Little Women

Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women in two parts, each resoundingly popular and receiving critical acclaim. The novel follows the lives of the four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, from childhood into maturity. The girls become friends with their next-door neighbor, the teenage boy Laurie (whose given name is "Theodore"), who becomes a particular friend of Jo. In addition to the more serious themes outlined above, the book describes the light hearted, often humorous activities of the sisters and their friend, such as creating a newspaper and picnicking, and the various scrapes that Jo and Laurie get into. The story represents family relationships and explores family life thoroughly. It also reflects issues of feminism, as Jo consistently struggles with the boundaries 19th century society placed on females, including not being able to fight in a war, not being able to attend college and being pressured by her Aunt March to find a suitable husband to take care of her. The journey is not an easy one, and each is humbled and ultimately uplifted by her encounters with love, society and death.