What is Little Women about?

It is about four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March, growing up in New England during and after the Civil War. They learn about love, loss, work and family as they become women.

How does Little Women end?

Beth dies after a long illness, Meg is happily married, Amy marries Laurie, and Jo marries Professor Bhaer and opens a school for boys at Plumfield. The book closes with the family together at an apple-picking party.

Who is the main character in Little Women?

Jo March is the main character. She is the second-eldest sister, a spirited girl who dreams of being a writer.

What is the moral of Little Women?

The book teaches that happiness comes from kindness, hard work, honesty and family, not from money. It also shows that we can grow by learning from our mistakes.

What age is Little Women appropriate for?

The original suits readers of about 10 to 12 and up. Younger children can enjoy it read aloud with a parent, or through a retelling made for ages 6 to 9.

How many chapters are in Little Women?

There are 47 chapters in the Project Gutenberg text, 23 in Part One and 24 in Part Two, which was first published as a separate book called Good Wives.

Little Women summary for kids

Little Women follows the four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, as they grow up in a loving but not wealthy New England family while their father is away at war. Each girl has her own dreams and her own faults, and the book is about how they learn to be kind, brave and true to themselves. Children still love it because the sisters feel like real people: Jo is fierce and funny, Beth is gentle, Amy is proud, and Meg is hopeful. Readers see themselves in them.

Written by: Louisa May Alcott, 1868
Setting: A small New England town, around 1861 to 1868, during and just after the American Civil War
The original novel: 47 chapters in two parts (23 in the first, 24 in the second)
Our retelling: Ages 6–9, an illustration on every page

The story, from beginning to end

Spoiler alert: this summary tells the whole story, including the ending.

Four sisters at Christmas

The story begins one snowy December in the March family home. Mr. March is far away, serving as a chaplain (a minister who looks after soldiers) in the Civil War, so Marmee, the girls’ mother, runs the household. The family is not rich, and the sisters grumble that Christmas will have no presents. Meg, the eldest, is pretty and longs for nicer things. Jo, fifteen, is a tomboy who dreams of being a famous writer. Beth is shy, loves her piano, and is happiest at home. Amy, the youngest, is vain about her nose and loves to draw.

The girls spend their little money on gifts for their mother, and on Christmas morning they give away their breakfast to a poor family, the Hummels, who have nothing. Marmee encourages them to follow the example of the pilgrim in Pilgrim’s Progress, a famous book about a journey toward goodness, and each tries to overcome her own fault.

The boy next door

Next door lives a rich old man, Mr. Laurence, and his lonely grandson Laurie, a lively, kind-hearted boy. Jo meets Laurie at a dance, and the two become fast friends. Soon all four sisters are welcome at the big house. Mr. Laurence is won over by Beth, who is too shy to speak to him but who loves music, and he gives her his late granddaughter’s piano.

Meg goes to a fancy party at the home of her friend Annie Moffat, where she is dressed up in borrowed finery and learns that being admired is not the same as being happy. Jo writes plays for the girls to act in, and the sisters make their own little newspaper.

A temper, a telegram and a fever

Jo’s quick temper causes real harm. When Amy, angry at being left out of a theater outing, burns the notebook of stories Jo has worked so hard on, Jo is furious and refuses to forgive her. Soon after, Amy follows Jo and Laurie onto the ice. It is thin, and Amy falls through. Laurie and Jo pull her out, and Jo is terrified at what her anger nearly caused. Marmee tells Jo that she, too, has struggled with a hot temper all her life.

Then a telegram arrives: Mr. March is very ill in a hospital in Washington. Marmee must go at once, and Jo sells her long, beautiful hair to help pay for the trip. While Marmee is away, Beth visits the Hummel family and catches scarlet fever from their baby, who dies. Beth becomes terribly sick and is near death for days. She recovers, but she never fully regains her strength. Mr. March slowly improves and comes home.

Weddings and a refusal

Meg falls in love with John Brooke, Laurie’s tutor. Aunt March, who is rich and sharp-tongued, disapproves of the match, but Meg is certain. They marry in a simple, happy home wedding, and Meg learns, with some struggles over money and housekeeping, to be a good wife. She later has twins, Daisy and Demi.

Jo keeps writing and sells some stories, though she writes the exciting kind that sells best. Laurie, meanwhile, falls in love with Jo. When he asks her to marry him, Jo says no. She loves him as a dear friend, but not in that way. Both are heartbroken, and Laurie goes off to Europe.

New York and Europe

Jo goes to New York to work as a governess and to write. She boards in a house where she meets Professor Bhaer, a kind, shabbily dressed German teacher who is gentle with children and honest with Jo. He lets her see that her thrilling stories are not worth writing, and Jo takes his words to heart.

Amy, meanwhile, travels to Europe with another aunt, Aunt Carrol, to draw and learn. There she meets Laurie, who has been drifting and unhappy. Amy, now a more thoughtful young woman, gently tells him to find something useful to do.

Beth’s last days

Jo is called home because Beth’s health has failed again. The family understands that Beth is not going to get well. Beth never complains. She knits and sews little gifts, plays the piano when she can, and spends time with her family in the pleasantest room of the house. She tells Jo that she is not afraid, and that her strength is going out like a tide. On the beach she tells Jo that Jo is like a strong, wild gull, while she herself is one of the small, contented shore birds.

Beth dies quietly, with her family around her, and the book treats her death with great tenderness. It is sad, but it is also peaceful, and what the family remembers is her goodness. Jo, grieving, begins to write again, and this time her stories come from the heart. She grows closer to her parents.

Laurie, Amy and a surprise

When news of Beth’s death reaches Europe, Laurie and Amy comfort each other, and their friendship turns to love. Jo is lonely without Beth, and she is glad for them when they return as a married couple.

Jo realizes she was right not to marry Laurie, who suits Amy far better.

Professor Bhaer and Plumfield

Professor Bhaer comes to visit, and one rainy afternoon, under his umbrella, he tells Jo that he loves her. Jo, sure that she loves him too, says yes.

Aunt March dies and leaves her large house, Plumfield, to Jo. Jo and the Professor decide to turn it into a school for boys who need a home. Some years later, at an apple-picking party for Marmee’s birthday, the whole family is gathered together, and Jo says she is content. Beth is not forgotten, but the family has found a way to carry on, and Jo’s dream of a happy home has come true.

Themes and big ideas

Family and sisterhood: The Marches have little money, but they have each other. When Marmee is away, the sisters take care of one another, and when Beth is ill, they all share the burden. The book shows that a loving family is worth more than riches.
Growing up and self-improvement: Each sister has a flaw she must work on: Meg’s vanity, Jo’s temper, Beth’s shyness and Amy’s selfishness. Jo’s struggle to control her anger, and her horror when Amy nearly drowns after Jo refuses to forgive her, is one of the book’s clearest lessons about learning from mistakes.
Kindness and generosity: On the very first Christmas the sisters give their breakfast to the Hummels, a poor family. Later Beth risks her own health to care for the Hummel baby. The book keeps asking readers to think about what we owe to people who have less than we do.
Following your own dreams: Jo wants to write, Amy wants to paint, Beth wants to make music, and Meg wants a home of her own. The story respects each choice, even though girls in the 1860s had few options. Jo’s decision to keep writing, and to say no to Laurie when she does not love him that way, shows she is true to herself.
Love, loss and acceptance: Beth’s death is the hardest moment in the book, and the family does not pretend otherwise. But they grow closer and find comfort in remembering her. The story shows that sadness and love can sit side by side.

Is Little Women right for my child?

Little Women is gentle and warm, but it is not without sadness. In the original, Beth catches scarlet fever, recovers only partly, and later dies, which is the book’s most important and most moving moment. There is also a baby who dies of the same fever, and a father who is gravely ill in a war hospital. Romance is chaste and mostly shown through proposals and weddings. Some children find Beth’s death very upsetting, so parents may wish to read that part together. The original also contains some old-fashioned ideas about what girls and women should do, which can be a good talking point.

Our retelling for ages 6 to 9 keeps the sisters, the Christmas gifts, Laurie, and the family’s love for one another, and tells the sad parts gently and briefly rather than in detail. The original is best for readers of about 10 to 12 and up, though many children enjoy it read aloud at about 8. The retelling is suitable for ages 6 to 9.

Questions to talk about

Which March sister are you most like, and why?
Why did the girls give away their Christmas breakfast? Would you have done it?
Jo has a very quick temper. What happens when she loses it, and what does she learn?
Why do you think Jo said no when Laurie asked her to marry him?
How do the sisters help each other when things go wrong?
What do you think made Beth such a special person to her family?
Why did Jo sell her hair? What would you give up to help someone you love?
If you could be in the March family for one day, what would you want to do?

Questions about Little Women

What is Little Women about?: It is about four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March, growing up in New England during and after the Civil War. They learn about love, loss, work and family as they become women.
How does Little Women end?: Beth dies after a long illness, Meg is happily married, Amy marries Laurie, and Jo marries Professor Bhaer and opens a school for boys at Plumfield. The book closes with the family together at an apple-picking party.
Who is the main character in Little Women?: Jo March is the main character. She is the second-eldest sister, a spirited girl who dreams of being a writer.
What is the moral of Little Women?: The book teaches that happiness comes from kindness, hard work, honesty and family, not from money. It also shows that we can grow by learning from our mistakes.
What age is Little Women appropriate for?: The original suits readers of about 10 to 12 and up. Younger children can enjoy it read aloud with a parent, or through a retelling made for ages 6 to 9.
How many chapters are in Little Women?: There are 47 chapters in the Project Gutenberg text, 23 in Part One and 24 in Part Two, which was first published as a separate book called Good Wives.