Characters

Plot introduction

Alcott's original work explores the overcoming of character flaws by following the example of Christian in Pilgrim's Progress (many of the chapter titles in this first part are allusions to the allegorical concepts and places in Pilgrim's Progress). The girls' "guidebooks" in their figurative quest are the bibles they each receive on Christmas morning in Chapter Two. Each of the March girls displays a major character flaw: Meg, greed; Jo, anger; Beth, crippling 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 archetypal mothers, wives, sisters, and citizens.

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

Josephine or "Jo": The protagonist of the novel. Jo is a tomboy and the second-oldest sister. She is very outspoken and has a passion for writing. Her bold nature often gets her into trouble. She is especially close to her younger sister Beth, who helps her become a gentler person. Jo cuts off her long hair "her one beauty" - as Amy calls it, and sells it to a wig shop to get money for her mother to visit their father, a wounded Civil War chaplain. She refuses the proposal of marriage from family friend Theodore Laurence ("Laurie"), and later marries Professor Fritz Bhaer.

Margaret or "Meg": The eldest sister. She is described as being very pretty and somewhat vain about her looks, with smooth hair and small, white hands. Sheis the most responsible and helps run the
household in her mother's absence. Meg also guards Amy from Jo when they have fights, just like Jo protects Beth. Due to the family's poverty she must work as a governess for wealthy friends. After having bad experiences with some rich people. Meg learns to tolerate being poor, and eventually discovers that true worth does, not lie with money. She falls in love with Mr. John Brooke. Laurie's pour tutor. She eventually marries Mr. Brooke and bears twin children. Margaret ("Daisy") and John. Jr. (“Demi”, short for “Demi-John”)

Elizabeth or "Beth": The second-youngest sister, is a quiet, kind young woman who loves playing the piano and looking after her dolls. She is docile and sin almost to a fault. Beth also engages with charily. While her mother is nursing their father, she contracts scarlet fever from a poor family and ultimately dies, never recovering from her illness. She is described as having a round face, and appearing younger than her years.

Amy: The youngest sister and a talented artist. Amy is described as a beautiful young girl with golden hair (in curls) and blue eyes (she is described as having the general traits of a "snow maiden"). She cares about her family, but is also very self-centered and vain, often feeling the need to have what all of the other girls have and feeling that she is of "high importance". In her youth she is slightly spoiled and is inclined to throw tantrums when things donot go her way, being often "pelted" since she was the youngest. She eventually travels abroad thanks to her aunt Carrol, and finally marries Laurie in “ Good Wives”.

Margaret March or "Marmee": The girls' mother and head of household while her husband is away. She engages in charitable works and attempts to guide her girls’ morals and shape their characters.

Theodore Laurence or "Laurie": A charming, playful, and rich young man who lives next door to the March family with his stern grandfather. He is often misunderstood by his grandfather, who loves him, yet worries that Laurie will follow in his father's footsteps. His father was a free-spirited young man who eloped with an Italian pianist and was disowned for that, only to die young of illness along with his wife and eldest daughter. Laurie is the only one of their little family who survives, and then he's sent to live with Mr. Laurence. Alter Jo refuses to marry him he flees to Europe to study art. While there, he falls in love with and marries Amy.

Hannah Mullet: The maid оf the March family, an older woman, who (from a letter written in the first person in the text) is described as kind and loyal, if lacking in formal education.

Aunt March: A rich widow. She lives alone in her mansion and Jo is employed to wait on hereach day. Actually Mr. March's aunt, she disapproves of his family's charitable work and loss of wealth, while throwing her weight around with hers. Amy is sent to be Aunt March's "companion" when Beth is ill; though at first she is dismayed, her tenure there does the spoiled little girl good.

Mrs. Kirke: A friend of Marmee's who runs a boarding house in New York, She employs Jo as governess to her two girls, Kitly and Minnie, for a time.

Professor Fricdrich (Fritz) Bhaer: A poor German immigrant, who lives in Mrs. Kirke's boarding house and tutors her children. He and Jo become friends and he critiques Jo's work, encouraging her to become a serious writer instead of writing "sensation" stories for weekly tabloids. The two eventually marry.

Mr. March: Formerly wealthy, it is implied that he helped unscrupulous friends who did not repay the debt, resulting in the family's poverty. A great scholar and a minister, he serves as a chaplain for the Union Army.

Mr. Laurence: A wealthy neighbor to the Marches. Lonely in his mansion, and often at odds with his high-spirited grandson, Laurie, he finds comfort in becoming a benefactor to the Marches. He admires their charity, and develops a special friendship with Beth, who reminds him of his dead granddaughter (Laurie's deceased sister).

John Brooke: Tutor to Laurie, a naturalized citizen (he is English). He falls in love with Meg: she initially rejects him until Aunt March prohibits the match, at which point she realizes she is in love as well.He serves in the Union Army after late 1861 and marries Meg after the war.

Other characters:

Franz and Emil: Mr. Bhaer's two nephews whom he looks after following the death of his sister.

Miss Norton: A worldly tenant living in Mrs. Kirke's boarding house. She occasionally takes Jo under her wing and entertains her.

The Kings: Family who employ Meg as a governess.

The Hummels: Very poor German immigrant family. Marmee and the girls, though poor themselves, try to help them. Their baby dies of scarlet fever and Beth contracts it while caring for the child.

The Gardiners. Wealthy friends of Meg's. Before the Marches lost their wealth, the two families were societal equals. The Gardiners are portrayed as good-hearted but vapid, and believing in marriage for money and position. Meg's friend Sallie Gardiner eventually marries Ned Moffat, but is unhappy in her marriage.

Uncle and Aunt Carrol: Sister and brother-in-law of Mr. March. Amy travels to Europe with them and their daughter Florence.

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