Summary of Little Women

 

--- Summary of LITTLE WOMEN LITTLE WOMEN By LOUISA M. ALCOTT I N their old-fashioned New England home the little women lived with Mrs. March, their brisk and cheery mother, who always had a "can-I-help-you" look about her, and whom her four girls lovingly called "Marmee." Pretty Meg, the oldest, was sixteen, and already showed domestic tastes and talents, though she detested the drudgery of house-hold work; and, an d, a little vain of her white ha hands, nds, longed at heart to  be a fine lady. Jo, fifteen, was tall, thin, and coltish, and gloried in an unconcealed scorn of polite conventions. Beth, thirteen, was a lovable little thing, shy, fond of her dolls and devoted to music, which she tried hopefully to pro-duce from the old, jingling tin pan of a piano. Amy, twelve, considered herself the flower of the family. An adorable blonde, she admitted ad mitted that the trial of her life was her nose. For, when she was a baby, Jo h had ad accidentally dropped her into the coal-hod and permanently flattened that feature, and though poor Amy slept with a patent clothes-pin pinching it, she couldn't attain the Grecian effect she so much desired. Father March was an army chaplain in the Civil War, and in his absence Jo declared her-self to  be the man of the family. To add to their slender income, she went every day to read to Aunt March, a peppery old lady; and an d Meg, too, earned a small salary as daily nursery governess to a neighbor's children. In the big house next door to the Marches lived a rich old gentleman, Mr. Laurence, and his grandson, a jolly, chummy boy called c alled Laurie. Though awe-inspiring at first, Mr. Laurence  proved both kindly and generous, and even timid Beth mustered up courage to go over to the "Palace Beautiful" at twilight and play softly on the grand piano there. But, as she confessed to her mother, when she began she sh e was so frightened her feet chattered on the floor! The night Laurie took the two older girls to the theater, Amy, though no nott invited, in- sisted on going too. Jo crossly declared she wouldn't go if Amy did, and, furiously scolding her little sister, she slammed the door and went off, as Amy called out: "You'll be sorry for this, JJo o March ! See if you ain't!" The child made good her threat by burning up the manuscript of a precious  book which Jo had written and on which she had spent three years of hard work. There was a terrible fracas, and, though at her mother's bidding biddin g Amy made contrite apology, Jo re-fused to be  pacified. It was only when poor little Amy was nearly drowned by falling through the ice that conscience-stricken Jo forgave her sister and learned a much-needed lesson of self-control. Meg, too, learned a salutary lesson when she went to visit some fashionable friends and h had ad her first taste of "Vanity Fair." Her sisters gladly lent her all their best things, and, as she said to Jo : "You're a dear to lend me your gloves! I feel so rich and elegant with two new pairs and the old ones cleaned up for common!" Yet Y et she soon saw that her wardrobe was sadly inadequate to the environment in which she found herself. Whereupon the rich friends lent her some of their own

 

finery; and, after laughingly applying paint and powder, they laced her into a sky-blue silk dress, so low that modest Meg blushed at herself h erself in the mirror, and Laurie, who was at the party, openly expressed his surprised disapproval. Chagrin and remorse followed, and it was not until after full confession to Marmee that Meg realized the trumpery value valu e of fashion-able rivalry and the real worth of simplicity and contentment. All four of the girls had leanings toward a life of luxury and ease, and when Mrs. March smilingly proposed that they try a whole week of "all play and no work," they agreed eagerly. But the experiment was a miserable failure; and after mortifying scenes at a company luncheon, a canary-bird dead from negleet, several slight illnesses and lost tempers, the girls decided that lounging and larking didn't pay.  Now John Brooke, the tutor of Laurie, was a secret admirer of pretty Meg. Discovering this, the mischievous boy wrote Meg a passionate love-letter, love -letter, purporting to be from Brooke. This prank caused a terrible upset in both houses, h ouses, but later on Brooke put the momento momentous us question, and Meg meekly whispered, "Yes, John," and hid her face on his waistcoat. Jo, blundering in, was transfixed with astonishment and dismay, and ex-claimed, "Oh, do somebody come quick! John Brooke is acting dreadfully, and Meg likes it!" At Christmas, March came the and war,there and great made. The neighbors fromFather the Laurence househome werefrom invited, nevercelebration was such awas Christmas dinner as they had that day! Later came the first break in their restored home circle. The Th e Dovecote was the name of the little  brown house that John Brooke had prepared for his bride, and it was a tiny affair with a lawn in front about as big as a pocket handkerchief ! The wedding, beneath the June roses, was a simple, homey one, and the bridal journey was only the walk from the March home to the dear little new house. "I'm too happy to care what any one says-I'm going to have my wedding just as I want it!" Meg had declared; and so, leaning on her husband's arm, h her er hands full of flowers, she went away, saying: "Thank you all for my happy wedding-day. Good-by, good-by!" Jo developed into a writer of sensational stories. This, however, was because she found a  profitable market for such work and she wanted the money for herself and the others. For little Beth was ailing, and a summer stay at the seashore might, they all hoped, bring back the roses to her cheeks. But it didn't, and after a time the dark days came when gentle Beth, like a tired but trustful child, clung to the hands that had led her all through life, as her father and mother guided her tenderly through the Valley of the Shadow and gave her up to God. Then came a day when Laurie was invited to the Dovecote to see Meg's new baby. Jo appeared, a  proud aunt, bearing a bundle on a pillow. "Shut your eyes and hold out your arms," she ordered, and Laurie, obeying, opened his eyes again, to see-two babies! "Twins, by Jupiter!" he cried; "take 'em, quick, somebody! I'm going to laugh, and I shall drop 'em!" Laurie had loved Jo for years, but Jo, though truly sorry, couldn't respond. As she said, "It's impossible for people to make themselves love other people if they don't!" And so, after a time, Laurie decided that Amy was the only woman in the world who could fill Jo's place and make

 

him happy. And the two were very happy together, Amy taking great pride in her handsome husband. "Don't laugh," she said to him, "but your nose is such a comfort to me!" and she caressed the well-cut feature with artistic satisfaction. Jo found her fate in an elderly professor, wise and kind, but too poor to think of marriage. For a year the pair worked and waited and hoped and loved, and then Aunt March died and left Jo her fine old country place. Here Jo and her professor set up their home, and established a boys' school which became a great success. Jo lived a very happy life, and, as the years went on, two little lads of her own came to increase her happiness. Amy, too, had a dear child named Beth, but she was a frail little creature and the dread of o f losing her was the shadow ov over er Amy's sunshine. But the little women and all their dear ones formed a happy, united family, of whom Jo truly wrote :

Little Women From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to:  to: navigation, navigation, search search   This article is about the novel. For other othe r uses, see  see Little Women (disambiguation). (disambiguation). 

Little Women (Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy) 

Two-volume Roberts Brothers printing, from the early 1870s

Author

Louisa May Alcott

Country

United States

 

Language

English  

Family   Family Genre(s)

Drama   Drama Comedy Comedy   Age   Coming of Age

Publisher

Publication date

Roberts Brothers

1868 1868  (1st part) 1869  (2nd part) 1869

Media type

Print

Followed by

 , Jo's  Jo's Boys  Little Men , 

L itt le Wome Women  n   (or M eg, Jo, Beth and Amy   (or ) is a  a novel  novel by  by American author  Louisa May Alcott Alcott  

House,, in (1832 – 1888). 1888). The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, home,  Orchard House Concord, Massachusetts. in  1868  1868 and and  1869. 1869. The novel follows Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in  the lives of four sisters — Meg, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March — and and is loosely based on the author's childhood experiences with her three sisters. The first volume was an immediate commercial and ves  critical success, prompting the composition of the book's second volume titled Good Wi ves  , which was successful as well. The publication of the th e book in the form of a single volume first occurred in 1880. Alcott followed Little followed Little Women with Women with two sequels, also featuring the March sisters,   Little sisters, Little Men  Men (1871) and  and  Jo's Jo's Boys  Boys (1886). Little (1886). Little Women has Women has been adapted as a play, a musical, an opera, a film, and animation.

 

Contents [hide] hide] 

     

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introduction   1 Plot introduction Characters   2 Characters 3 Autobiographical context context   response   4 Publication history and response 5 Notable adaptations  adaptations  Play  5.1 Play  o  5.2 Literature  Literature  o  Film  5.3 Film  o  5.4 Opera and musical  musical  o  Anime  5.5 Anime  o  story    5.5.1 References to the story  also   6 See also References  7 References  8 External links  

     

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[edit ] Plot introduction Alcott's original work explores the overcoming of character flaws. Many Man y of the chapter titles in this first part are allusions to the allegorical concepts and places in  in   Pilgrim's Pilgrim's Progress. Progress. When  by taking an imaginary journey through their home. young, the girls played  played Pilgrim's  Pilgrim's Progress  Progress by As young women, they agree to continue the figurative journey, using the "guidebooks"  —   copies of  The Pilgrim's Progress, Progress, described as "that beautiful old story of the best life ever lived"; they receive on Christmas morning. Each of the March girls must struggle to overcome a character flaw: Meg, vanity; Jo, a hot h ot temper; Beth, shyness; and Amy, selfishness. In the course of the novel, the girls become friends with their next-door neighbo neighbor, r, the teenage  boy Laurie. The book depicts the light hearted, often humorous activities of the sisters and their friend, such as creating a newspaper and picnicking, and the various "scrapes" that JJo o and Laurie get into. Jo consistently struggles with the boundaries 19th century centur y society placed on females, including not being able to fight in a war, not being able to attend college, and being pressured  by her Aunt March to find a suitable husband to take care of her.

[edit ] Characters Josephine "Jo" March: The  The protagonist   protagonist of the novel, Jo is an  an autobiographical  autobiographical depiction of [1] Louisa May Alcott herself .  A tomboy tomboy,, Jo is the second daughter, aged fifteen at the beginning of the story. She is outspoken and has a passion for  writing. writing. Her nature often gets her into trouble, while her heart often pushes her into acts of kindness. She is very close to her younger sister, Beth, a quiet and compassionate character who offsets Jo's more outgoing nature. At the  beginning of the book, Jo is unhappily employed as a companion by her Aunt March. When Beth comes down with scarlet fever, Amy replaces Jo as Aunt March's companion. Jo cuts off her

 

long, chestnut brown hair  — "her "her one beauty", as Amy once called it  —  and  and sells it to a wig shop to earn travel money for her mother to visit their father, aa  Civil War  chaplain who is dangerously ill. Jo receives a marriage proposal from her childhood friend and neighbor Laurie, but she refuses him. Later, Jo moves to New York, where she meets Professor Friedrich "Fritz" Bhaer, whom she later marries. Regarding Jo's marriage, Alcott later wrote, "Jo should have remained a literary spinster, but so many enthusiastic young ladies wrote to me clamorously demanding that she should marry Laurie, or somebody, that I didn't dare refuse and out of p perversity erversity went and made a funny match for her". her".[2] In the 1994 film directed by the Australian film director  Gillian [3] Armstrong,, Jo was portrayed by  Armstrong by Winona Ryder .   Margaret "Meg" March: At sixteen, she is the oldest sister. She is considered the beauty of the March household and she is well-mannered. Meg Me g runs the household when her mother is absent. Meg also guards Amy from Jo when the two quarrel, just as Jo protects Beth. Meg is employed e mployed as a governess for the Kings, a wealthy wealth y local family. Because of the gentee genteell social standing of her family, Meg is allowed into society. However, after a few disappointing experiences (first, the Kings' eldest son is disinherited for bad behavior, and later she visits her friend Annie Moffat and discovers that her family believes Mrs. March is plotting to match her with Laurie only to gain his family's wealth), Meg learns that true worth does not n ot lie with money. She falls in love with Mr. John Brooke, Laurie's tutor, whom she marries. Meg bears b ears twin children, Margaret "Daisy" and John Laurence "Demi" (short for Demi-John), Demi -John), and then has second dau daughter, ghter, Josie. In the 1994 film, Meg was portrayed by  by Trini Alvarado. Alvarado.  Elizabeth "Beth" March: Thirteen years old when the novel opens, Beth is a quiet, kind young p refers to be woman, and a  a  pianist. pianist. She enjoys her dolls and cats. Docile and shy, she prefers homeschooled and avoids most public pub lic situations. At the beginning of the bo book, ok, Alcott describes her as a sweet girl with a round young face and brown hair. She has a close relationship with Jo, despite their different personalities. Beth enjoys charity work, and helps her he r mother nurture poor families at the beginning of the novel. Later, when her mother is in Washington caring for their thei r father, Beth comes down with  with  scarlet fever , caught while looking after a family with sick children. Although Jo and Meg do their best to nurse her, Beth beco becomes mes so dangerously ill that they send for their mother to return home. However, Ho wever, before Mrs. March arrives, Beth's fever  breaks. Beth recovers but she is left permanently weakened by the illness. In the second part of

the book, as her sisters begin to leave the nest, Beth wonders what will beco become me of her, as all she wants is to remain at home with her parents. When Beth's health eventually begins a rapid decline, the entire family nurses her - especially Jo, Jo , who rarely leaves her side. In her final illness, she overcomes her quietness when she discusses the spiritual significance of her death to Jo. Some critics have suggested that Beth's death d eath signals Alcott's denial of the ability of the traditional, sentimental heroine to survive in an increasingly industrial world. In the 1994 film, by Eve Plumb. Plumb.  Beth was portrayed by  by Claire Danes  Danes and in the 1978 television movie by  age twelve when the story begins — Amy Amy is interested Amy Curtis March: The youngest sister  — age in art. She is described by the author as a 'regular snow-maiden' with curly golden hair and blue [4] eyes, 'pale and slender' and 'always carrying herself' like a very proper young lady. lady.  She is dissatisfied with the shape of her nose which she attempts a ttempts to fix with a  a  clothespin clothespin.. She is "cool, reserved and worldly" which sometimes causes her trouble. Often "petted" because she is the youngest, she can behave in a vain and spoiled way, and throws tantrums when she is unhappy.

 

Her relationship with Jo is sometimes strained; the literary Jo particularly dislikes when Amy uses big words, mispronouncing them or using them incorrectly. Their most significant argument occurs when Jo will not allow Amy to accompany Jo and Laurie to the theater. In revenge, Amy finds Jo's unfinished  unfinished novel novel  and throws it all in the fireplace grate, burning bu rning years of work. When Jo discovers this, she boxes Amy's ears and tells her, "I'll never forgive you! Never!" Amy's attempt to apologize to Jo are unsuccessful. When Laurie and Jo go skating, Amy tags along after them, but she arrives at the  the  lake lake  too late to hear Laurie's warning about rotten ice. Under Jo's horrified stare, Amy falls through the ice, and is rescued by Laurie's prompt intervention. Realizing she might have lost her sister, Jo's anger dissolves and the two become more close. When Beth is ill with scarlet fever, Amy is sent to stay with Aunt March as a safety precaution. Aunt March grows fond of her, as Amy's natural grace and docility are more to her taste. Amy is invited to accompany Uncle and Aunt Carrol and cousin Flo's as a companion on a European Michelangelo  and trip. Although she enjoys travelling, after seeing the works of artists such as  as Michelangelo Raphael, b ecause she believes herself to be lacking in talent. In Europe, Raphael, Amy gives up her art, because Amy meets up with Laurie, and shortly after Beth dies, they marry. Later, Amy gives birth to Dunst  as a young girl daughter Elizabeth (Bess). In the 1994 film, Amy was portrayed by by  Kirsten Dunst and  Samantha Mathis  and Mathis as an adult. Margaret "Marmee" March: The girls' mother and head of household while her husband is away at war. She engages en gages in charitable works and attempts to guide her girls' morals and to shape their characters, usually through experiments. She confesses to Jo (after the argument with Amy) that her temper is as volatile as Jo's own, but that she has learned to control it. In the 1994 film, Marmee was portrayed by  by Susan Sarandon. Sarandon.  Robin "Father" March: Formerly wealthy, it is implied that he helped friends who could not repay a debt, resulting in the family's poverty. A  A  scholar  and aa  minister , he serves as aa  chaplain chaplain   Army..  for the  the Union Army Hannah Mullet: The March family maid. Aunt Josephine March: Mr. March's aunt, a rich widow. Somewhat S omewhat temperamental and prone to being judgmental, she disapproves of the family's poverty, their charitable work, and their

general disregard for the more superficial aspects of society's ways. Her vociferous vo ciferous disapproval of Meg's impending engagement to the impoverished Mr. Brooke becomes the proverbial 'last straw', convincing Meg to affiance herself with the young man. Uncle and Aunt Carrol: Sister and brother-in-law of Mr. March. Theodore "Laurie" Laurence: A rich young man who is a neighbor to the March family. Laurie lives with his overprotective grandfather, Mr. Laurence. Laurie's father eloped with an an  orphan, orphan, Laurie was sent to live Italian  pianist  Italian  pianist and was disowned. Both died young, and as an  Harvard  and is being tutored by Mr. John with his grandfather. Laurie is preparing to enter at  at  Harvard Brooke. He is described as attractive and charming, with black eyes, brown skin, curly black hair, and small hands and feet. In the second book, Laurie falls in love with Jo and offers to marry her. She refuses, and flees to  to  New  New York City. City. Laurie will eventually marry Amy March.

 

Mr. James Laurence: A wealthy neighbor to the Marches and Laurie's grandfather. Lonely in his mansion, and often at odds od ds with his high-spirited grandson, he finds comfort in becoming a  benefactor to the Marches. He protects the March sisters while their their parents are away. He was a friend to Mrs March's father, and admires their charitable works. He develops a special, tender friendship with Beth, who reminds him of his dead granddaughter, and he gives Beth his daughter's  piano. daughter's  piano.  John Brooke: During his employment with the Laurences as a tutor to Laurie, he falls in love with Meg. When Laurie leaves for college, Brooke continues his employment with Mr. Laurence D.C.  when her husband is ill. When as an assistant. He accompanies Mrs. March to  to  Washington D.C. Aunt March overhears Meg rejecting John's declaration of o f love, she threatens Meg with disinheritance on the basis that Brooke is only onl y interested in Meg's future prospects. Eventually Meg admits her feelings to Brooke, they the y defy Aunt March (who ends up accepting the marriage), and they are engaged. Brooke serves in the Union Army for a year and invalided home after  being wounded. Brooke marries Meg a few years later when the war has ended and she has turned twenty. The Hummels: A poor German family consisting of a widowed mother and seven children. Marmee and the girls help them by bringing food, firewood, blankets and other comforts. Three of the children die of scarlet fever and Beth contracts it while caring for them. The Kings: A wealthy family who employs Meg as a governess. The Gardiners: Wealthy friends of Meg's. The Gardiners are portrayed as goodhearted but vapid. Mrs. Kirke: A friend of Mrs March's who runs a boarding house in New York. S She he employs Jo as governess to her two girls. Professor Friedrich "Fritz" Bhaer: A poor German immigrant who was a professor in Berlin  but now lives in Mrs. Kirke's boarding house and tutors her children. He and Jo become friendly and he critiques Jo's writing, encouraging her to become a serious writer instead of writing

"sensation" stories for weekly  weekly tabloids. tabloids. The two eventually marry, raise Fritz's two orphaned nephews, Franz and Emil, and their own sons, Robin and Teddy. Franz and Emil: Mr. Bhaer's two nephews whom he looks after following the death of his sister. Tina: The small daughter of Mrs. Kirke's French washerwoman: she is a favorite of Professor Bhaer's. Miss Norton: A worldly tenant living in Mrs. Kirke's boarding house. She occasionally takes Jo under her wing and entertains her.

 

[edit ] Autobiographical context Although plot elements from Little from Little Women are Women are similar to those of Louisa May Alcott experiences, some differences exist:  

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Unlike Jo, Alcott did not marry. However, there has been speculation that  that Ralph W. Emerson  Emerson  was the inspiration for Friedrich's character. Alcott was employed em ployed as governess to Emerson's children's, and Emerson and Louisa May Alcott's father,  father, Amos Bronson Alcott, Alcott, were colleagues in the movement known as  as American transcendentalism transcendentalism..  Unlike Jo's father, who served as a chaplain in the Union Army, Alcott's father was a a  pacifist. pacifist. It was she herself who served as a nurse for wounded soldiers.

[edit ] Publication history and response Louisa May Alcott's father Bronson approached publisher Thomas Niles about a book he wanted to publish. Their talk soon turned to Louisa. Niles, an admirer of her book   Hospital Hospital Sketches Sketches,,  suggested she write a book about abo ut girls which would have widespread appeal. She was not at first interested and instead asked to have her short stories collected. He pressed her to d do o the girls'  book first. In May 1868, she wrote in her journal: "Niles, partner of Robers, asked me to write a [5]

she did not think she could write a successful book girl's book. I said I'd try." try."  She later recalled [6] d iary, "although I don't for girls and did not enjoy writing one. one .  "I plod away", she wrote in her diary, [7] enjoy this sort of thing." thing."  By June, she sent the first dozen chapters to Niles and both thought [8] they were dull. Niles's niece Lillie Almy, however, reported that she enjoyed them. them .  The completed manuscript was shown to several girls, who agreed a greed it was "splendid". Alcott wrote, [7] "they are the best critics, so I should be satisfied."   [citation needed ]

The first volume of Little of Little Women was Women was published by Roberts Brothers in 1868. 1868 .  The first printing of 2,000 copies sold out quickly and more printings were soon ordered but the company had trouble keeping up with demand. They announced: "The great literary hit of the season is undoubtedly Miss Alcott's Little Alcott's Little Women, Women, the orders for which continue to flow in upon [7] us to such an extent as to make it impossible to answer them with promptness."  Alcott delivered the manuscript for the second part on o n New Year's Day 1869, only three months after  publication of part one. one.[9]  Chesterton  noted that in Little in Little Women, Women, Alcott "anticipated  "anticipated realism  realism  by by twenty or thirty G. K. Chesterton years," and that Fritz's proposal to Jo, and her acceptance, "is one o off the really human things in [10] human literature." literature."  Gregory S. Jackson recently argues that Alcott's use of o f realism belongs to the American Protestant pedagogical tradition that includes a range of religious literary traditions with which Alcott was familiar. The nineteenth-century images he produces p roduces of devotional guides for children provides an interesting background for the game of "playing pilgrim" that, in part, [11] comprises Book I's plot structure. structure.  

 

[edit ] Notable adaptations [edit ] Play

A Little Women  Women  play, play, adapted by Marian De Forest, opened on  on  Broadway  Broadway at the the  Playhouse Theatre,, on October 14, 1912. The production was directed by Jessie Bonstelle and  Theatre and Bertram Harrison.. The cast included  Harrison included Marie Pavey Pavey,, Alice Brady, Brady, Gladys Hulette  Hulette and and  Beverly West. West. It ran for 184 performances and was later revived on December 18, 1916 at the  the Park Theatre  Theatre for 24  performances. The company was invited to produce the play in London starring  starring Katharine Cornell.. Another revival opened on December 7, 1931 at the Playhouse Theatre in a production Cornell Jr.  with  with Jessie Royce Landis  Landis as Jo, Jo,  Lee Patrick  as Meg, Meg,  Marie directed by  by William A. Brady, Jr. Curtis,, and  Curtis  and Jane Corcoran Corcoran  running for 17 performances. A three-act, one set adaptation was written by John David Ravold, and is frequently performed. It was originally copyrighted in 1934. In 1995, an adaptation entitled "Louisa's Little Women" by Beth Lynch and Scott LynchGiddings premiered in a production by the Wisdom Bridge Theatre Company at the the  Harold Washington Library  Library Center in  in Chicago Chicago.. The play covers the events of Part One of Alcott's novel, interspersed withfather  scenes depicting complementary aspects ofwith  her  own life, i ncluding including the, Julia Alcott   and her acquaintance with Henry David Thoreau, Thoreau influence of her  Bronson Alcott Ward Howe, Howe, and   and Frank Leslie. Leslie.  An adaptation by Emma Reeves was performed at GSA in Guildford, Surrey, England, and made Washington.  its American debut at the  the  Whidbey Island  Island Center for the Arts, north of  Seattle, Washington. [edit ] Literature

In 2005,  2005, Geraldine Brooks Brooks  published   published  March, March, a novel exploring the gaps in Little in Little Women, Women, telling Fiction.. In 2008, 2008, Little  Little the story of Mr. March during the Civil War. It won the the  Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Women was Women  was again connected with a Pulitzer Prize when  when John Matteson Matteson  received the honor for his  biography   Eden's  biography Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father . 

 

[edit ] Film

Film poster, poster, 1933  1933 

 Little Women has Women has seen several cinematic adaptations. adapt ations. One of the first film adaptations was the starring Dorothy Bernard, Bernard, Kate Lester  and and  Conrad Nagel. Nagel.  1918  Harley Knoles1918 Knoles-directed version, starring  starred Katharine Hepburn  Hepburn as Jo and  and Spring Byington Byington  as Marmee. The film The  1933 version  The version starred  was followed by a  a 1949 version  version featuring  featuring Elizabeth Taylor  as Amy, Amy,  June Allyson  Allyson as Jo, Jo,  Janet Leigh  as Meg,  Leigh Meg, Margaret O'Brien  O'Brien as Beth,  Beth, Mary Astor  as Marmee,  Marmee, Peter Lawford Lawford  as Laurie, and C. Aubrey Smith  A 1978 version  version starred starred  Meredith Baxter  as Meg, Smith as the elderly Mr. Lawrence. A  Dey as Jo,  Susan Dey  Jo, Eve Plumb Plumb  as Beth,  Beth, William Shatner  as Friedrich Bhaer, Bhaer,  Greer Garson  Garson as Aunt A 1994 version  version starred starred  Susan Sarandon  Sarandon  March, and  and Robert Young  Young as Grandpa James Lawrence. A  Amy, Samantha Mathis  Mathis as the as Marmee, Winona Ryder as Jo,  Jo, Kirsten Dunst  Dunst as the younger Amy,  older Amy,  Amy, Christian Bale Bale  as Laurie,  Laurie, Claire Danes  Danes as Beth and  and Trini Alvarado Alvarado  as Meg. Other film versions of the novel appeared in 1917, 1918, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1979, and 2001. [edit ] Opera and musical

In 1998 composer  Mark Adamo  Adamo adapted the story as the  the Little Women (opera). (opera). On January 23, (musical)  opened at the the  Virginia Theatre  Theatre  2005, a  a Broadway  Broadway musical adaptation of  Little Women (musical) by Allan Knee, Knee, music by  by Jason Howland, Howland, and lyrics by by  Mindi in  in New  New York City  City with a book by  Dickstein.. The musical starred  Dickstein starred Sutton Foster  as Jo, and pop singer  Maureen McGovern  McGovern as Tony  nomination Marmee. The mixed-reviewed production ran through May 2005, garnering a  a Tony for Sutton. While it had a short life in New York, it ran for 49 weeks as a national tour. A second

 

national tour was planned for the 2007 – 2008 2008 season. The musical's UK premiere was performed p erformed  by "Imagine Productions" at the Lowther Pavilion in December 2006. [edit ] Anime

in Japan, Japan, has been adapted into at least four  anime  anime versions, and  Little Women, Women, a popular novel in  referenced in several others. The first anime adaptation of o f Little Women was Women was an episode of the TV series Manga series Manga Sekai Mukashi Banashi ("Manga Banashi ("Manga World's Classic Tales"), aired in October a Toei Animation  Animation  1977. In 1980, director Yugo Serikawa ( Mazinger Z ) adapted the novel into a  TV special titled Wakakusa Monogatari (The Monogatari (The Story of Young Grass). The success of Serikawa's Shimai  ("Four Sisters of Young Grass"), a 26TV special was parlayed into  into Wakakusa no Yon Shimai episode TV series directed by Kazuya Miyazaki for the Kokusai Eigasha studio which aired on Fuji TV TV  in  in 1981 1981..  The most well-known anime version of the story is i s  Ai Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari Monogatari  (The Story of  Nippon Animation  TV's  World Love's Young Grass), a 1987 TV series that was part of of Nippon Animation and Fuji TV's Masterpiece Theater , which featured character designed and drawn by the late late  Yoshifumi Kondo. Kondo.  This series also featured several episodes of original stories from screenwriter Akira Miyazaki, developed by the author in order to acquaint the Japanese viewing audience with the characters of Little Women, as wellthe as sequel  the historycal background of the American Civil War. Animation also adapted sequel   Little Little Men Men   into a World Masterpiece Theater TVNippon series, Sensei ("The Story of Young Grass: Nan and Teacher Jo"), in Wakakusa Monogatari Nan to Jou Sensei  1993. The 1980 TV special and the 1981 and 1987 TV series were all released, at least in part, in the English--dubbed form during the 1980s 1980 s (with the Nippon Animation series United States in  in English Women), and both TV series  broadcast by  by HBO  HBO in the late 1980s under the title Tales of Little Women), were broadcast widely in Europe and Latin America as well. [edit] edit] References to the story

A number of other anime and manga series include references to Little to  Little Women, Women, including Graduation M  where the main characters (who are male), are forced to play the lead roles in the  play "Little Women," for their school ceremony;  ceremony; Glass no Kamen, Kamen, in which protagonist Maya  plays the role of Beth in a production of Little of Little Women as Women as an important story arc; and  and   Burst Burst Angel ,  in which three of the main characters are named Jo, Meg (short for Megumi), and Amy. A nod to the characters is apparent app arent in the English release of the Nintendo 64 game,  game, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Time. In the Forest Temple, the player p layer must solve four puzzles hosted b by y ghosts by the names of Amy, Beth, Joelle and Meg to progress through the game. The ghosts appear again briefly in the game's sequel, sequ el,  The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask , but only in an optional mini game. In this game, the name n ame "Joelle" was corrected to "Jo," since Jo's full name is Josephine and not Joelle.

 

called Dear  Dear My Girls. Girls. The manhwa A Korean artist and writer, Kim Hee Eun, created a manhwa  manhwa called had the characters Amy, Beth, Jo, and Meg. The story is based on ideas from Little from Little Women. Women. The manhwa is serialized in a Korean magazine, mink .