1、,Author Character List Plot Themes,Louisa May Alcott,Birthday: November 29, 1832 Died: March 6, 1888 (aged55)Birthplace: Germantown, Pennsylvania She was the second daughter She never married or had a family of her own,Her Family,Her Works,Experiences,Poems(56)-Sunlight(in 1852) Plays(11)-The Prince

2、 and the Peasant Short Stories(252) teenager Short Stories(157)- The Accident Back Window Adult Short Stories(66)-Fate in a Fan Other Short Stories(29)-Anna Novels(18)-Little Women Little Men Collective Works(24) Other Works(25)-Happy Women,She was a tomboy and she had an unladylike temper She recei

3、ved the majority of her schooling from her father. She also received some instruction from writers and educators such as Ralph Waldo Emerson,Child,Adult,Poverty made it necessary for Louise to go to work at an early age as an occasional teacher, seamstress, governess, domestic helper, and writer , L

4、ouise also produced wholesome stories for children, and she did not return to creating works for adults,When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Alcott had an urge to go and fight in it. She supported the Northern side of the conflict because she was against slavery. Alcott was devoted to her parents a

5、nd her sisters. Alcott caught pneumonia（肺炎） while working as a nurse in the Civil War. She suffered a lot.,Her father failed to provide enough money to support his family, and their poverty was so dire that in twenty years, they moved twenty times. Her sister Lizzie died at age 21, worse still, her

6、little brother died in infancy.,Josephine March The protagonist of the novel, and the second-oldest March sister. Jo wants to be a writer. Jo has a temper and a quick tongue. She is a tomboy, and reacts with impatience to the many limitations placed on women and girls. She hates romance in her real

7、life, and wants nothing more than to hold her family together.,Meg March The oldest March sister. Responsible and kind, Meg mothers her younger sisters. She has a small weakness for luxury and leisure, but the greater part of her is gentle and loving.,Beth March The third March daughter. Beth is ver

8、y quiet and very virtuous, and she does nothing but try to please others. She adores music and plays the piano very well.,Amy March The youngest March girl. Amy is an artist who adores visual beauty and has a weakness for pretty possessions. She is given to pouting, fits of temper, and vanity; but s

9、he does attempt to improve herself. She gets what she wants in the end: popularity, the trip to Europe, and Laurie.,Laurie Laurence The rich boy who lives next door to the Marches. Laurie, becomes like a son and brother to the Marches. He is charming, clever, and has a good heart. Laurie struggles w

10、ith his grandfathers expectations of him. He is not manly enough for his grandfather because he does not want to enter the business world.,Marmee - The March girls mother. Marmee is the moral role model for her girls. She counsels them through all of their problems and works hard but happily while h

11、er husband is at war.,Mr. March - The March girls father and Marmees husband. He serves in the Union army as a chaplain. When he returns home, he continues acting as a minister to a nearby parish.,Mr. Brooke - Lauries tutor. Mr. Brooke is poor but virtuous. Frederick Bhaer - A respected professor in

12、 Germany who becomes an impoverished language instructor in America. Mr. Bhaer lives in New York, where he meets Jo. He is kind and fatherly. Aunt March - A rich widow and one of the March girls aunts. Although crotchety and difficult, Aunt March loves her nieces and wants the best for them.,The sto

13、ry begins on Christmas Eve.,Marmee comes home with a letter from Mr. March, the girls father, who is serving as a Union chaplain in the Civil War. The letter inspires the girls to bear their burdens more cheerfully and not to complain about their poverty.,On Christmas morning, Marmee encourages them

14、 to give away their breakfast to a poor family, the Hummels. Their elderly wealthy neighbor, Mr. Laurence, whom the girls have never met, rewards their charitable activities by sending over a feast. Soon, Meg and Jo are invited to attend a New Years Party there meets Laurie,One dark day, the family

15、receives a telegram saying that Mr. March is sick in the hospital in Washington, D.C. Marmee goes to tend to him, and Jo sells her hair to help finance the trip. Beth goes to visit the Hummels, and contracts scarlet fever from the Hummel baby. Beth teeters on the brink of death until Marmee returns.

16、 Meanwhile, Amy spends time at Aunt Marchs house in order to escape the disease. Beth recovers, though not completely,Three years pass , Mr. March is home from the war, Meg marries and moves into a new home with Mr. Brooke who is Lauries tutor . Amy gets to go to Paris for study instead of Jo, becau

17、se Amys good behavior wins her Aunts praise. Then Jo moves to New York. There meets Professor Bhaer, a poor German language instructor. Since Amy is ill seriously, Jo returns home, Laurie proposes to her, but she turns him down. Beth soon dies.,Amy and Laurie reunite in France, and they fall in love

18、. They marry and return home. Professor Bhaer comes for Jo, they marry later.,The novel ends with the family happily gathered together, each sister thankful for her blessings and for each other.,Womens Struggle Between Familial Duty and Personal Growth,In the novel, an emphasis on domestic duties and family detracts from various womens abilities to attend to their own personal growth.,The Danger of Gender Stereotyping,Little Women questions the validity of gender stereotypes, both male and female. Alcott bestows the highest esteem upon Jo and Lau