I've been meaning to get around to (re)reading Little Women for a bit, and now I present to you a whole review and analysis of it!
The Simple Summary:
Genre: Slice-of-life historical
Rating: 4 out of 5
What I liked: Characters, plot, romances in the first half
What I didn't like: Romances in the second half
Content: non-gory death(s), appropriate romance(s)
The Explanation (with spoilers):
Little Women is a sweet little tale taking place in New England during the Civil War. The four March sisters--Margaret (Meg), Josephine (Jo), Elizabeth (Beth), and Amy (just Amy) -- and their mother kept the home running. Their father was out fighting. The four sisters were in their teens, still learning the ropes of life.
The book started off with the four sisters complaining about their poverty:
"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 old dress.
"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff.
"We've got Father and Mother and each other," said Beth contentedly from her corner.
Meg, at the time, was sixteen, and the second mother of the family, yet she was also vain. Jo was the rambunctious tomboy, tall with limbs that got in her way. Her temper often was her downfall in her teenage years. Beth--oh, dear, sweet Beth--was the image of perfection; she never complained and was optimistic, similar to Meg in her docility. Amy was the spoiled, artistic child, the youngest, and had Jo's rash behavior.
As the story progressed, the girls met Theodore Laurence.
He was their mischievous neighbor, kept locked up in his big home by his grandfather. Laurie (as he was called) rather suited Jo--the two had similar personalities after all--and he became like a brother to the sisters. For the beginning half of the story he was a friend to Jo--a very good friend at that.
Jolaurie through the first half to two-thirds of the story was so cute. I smiled whenever Laurie came onto the scene; he just had that way of elevating the moment. Even though they bickered, I still felt that Jo and Laurie's clashing personalities made them a match.
And then Jo dumped Laurie.
The two went their separate ways, and new romances bloomed in their place. However, Little Women doesn't build up to those romances--rather, they come pretty quickly. Although I didn't feel it would work out, Meg and John Brooke actually turned out into an excellent couple. Lauramy and Jo Bhaer... that's debatable.
Other than the questionable romantic pairings, Alcott's mastered characters and their development. Even sweet Meg was not perfect; often, her vanity got to her. Jo's temper devoured her at times in the beginning of the book. Beth still had her troubles, emotional and physical. Amy could be peckish and particular, especially about her flat nose, and, in the beginning, spoiled.
The characters had such a gradual, natural change that I had to reread the beginning scenes to see how far they'd come in their twenty years of life:
- Meg wanted to be rich is a good home, with a good husband and kids. While she gets the latter, she ends up poor in money and rich in character. Was she sorry she was poor? At times. However, like all the sisters, Meg came to terms with her poverty.
- Jo wanted a stable full of horses and wished to be a famous author. She gets neither of these; however, she did get published. Ironically, she runs a school at Plumfield with all sorts of little boys running about under her care.
- Beth simply wanted to stay and take care of the family, with all of them being well together.
- Amy was to be a traveling artist--which she was for a time. She was to be rich--not extremely--and was also to be the best at her craft. She forgoes fancies for family.
- And Laurie wanted to be a famous musician in Germany. He never gets to unlock his "castle in the air"--far from it--and instead matures to become Amy's husband.