Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Traditional Chinese with Pinyin
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). The novel follows the lives of four sisters — Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy
March — and is loosely based on the author's childhood experiences with
her three sisters.
Alcott's original work explores the overcoming of character flaws (many of the chapter titles in this first part are allusions to the allegorical concepts and places inPilgrim's Progress). When young, the girls played Pilgrim's Progress
by taking an imaginary journey through their home. As young women, they
agree to continue the figurative journey, using the "guidebooks" —
copies of the New Testament, described as 'that beautiful old story of
the best life ever lived (chapter 1, see also chapter 19) — they
receive on Christmas morning. Each of the March girls must struggle to
overcome a major character flaw: Meg, vanity; Jo, a hot temper; Beth,
shyness; and Amy, selfishness. The girls must work out these flaws in
order to become mothers, wives, sisters and citizens.
In the course of the novel, the girls become friends with their
next-door neighbor, the teenage boy Laurie, who becomes a particular
friend of Jo. As well as the more serious and sadder themes outlined
above, the book describes the activities of the sisters and their
friend, such as creating a newspaper and picnicking, and the various
scrapes that Jo and Laurie (whose given name was "Theodore") get into.
The story represents family relationships and explores family life
thoroughly.
