The March Sisters: Little Women Characters Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy and Laurie
Four sisters, four very different dreams and the boy next door
The four March sisters are Meg (16 when the book opens), the pretty, responsible eldest; Jo (15), the hot-tempered writer; Beth (13), shy and musical; and Amy (12), the artist who longs for elegant things.
Next door lives Laurie, a lonely rich boy who becomes the girls' closest friend.
The sisters and Laurie at a glance
| Character | Age at start | Dream | Ends up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meg March | 16 | A comfortable, pretty home | Marries John Brooke; has twins |
| Jo March | 15 | To be a famous writer | Marries Professor Bhaer; runs a school |
| Beth March | 13 | To stay at home with her family | Dies young after a long illness |
| Amy March | 12 | To be an artist and live elegantly | Marries Laurie |
| Laurie (Theodore Laurence) | about 15 | To escape the business life planned for him | Marries Amy |
Meg
Meg is the eldest and the most conventional. She works as a governess, minds her manners, and envies her richer friends their silk dresses. A visit to a wealthy family teaches her how hollow that life can be. She falls in love with Laurie's tutor, John Brooke, a poor but steady man, and chooses love over money, to the fury of Aunt March.
↑ Back to the topJo
Jo is the heart of the book: tall, clumsy, impatient with ladylike rules and happiest in the attic writing wild stories. She cuts off her hair, her one beauty, and sells it to pay for her mother's journey to their sick father. Her biggest choices are the ones readers argue about most. She turns down Laurie, moves to New York, and later marries Professor Friedrich Bhaer, an older German teacher who tells her the truth about her writing.
↑ Back to the topBeth
Beth is so shy she studies at home, and she asks for nothing but her family and her old piano. Old Mr Laurence, touched by her music, gives her a piano that belonged to his granddaughter. Caring for a poor family, she catches scarlet fever, and though she recovers, she never regains her strength. Her slow decline and death in the second part is the most famous sorrow in the book.
↑ Back to the topAmy
Amy is the youngest, vain about her nose and fond of long words she does not quite understand. As a child she burns Jo's manuscript in a fit of temper, then nearly drowns on thin ice when Jo, still angry, does not warn her. She grows into the most practical sister, travels to Europe with her aunt Carrol and cousin Flo and finds she would rather paint well than marry for money. In Europe she and Laurie fall in love.
↑ Back to the topLaurie
Theodore Laurence, whom the girls call Laurie, lives with his strict grandfather in the big house next door. He is charming, musical and lonely until the Marches take him in like a brother. He loves Jo for years, and her refusal sends him abroad unhappy, but he finds a better match in Amy.
↑ Back to the topMarmee, Father and the others
Marmee, the girls' mother, is the moral centre of the family, patient and honest about her own temper. Father is away serving in the Civil War for most of the first part. Aunt March is the rich, sharp-tongued relative whom Jo keeps company, Hannah is their loyal servant, and Mr Laurence, Laurie's grandfather, turns out to be far kinder than he looks.
↑ Back to the topMore about Little Women
Books Like Little Women
Anne of Green GablesL. M. MontgomeryAnne of the IslandL. M. Montgomery
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Anne of InglesideL. M. Montgomery
Anne of AvonleaL. M. Montgomery
Wives and DaughtersElizabeth GaskellThis guide discusses the whole plot, including the ending.