[Music]
in the introduction to little women
in 1861 mr march is away at war working
as a chaplain
leaving behind his daughters the novel's
four young protagonists
joe march age 15 meg march age 16
beth march age 13 and amy march age 12.
the march family living in the northeast
are staunch abolitionists who favor the
war that will free the slaves
mrs march whom the girls call marmi
comes in and reads a letter from their
father
in which he reminds them to conquer
themselves so that
he can be even prouder of them when he
comes home and sees his little
women in the rising action meg and joe
were invited to a new year's celebration
at a friend's house
where the two girls meet theodore laurie
lawrence
a tall handsome boy about joe's age
joe's temper is sorely tested when amy
burns joe's fairy tales
when joe ignores amy and she falls
through the ice during an ice skating
outing
joe recommits herself to controlling her
passions mrs march gets word that mr
march is ill
and she must leave them to go to
washington dc
to nurse her husband beth comes down
with scarlet fever and almost dies
mr march also comes home and mr brook
proposes marriage to meg
joe is afraid meg's marriage will leave
a hole in the family but she has no
choice but to deal with the fact
that they're all growing up three years
later meg and mr brooke marry
meg has twin babies a boy and a girl and
she learns how to incorporate her
husband
into her new role as a mother with the
help of marmie
amy continues to cultivate herself as a
refined woman
and because she is a model of social
grace aunt carol decides to take her
on a trip to europe instead of joe joe
goes to work in new york
and meets professor bayer a kindly but
poor learned man of nearly 40.
when joe returns home laurie proposes to
her but she turns him down
she loves him like a brother but not
romantically in the heartbreaking climax
of the novel
young beth dies of the after effects of
scarlet fever
in the following action lori and amy
meet up in europe and marry
they come home and professor bayer
visits and soon proposes to joe
who accepts joe and the professor start
a successful school for boys
and in the resolution the family gathers
and celebrates marmie's 60th birthday
everyone is doing well