Little Women Summary
Louisa May Alcott

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Born in 1832, Louisa May Alcott grew up in Concord, Massachusetts, which later became the setting of her most famous novel, Little Women. Most of the characters de... Read more

PLAYING PILGRIMS “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. “It’s so dreadful to be poor!” sighed Meg, looking down at her ... Read more

Biography EssayThough she also wrote adult novels, Louisa May Alcott is known primarily for her eight novels for children in the Little Women series. Her children's novels are characterized by their g... Read more

If longevity is any benchmark for literary greatness, then Louisa May Alcott would qualify. Her novel Little Women, published in 1868, still attracts legions of readers well over a century after publi... Read more

Though she also wrote adult novels, Louisa May Alcott is known primarily for her eight novels for children in the Little Women series. Her children's novels are characterized by their glorification... Read more

Louisa May Alcott was widely known during her lifetime as the Children's Friend, a reputation based principally upon her domestic sagas for young adults, Little Women or, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy (1868, ... Read more

In the following essay, Fetterley argues that Little Women reveals stylistic and thematic compromises that were made by Alcott in deference to prevailing social opinions of the time and the preference... Read more

In the following essay, Langland offers a comparative discussion of Little Women and Work, arguing that "the developmental pattern expressed in Work is central to understanding key tensions in ... Read more

In the following chapter from a critical study of American women's writing, Showalter considers the reasons for the sustained popularity of Alcott's Little Women among American female re... Read more

In the following chapter, Elbert identifies major themes in Alcott's work as exemplified in Little Women, tying them all to an ideal of "domestic democracy." I may be strong-mind... Read more

In the following excerpt, Donovan places Little Women in the context of the development of children's literature. Though Alcott incorporated lessons for self-improvement in her work, she oppose... Read more

In the following chapter, Foster and Simons explain that critics tend to be emotionally engaged with Little Women because its subject, female development, is universally mythic, and its realism keeps ... Read more

In the following essay, Russ examines the widespread appeal of Little Women one hundred years after its original publication. Nineteen sixty-eight seems a strange time to talk about Little Women, and ... Read more

In the following essay, Keyser discusses the functions of stories and play in Little Women—as escape, as training, and as allegory for the novel as a whole. I Recently an Indian friend of mine ... Read more

Auerbach's look at Alcott's life and work suggests that although Meg, Jo, and Amy had to accept marriage as their fates, Alcott actually idealized feminist utopias that excluded marriage... Read more

MacDonald contrasts recent responses to Little Women with those of child readers in Alcott's time, suggesting that although modern critics often consider the book sentimental and romantic, when... Read more

Summary: The story of little women starts around Christmas time when the March girls, Meg, Jo, Amy and Bethy show their humility and longing to do good works for others. Right from the start it shows ... Read more

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, is an excellent novel portraying the lives of four young girls as they make the transition from adolescence into adulthood. Alcott used many elements to show how J... Read more

The novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is a story of love, kindness and of being grateful of those you love and what you have. This is shown throughout the novel by the four young women: Meg (the... Read more

Little Women Book Notes is a free study guide on Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Browse the summary below:   Author Biography / Context of the Work   One-Page Plot Summary   Ch... Read more