Good Wives

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Illustration from Little Women, 1869. Courtesy of Houghton Library at Harvard University. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Robert March – Formerly wealthy, the father is portrayed as having helped a friend who could not repay a debt, resulting in his family's genteel poverty. A scholar and a minister, he serves as a chaplain in the Union Army during the Civil War and is wounded in December 1862. After the war he becomes minister to a small congregation. Also, Little Women has several textual and structural references to John Bunyan’s novel The Pilgrim’s Progress. [35] Jo and her sisters read it at the outset of the book and try to follow the good example of Bunyan’s Christian. Throughout the novel, the main characters refer many times to The Pilgrim’s Progress and liken the events in their own lives to the experiences of the pilgrims. A number of chapter titles directly reference characters and places from The Pilgrim’s Progress.

The Hummels – A poor German family consisting of a widowed mother and six children. Marmee and the girls help them by bringing food, firewood, blankets, and other comforts. They help with minor repairs to their small dwelling. Three of the children die of scarlet fever and Beth contracts the disease while caring for them. The eldest daughter, Lottchen "Lotty" Hummel, later works as a matron at Jo's school at Plumfield Matteson, John (2007). Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-05964-9. This book won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography in 2008. Parr, James L. (2009). Dedham: Historic and Heroic Tales From Shiretown. The History Press. ISBN 978-1-59629-750-0. Myerson, Joel; Shealy, Daniel; Stern, Madeleine B. (1989). The Journals of Louisa May Alcott. Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-59362-1. Allen, Amy Ruth (1998). Louisa May Alcott. Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing Group. pp. 22. ISBN 978-0822549383.Franklin, Rosemary F., "Louisa May Alcott's Father(s) and 'The Marble Woman'" in ATQ (The American Transcendental Quarterly) Vol. 13, No. 4 (1999). Louisa frequently wrote in her journals about going on long walks and runs. She challenged prevailing social norms regarding gender by encouraging her young female readers to run as well. [50] [51] The Alcotts' Concord, Massachusetts home, Orchard House (c. 1650), where the family lived for 25 years and where Little Women was written and set in 1868, has been a historic house museum since 1912, and pays homage to the Alcotts by focusing on public education and historic preservation. Her Boston home is featured on the Boston Women's Heritage Trail. [52] Selected works [ edit ] Bust of Louisa May Alcott The Little Women series [ edit ]

I did, after a while; not to “mess,” but to learn of Hannah how things should be done, that my servants need not laugh at me. It was play then but there came a time when I was truly grateful that I not only possessed the will but the power to cook wholesome food for my little girls, and help myself when I could no longer afford to hire help. You begin at the other end, Meg, dear; but the lessons you learn now will be of use to you by and by, when John is a richer man, for the mistress of a house, however splendid, should know how work ought to be done, if she wishes to be well and honestly served.” The last words were in answer to the look the elder lady gave him; a kindly, questioning look, which the handsome eyes met so frankly that the little ceremony closed, as usual, with a motherly kiss. Margaret "Marmee" March – The girls' mother and head of household while her husband is away. She engages in charitable works and lovingly guides her girls' morals and their characters. She once confesses to Jo that her temper is as volatile as Jo's, but that she has learned to control it. [25] :130 Somewhat modeled after the author's own mother, she is the focus around which the girls' lives unfold as they grow. [25] :2 Reisen, Harriet (2009). Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women . Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 978-0-805-08299-9. OCLC 316514238. This book was the basis for a PBS documentary directed by Nancy Porter. Beth, 13 when the story starts, is described as kind, gentle, sweet, shy, quiet, honest and musical. She is the shyest March sister and the pianist of the family. [20] :53 Infused with quiet wisdom, she is the peacemaker of the family and gently scolds her sisters when they argue. [21] As her sisters grow up, they begin to leave home, but Beth has no desire to leave her house or family. She is especially close to Jo: when Beth develops scarlet fever after visiting the Hummels, Jo does most of the nursing and rarely leaves her side. Beth recovers from the acute disease but her health is permanently weakened.

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Second Part of Little Women, or Good Wives, published in 1869 and afterward published together with Little Women. Madeline B. Stern Papers on Louisa May Alcott, MSS 3953 at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University Guide to Louisa May Alcott additional papers, 1839–1888, MS Am 2114 at Houghton Library, Harvard University Alcott's family suffered from financial difficulties, and while she worked to help support the family from an early age, she also sought an outlet in writing. She began to receive critical success for her writing in the 1860s. Early in her career, she sometimes used pen names such as A. M. Barnard, under which she wrote lurid short stories and sensation novels for adults that focused on passion and revenge. [4] Louisa May Alcott Google doodle marks 184th birthday of 'Little Women' author". Search Engine Land. November 29, 2016.