1、1AuthorCharacter ListPlotThemes2Birthday:November 29,1832Died:March 6,1888(aged 55)Birthplace:Germantown,Pennsylvania She was the second daughterShe never married or had a family of her own 3Her FamilyHer WorksExperiences4Poems(56)-Sunlight(in 1852)Plays(11)-The Prince and the Peasant Short Stories(
2、252)teenager Short Stories(157)-The Accident Back Window Adult Short Stories(66)-Fate in a Fan Other Short Stories(29)-Anna Novels(18)-Little Women Little MenCollective Works(24)Other Works(25)-Happy Women 5She was a tomboy and she had an unladylike temperShe received the majority of her schooling f
3、rom her father.She also received some instruction from writers and educators such as Ralph Waldo Emerson Poverty made it necessary for Louise to go to work at an early age as an occasional teacher,seamstress,governess,domestic helper,and writer,Louise also produced wholesome stories for children,and
4、 she did not return to creating works for adults 6When the Civil War broke out in 1861,Alcott had an urge to go and fight in it.She supported the Northern side of the conflict because she was against slavery.Alcott was devoted to her parents and her sisters.Alcott caught pneumonia（肺炎）while working a
5、s a nurse in the Civil War.She suffered a lot.7Her father failed to provide enough money to support his family,and their poverty was so dire that in twenty years,they moved twenty times.Her sister Lizzie died at age 21,worse still,her little brother died in infancy.8 Josephine March pThe protagonist
6、 of the novel,and the second-oldest March sister.Jo wants to be a writer.pJo has a temper and a quick tongue.p She is a tomboy,and reacts with impatience to the many limitations placed on women and girls.p She hates romance in her real life,and wants nothing more than to hold her family together.9 M
7、eg March pThe oldest March sister.p Responsible and kind,Meg mothers her younger sisters.p She has a small weakness for luxury and leisure,but the greater part of her is gentle and loving.10Beth March p The third March daughter.Beth is very quiet and very virtuous,and she does nothing but try to ple
8、ase others.She adores music and plays the piano very well.11 Amy March pThe youngest March girl.Amy is an artist who adores visual beauty and has a weakness for pretty possessions.pShe is given to pouting,fits of temper,and vanity;but she does attempt to improve herself.pShe gets what she wants in t
9、he end:popularity,the trip to Europe,and Laurie.12Laurie Laurence p The rich boy who lives next door to the Marches.Laurie,becomes like a son and brother to the Marches.pHe is charming,clever,and has a good heart.pLaurie struggles with his grandfathers expectations of him.He is not manly enough for
10、his grandfather because he does not want to enter the business world.13Marmee-The March girls mother.Marmee is the moral role model for her girls.She counsels them through all of their problems and works hard but happily while her husband is at war.Mr.March-The March girls father and Marmees husband
11、.He serves in the Union army as a chaplain.When he returns home,he continues acting as a minister to a nearby parish.14Mr.Brooke-Lauries tutor.Mr.Brooke is poor but virtuous.Frederick Bhaer-A respected professor in Germany who becomes an impoverished language instructor in America.Mr.Bhaer lives in
12、New York,where he meets Jo.He is kind and fatherly.Aunt March-A rich widow and one of the March girls aunts.Although crotchety and difficult,Aunt March loves her nieces and wants the best for them.15 The story begins on Christmas Eve.16Marmee comes home with a letter from Mr.March,the girls father,w
13、ho is serving as a Union chaplain in the Civil War.The letter inspires the girls to bear their burdens more cheerfully and not to complain about their poverty.17On Christmas morning,Marmee encourages them to give away their breakfast to a poor family,the Hummels.Their elderly wealthy neighbor,Mr.Lau
14、rence,whom the girls have never met,rewards their charitable activities by sending over a feast.Soon,Meg and Jo are invited to attend a New Years Partythere meets Laurie,18One dark day,the family receives a telegram saying that Mr.March is sick in the hospital in Washington,D.C.Marmee goes to tend t
15、o him,and Jo sells her hair to help finance the trip.Beth goes to visit the Hummels,and contracts scarlet fever from the Hummel baby.Beth teeters on the brink of death until Marmee returns.Meanwhile,Amy spends time at Aunt Marchs house in order to escape the disease.Beth recovers,though not complete
16、ly19 Three years pass,Mr.March is home from the war,Meg marries and moves into a new home with Mr.Brooke who is Lauries tutor.Amy gets to go to Paris for study instead of Jo,because Amys good behavior wins her Aunts praise.Then Jo moves to New York.There meets Professor Bhaer,a poor German language
17、instructor.Since Amy is ill seriously,Jo returns home,Laurie proposes to her,but she turns him down.Beth soon dies.20 Amy and Laurie reunite in France,and they fall in love.They marry and return home.Professor Bhaer comes for Jo,they marry later.21The novel ends with the family happily gathered toge
18、ther,each sister thankful for her blessings and for each other.22 Womens Struggle Between Familial Duty and Personal GrowthIn the novel,an emphasis on domestic duties and family detracts from various womens abilities to attend to their own personal growth.23 The Danger of Gender StereotypingLittle W
19、omen questions the validity of gender stereotypes,both male and female.Alcott bestows the highest esteem upon Jo and Laurie,who,in their refusal to embody gender stereotypes,willing to be themselves.24 The Necessity of WorkThe novel demonstrates the importance of the Puritan work ethic,which dictate
20、s that it is holy to do work.Alcott ultimately recommends work not as a means to a material end,but rather as a means to the expression of inner goodness and creativity through productivity.25 The Importance of Being Genuine Alcott emphasized the importance of paying more attention to the inner spiritual self than to temporary,earthly conditions like wealth and impressive appearances,and he incorporates this philosophy into Little Women.2627
