[Music]
part one chapter one of little women is
called
playing pilgrims it's december 1861. the
march sisters
amy age 12 beth short for elizabeth age
13
joe short for josephine age 15 and meg
short for margaret age 16 are poor
but they have each other their father is
away serving as a chaplain for union
soldiers fighting in the american civil
war
the family lives in a small new england
town meg is very pretty
joe is a bookworm and a tomboy who
writes and directs family plays
amy is a budding artist mindful of her
manners and beth is the timid
loving pet of the family who loves music
and can play the piano
the girls each have a dollar and decide
to spend their money on marmi
their mother mrs march instead of
themselves when marmie gets home she
shares a letter from their father
the girls want to improve themselves so
that when he returns
he will be prouder than ever of his
little women the girl's burdens are
vanity
meg temper joe timidity beth and
selfishness
amy chapter 2 a merry christmas the
girls give their christmas breakfast to
the poor hummel family
on christmas nights the march girls
perform a play and at suppertime learn
that their neighbor
mr lawrence has sent over sweets and
flowers to reward them for their charity
mr lawrence is an old family friend
whose grandson now lives with him
in chapter 3 the lawrence boy meg tells
joe they've been invited to a new year's
eve dance by
mrs gardner the mother of meg's friend
sally the girls make themselves
presentable as best they can
at the dance joe runs into young
theodore lawrence nicknamed
laurie he's handsome and gentlemanly and
he and joe immediately become friends
joe learns he's been abroad for several
years and now studies at home
preparing for college lori is turning 16
in february
when meg sprains her ankle lorry takes
the girls home in his carriage
money was always on louisa may alcott's
mind and as a child her family tottered
at times on the brink of starvation
the marches are not as poor as the
alcotts were when their mother arrives
at the end of chapter one and reads
their father's letter
the value of sacrifice emerges as a
theme these girls are expected to
wrestle with their own shortcomings
sacrificing themselves in the service of
perfection two motifs that run through
the novel are the pilgrims progress and
the idea
of the little woman the allegorical text
the pilgrim's progress
takes the character christian on a
journey to the celestial city or heaven
the march sisters emulate this noble
quest in their own lives
you