Little Women

Character Guide

Spoiler-free — fuller detail (with spoilers, if you want them) lives in the reader's Guide tab.

Jo March (Josephine, Josy-phine)

The independent, tomboyish second daughter who loves books and dreams of becoming a writer; she has a quick temper and disdains conventional feminine expectations.

Meg March (Margaret, Daisy)

The eldest March sister, gentle and pretty, who works as a governess and sometimes longs for the finer things she cannot afford.

Beth March

The shy, musical third sister, content with home life and beloved by everyone for her sweet, selfless nature.

Amy March

The youngest sister, artistic and a bit vain, who cares deeply about manners, refinement, and becoming a 'true gentlewoman.'

Marmee (Mrs. March) (Marmee)

The wise, warm-hearted mother who guides her daughters' moral development while her husband is away at war.

Mr. March

The girls' father, a chaplain serving in the Civil War for much of the early story, remembered as a scholarly, principled man.

Laurie (Theodore Laurence) (Teddy)

The lonely, high-spirited rich boy next door who becomes fast friends with the March sisters, especially Jo.

Mr. Laurence

Laurie's wealthy, gruff-seeming but kindly grandfather, who takes a special interest in Beth.

Aunt March

The Marches' wealthy, sharp-tongued great-aunt, who employs Jo (and later Amy) as a companion and has strong opinions about how the girls should live.

Hannah

The family's devoted longtime servant, practically a member of the family.

John Brooke

Laurie's quiet, honorable young tutor, a friend of the March family.

Glossary

Marmee

An affectionate, old-fashioned term the March sisters use for their mother.

Poplins

A sturdy, corded fabric used for practical, modest dresses, as worn by the March girls who can't afford silk.

Vanity Fair

An allusion to John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, used as a chapter title and metaphor for the seductive pull of fashionable, worldly society.

Coupe

A small, enclosed horse-drawn carriage, used here as a marker of wealth and fashionable status.

Crimping (hair)

Curling or waving the hair with heated irons, a fashionable style Meg adopts to imitate wealthier friends.

Reticule

A small decorative handbag carried by women in the 19th century.

Carnelian ring

A ring set with a reddish semi-precious stone, treated as a treasured, somewhat vain possession in the story.

Spartan firmness

A reference to the disciplined, unemotional toughness associated with ancient Sparta, describing Jo's resolve in cutting her manuscript.

Mrs. Grundy

A stock figure representing conventional social opinion and propriety, invoked when characters worry about appearances.

'Tink ob yer marcies'

A dialect phrase (echoing Uncle Tom's Cabin) meaning 'think of your mercies,' used by Jo as a reminder to be grateful.

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