you may feel ready for the duties and worthy of the joy. My dear girls, I am ambitious for you, but not to have you make a dash in the world, marry rich men merely because they are rich, or have splendid houses, which are not homes because love is wanting. Money is a needful and precious thing, and when well used, a noble thing, but I never want you to think it is the first or only prize to strive for. I'd rather see you poor men's wives, if you were happy, beloved, contented, than queens on thrones, without self-respect and peace.”

CHAPTER 10: THE P.C. AND P.O.

One of the fashions of the day was to establish secret societies, and as the girls enjoyed the writings of Charles Dickens, they began “The Pickwick Club”. Each assumed the identity of one of the characters from the novel, and they met, with few interruptions, every Saturday. They created the “Pickwick Portfolio” to which each girl contributed something—Jo wrote many articles and Amy sketched the illustrations.

The Portfolio contained a variety of writings, Jo’s plays and melodramatic serial stories, Amy and Beth’s small narratives, and Meg’s dissertations on deportment. One afternoon, Jo presented the motion to have Mr. Theodore Laurence (Laurie) accepted as an honorary member of the Pickwick Club. Although Amy and Beth were initially against the proposal (not wanting boys in the club), Jo eventually convinced them to vote affirmatively.

Laurie, upon receiving his approval, invited the club to the use of a small paddock to use as a post office and presented the key to the paddock as gratitude for his inclusion in their play. The ‘post office’ soon became a capital little institution and the repository of transfer for such things as “…tragedies and cravats, poetry and pickles, garden seeds and long letters, music and gingerbread, rubbers, invitations, scoldings, and puppies.” Even Old Mr. Laurence joined in the fun, sending odd bundles, mysterious messages, and funny telegrams.

History, release and sequels

Alcott wrote Little Women during 1867 and early 1868, writing fu furiously for two and a half months. The novel is heavily based on Alcott's childhood and various experiences growing up as a young woman with three other sisters in Concord, Massachusetts. The novel was first published on September 30, 1868, was an instant success and immediately sold more than 2,000 copies. Almost from its date of publication, critics were labeling it a classic. Some readers demanded a second volume, sending letters to Alcott asking for a sequel.

After much demand, Louisa May Alcott wrote a sequel, Good Wives, which was published in 1869 and is now often published together with Little Women as a single work. Good Wives picks up three years after the events in the last chapter of Little Women ("Aunt March Settles The Question"), and includes characters and events often felt by fans to be essential to the Little Women story.

Alcott later wrote Little Men, Jo's Boys (which followed the lives of the girls' children), and An Old Fashioned Girl, Rose in Bloom, and How They Turned Out.

Plot introduction

Alcott's original work explores the overcoming of character flaws (many of the chapter titles in this first part are allusions to the allegorical concepts and places in Pilgrim's Progress). The girls' 'guidebooks', as they are called, are not specifically labeled--the Bible and Pilgrim's Progress are the candidates for it, though. Each of the March girls displays a major character flaw: Meg, vanity; Jo, a hot temper; Beth, shyness; and Amy, selfishness. They overcome their flaws through lessons learned the hard way. Most of the flaws are in check for a time after lessons are learned, but, even as young women, the girls must work out these flaws in order to become mothers, wives, sisters, and citizens.

In the course of the novel the girls become friends with their next-door neighbor, the teenage boy, Laurie, who becomes a "special" friend of Jo's. As well as the more serious and sadder themes outlined above, the book describes the activities of the sisters and their friend, such as creating a newspaper, picnicking, and the various scrapes that Jo and Laurie get into.

References

Wikipedia