南北战争时期，在马萨诸塞州的一所旧房子里，住着马奇一家。马奇先生随军照顾伤员去了，家中留下他善良的太太和四个女儿。在母亲的影响下，四姐妹时常帮助穷人，她们甚至将圣诞节早餐送给了一家穷苦的人。邻居劳伦斯老先生听说此事后，准备了一桌大餐作为送给她们的圣诞礼物。乔同老先生的孙子劳里情投意合，梅格则对劳里的家庭教师约翰一见倾心。艾米有时会和乔闹别扭，但很快就重归于好。一封电报带来了不幸：马奇先生病重住院。马奇太太赶往华盛顿，马奇家笼罩在一层阴霾中。四姐妹互助、互励，度过了难关。不久，母亲和大病初愈的父亲回到家中。一家人又幸福地聚在一起。四年后，梅格和约翰结为夫妇。劳里向乔倾诉爱慕之情，遭到回绝；劳里远赴欧洲，在法国尼斯，偶遇艾米。乔以她和姊妹们的生活为素材创作了一部小说。马奇家又热闹了起来。婶婆死后将她的房子留给了乔，乔将其改建成一所学校。
《小妇人》-作者简介
路易莎•奥尔科特（LouisaMayAlcott，1832－1888），美国作家。1832年11月 29日出生在宾夕法尼亚州的杰曼镇（Germantown）。她的父亲布郎逊•奥尔科特是马萨诸塞州康科德一位自学成才的哲学家、学校改革家和乌托邦主义者。他一生沉迷于对理想的追求，以至无力担负家庭生活。维持生计的担子先是落到他的妻子身上，而后又落到他那富有进取精神的二女儿路易莎•奥尔科特身上，路易莎到学校教过书，当过女裁缝、护士，做过洗熨活，15岁时还出去做过佣人。
路易莎10岁时便已热心于业余戏剧演出，15岁时写出第一部情节剧，21岁开始发表诗歌及小品。
1868 年，一位出版商建议她写一部关于“女孩子的书”，她便根据孩提的记忆写成《小妇人》。书中把自己描写成乔•马奇，她的姐妹安娜、亚碧、伊丽莎白便分别成为梅格、艾美、贝思。书中的许多故事取材于现实生活，不过现实生活中的奥尔科特一家经济状况远不如她笔下的马奇一家。出于作者意料的是《小妇人》打动了无数美国读者，尤其是女性读者的心弦。之后，路易莎又续写了《小男人》和《乔的男孩子们》，1873年又以小说形式出版了自传著作《经验的故事》。
路易莎成名后，继续撰写小说和故事，并投身于妇女选举运动和禁酒运动。美国内战期间她在华盛顿做过军队救护人员，后来，她还担任过一家儿童刊物（RobertMerry'sMuseum）的编辑。她于1888年3月 6日在波士顿去世。
《小妇人》-内容分析
马奇一家有四个姐妹，生活清贫、简单而又温馨。四组妹性格迥异；老大梅格漂亮端庄，有些爱慕虚荣；老二乔自由独立，渴望成为作家，老三贝丝善良羞涩，热爱音乐，老四埃米聪慧活泼，爱好艺术，希望成为一名上流社会的 “淑女”。
所有时代的所有少女成长过程中所要面对的经历的，都可以在这本书中找到：初恋的甜蜜和烦恼，感情与理智的选译，理想和现实的差距，贫穷与富有的矛盾。
《小妇人》故事情节简单真实，却感人至深，问世一百多年以来，多次被般上银幕，并被译成各种文字，成为世界文学宝库中的经典名作。书中描写的种种情感体验和生活经历，都曾经、正在并将要发生在每一个少女走向成熟的过程之中；书中提倡善良、忠诚、无私、慷慨、尊严、宽容、坚韧、勇敢、亦是人类永远尊崇和追求的美德和信低仰。所有这些，赋予这本书超赵时代和国度的生命力，这也正是她成为不朽的典的魅力和原因所在。
《小妇人》-演员介绍
《小妇人》薇诺娜•瑞德
薇诺娜•瑞德1971年10月出生于明尼苏达州，父母是60年代的嬉皮士——热爱自由，反对主流文化。他们以一座明尼苏达州的小镇的名字作为女儿的名字。薇诺娜从小受到家庭的溺爱，生活十分美满幸福。在是作家的父亲的影响下，她从小就酷爱看书，掌握了大量知识。而幼年时对经典电影的迷恋，使她下决心要当一名演员。上高中后，她加入了学校的剧团，活跃在戏剧舞台上。她具有极好的表演天赋，又十分肯虚心钻研学习，高中毕业后，就与经纪人签约拍电影。
在好莱坞众多女星中，要在不同时期获得伟大导演的赏识实属不易，但薇诺娜却可以获得不同领域导演的一致赞赏，不管是喜剧、科幻、恐怖、或是使坏，薇诺娜瑞德都在用尽全力，努力的扮演一个女演员的角色。1988年《甲壳虫汁》一片使观众注意到这个有着一双慧黠大眼的女星。在演过多部少女片后，1991年接演吉姆•贾木许的《地球之夜》正式迈入成熟角色，而次年大导演柯波拉的《惊情四百年》更将她推上票房明星的地位，自此成为好莱坞新一代的接班女星之一。
《小妇人》-幕后制作
露易莎•梅•阿尔考特的经典自传体小说，强调个人尊严和自立自律的重要，富有强烈的感染力，属于女性题材的保留剧目。这个版本编剧、表演、摄影均取得不俗的成绩，可与1933年版媲美。1933年的黑白版由乔治•科克导演、凯瑟琳•赫本主演，乃该剧的经典版；1949年的彩色版阵容更豪华，包括伊丽莎白•泰勒等，但总体成绩稍逊一筹；1978年的电视版最弱。
《小妇人》-影片评价
《小妇人》是莎士比亚之后被改编成电影的次数最多的小说之一，露伊斯•梅•阿尔科特的小说提供了非常有趣的情节，它以马奇姐妹的生活丽成为线索，随着她们的成长和变化，处理永恒的爱与死的问题。除了故事本身在场景设置在十九世纪六十年代而引人注目，人物及其相互关系——父与子，朋友与爱人——都属于永不过时的主题。这些都成了这部小说不断地被改编成电影的永远的驱动力。相对于其他版本的电影，三十年代好莱坞高峰期的这一部也算得上极为优秀的一部，它以对小说原著的忠实而取胜，而凯瑟琳•赫本扮演的乔•马奇也楚楚动人，深入人心。
没有激动人心的章回，也没有跌宕起伏的情节，她如一条淙淙流淌的小溪，交织着对爱的忠诚、对亲情的渴望，让人感觉仿佛像在寒冷凛冽的冬季，坐在温暖的火炉边，读一本让人感动得落泪的小说或喝着一杯浓香四溢的咖啡，泛着微微的涟漪，《小妇人》给我的更多的是一种温馨。
梅格，一个有着花一样容貌的女孩，大大的眼睛，甜甜的笑容，一头棕色秀发又浓又厚，她虽然有点爱慕虚荣，但她为了爱情而甘于贫困，放弃了马奇婶婶的遗产，嫁给了清贫的布鲁克先生，过着苦中带甜的幸福生活。她放弃了享受荣华富贵的梦想，却换来了自己一生的幸福。她在家庭的磨难中体会到了一家人的和睦、互爱才是最珍贵的财富，所以她选择了令她一生富有的爱情。梅格，花一般美丽，人美，心美。
贝思是一个典型的“小宁静”，酷爱音乐，有着一双明亮的眼睛，红润的肤色，润泽的秀发，她处处为别人着想，默默地为别人付出自己的关爱当面对死亡的时候，当整整一天都是大雪纷飞、狂风怒吼的时候，她苍白而平静的脸上没有所谓的怨天尤人，她总是充满希望地说：“很快都会好起来的。”她的病痛使周围的人无限的悲痛。如果一个人不愿意付出，那么他也永远不会得到回报。尤其在困难之际，关心与真情尤为重要，是一个人不可或缺的生命之柱。而这些都需要我们平日做到真诚与关爱。
艾米，我觉得她是一个很具艺术感的女孩，热爱绘画，对事物有着自己的审美，似乎是姐妹中最有灵气的，但有强的虚荣心，但是她既善良，又坚强，一直以扶贫济困为己任，在国外的几年，让她更加成熟，也因为劳里，她明白了“有了金钱但却不懂得自尊自重是并不能得到幸福的”，她也逐渐成长为一个惹人喜爱的小妇人。
《小妇人》-花絮
克里斯蒂娜•里奇曾为小艾米一角试镜，但是克里斯滕•邓斯特得到了这个角色。娜塔丽•波特曼也曾来试镜。拍摄中，克莱尔•丹尼斯拿着蜡烛上楼时头发被烧着了。•影片结尾写着献给两个人，一个是被绑架的12岁加州女孩PollyKlaas，后来发现时已经被杀。另一个是薇诺娜•瑞德，她跟这个女孩都来自Petaluma，她为女孩的搜救行动奔走疾呼，付出了很多努力。布景设计师拷贝了小说作者路易莎•梅•爱尔考特在马萨诸塞州康科德(Concord)的家。爱尔考特是在家中完成的小说创作，并把事件发生的场景想象成家里。片中艾米给姑妈所读的圣经是《利未记》基督教圣经《旧约全书》中的一卷)第22章的内容。
《小妇人》-书摘
乔和梅格坐在一起做针线时，发现姐姐有了很大的进步。她能得体地谈话，知道许多有关良家妇女的冲动、想法以及感情。她从丈夫和孩子们身上得到了很大的幸福，他们都为对方尽着力。
“婚姻毕竟是一件极好的事情。要是我试试，不知结局会不会有你一半好？”乔说。她在弄得乱七八糟的育儿室里为德米制作一个风筝。
“你所需要的正是露出你性格中女子温柔的那一半，乔。你就像一个带壳的栗子，外面多刺，内里却光滑柔软。要是有人能接近，还有个甜果仁。将来有一天，爱情会使你表露心迹的，那时你的壳便脱落了。”“夫人，严霜会冻开栗壳，使劲摇会摇下栗子。男孩子们好采栗子。可是，我不喜欢让他们用口袋装着，”乔答道。她在继续粘着风筝。这个风筝无论刮什么风都上不了天，因为黛西把自己当作风筝尾巴系在了上面。
梅格笑了。她高兴地看到了一点乔的老脾气。但是她觉得，用她所能想到的全部论据来坚持她的观点，这是她的责任。姐妹俩的谈话没有白费，特别是因为梅格两个最有说服力的论据是孩子们，乔温柔地爱着他们。乔几乎做好准备被装进口袋了：还需要照些阳光，使栗子成熟。然后，不是被男孩焦躁地摇落，而是一个男人的手伸上去，轻轻地剥开壳，就会发现果仁成熟甜美。假使她曾怀疑到这一点，她会紧紧封闭起来的，会比以前更刺人，所幸的是她没有想到自己。所以时间一到，她这个栗子便掉落下来了。
要说乔是道德故事书中的女主人公的话，那么，在她生活的这一时起，她应该变得十分圣洁，应该退隐，应该口袋里装着宗教传单，戴着清心寡欲的帽子，四处去做善事。可是，要知道，乔不是一个女主人公。像成百上千的其他姑娘一样她只是个挣扎着的凡人。所以，她依着性子行事。她悲哀、焦躁、不安，或者精神饱满，随心境而定。我们要做好人，这样说非常有道德，可是我们不可能立马就做得到。需要有人长期的引导、有力的引导，还要大家同心协力去帮助，我们中有些人甚至才能正确起步。到目前为止，乔起步不错。
她学着尽自己的责任，尽不到责便会感到不快乐。可是心甘情愿地去做--哦，这是另一码事了！她常说要做些出色的事，不管那有多难。现在她实现了愿望。因为，一生奉献给爸爸妈妈，努力使他们感到家庭幸福，就像他们让她感到的那样，有什么比这件事更美好的呢？这样一个焦躁不安、雄心勃勃的姑娘，放弃了自己的希望、计划和意愿，无怨无悔地为别人活着。假如需要用困难来增加努力的美妙之处的话，还有什么比这更难做到的呢？
上帝相信了她的话；使命就在这里，并不是她所期待的，但是更好，因为她自己和它没有关系。那么，她能完成任务吗？她决定一试。在最初的尝试中，她找到了我提出的那些帮助。还有别的帮助给她，她也接受了，不是作为奖赏，而是作为安慰，就像基督徒跋涉困难之山，在小树下歇息时，小树使他提神一样。
“你为什么不写点东西呢？以前那总会使你快乐的，”一次，妈妈见乔又来了阵消沉情绪，脸色阴沉，便这样说道。
“我没有心思写。即使写了，也没人喜欢读。”“我们喜欢。为我们写点东西吧。千万别在乎别的人。亲爱的，试试吧。我肯定那会对你有好处，而且使我们非常高兴。”
“我不相信我能写了。”然而，乔搬出了她的桌子，开始翻查她写了一半的一些手稿。
一小时以后，妈妈朝屋里瞥了一眼，乔就坐在那里。她围着黑围裙，全神贯注，不停地涂写着。马奇太太为她的建议奏效感到高兴，她笑着悄悄走开了。乔一点也不知道这是怎么发生的。某种东西夹进了故事，打动了读者。当她的家人读着故事又哭又笑时，爸爸将它寄给了一家通俗杂志，这是完全违反她的意愿的。使她大吃一惊的是，杂志社不仅付了她稿酬，而且还要求她再写些故事。这个小故事登出来后，她收到了一些人的来信，这些人的赞扬是种荣誉。报纸也转载了这个故事。朋友们及陌生的人们都赞赏它。对这样的一个小东西来说，这是巨大的成功。以前乔的小说同时遭人褒贬，现在她比那时更为感到惊讶。
“我不懂，像那么一个小姑娘，能有什么让人们这样夸赞的？”她十分困惑地说。
“故事里有真实的东西，乔，这就是秘密。幽默与悲哀使故事生动。你终于找到了自己的风格。你没有想着名誉和金钱，而是在用心写作，我的女儿。你尝过了痛苦，现在有了甜蜜。你要尽力去做，像我们一样，为你的成功快乐起来吧。“假如我写的东西里当真有什么好的、真实的东西，那不是我的功劳。这一切都得归于您和妈妈，还有贝思，”乔说。爸爸的话比外界的任何赞扬都更使她感动。
《小妇人》-穿帮镜头
当劳利看艾米画画时他扔了2次他的香烟。艾米去学校时捡了2次掉在地上的小黑板。乔和弗雷德里奇在剧院观看《PearlFishers》，而这部1863年在巴黎公演的剧直到1892年才登陆美国，早已过了电影中故事发生的时间。当乔给劳利写信时，结尾处她让他“回到我们身边”，但是对信的特写镜头显示的字是“回到我身边”。当乔在街上遇到弗雷德里奇时，裙边被街上的泥泞弄脏了，但是到了屋子里裙子又变干净了。
《小妇人》-同名动画片
基本资料
日本动画片《小妇人》
原 片 名：若草物語より若草の四姉妹
出品年代：1981年
出品公司：国际映画社
国别归属：日本
剧集总数：26集
剧情简介
以南北战争时期美国北部的坚毅家庭为舞台。一边期待着上战场打仗的父亲可以快点回来，个性丰厚的四姊妹追逐著各自的梦想而成长著。
歌曲
片头曲
蓝天里多美妙，白云袅袅，我追求光，追求明天幸福的理想。吹起那欢快的口哨，沃野万顷，小草青青。你看，你看，我找到了幸福。你看，你看，我找到了幸福。我愿和你分享，也和她啊……我们大家，得到了，得到了幸福。我愿和你分享，也和她啊……我们大家得到了，得到了幸福。
片尾曲
起舞吧，梅格，起舞吧。旋转吧，梅格，旋转吧。啊，炉中幸福之火暖洋洋，胸怀美好的梦想。白色绢织的盛装，穿上多么漂亮，跳起了华尔兹。起舞吧，梅格，起舞吧。旋转吧，梅格，梅格，梅格。
Plot introduction
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 in Pilgrim'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"; they receive on Christmas morning. Each of the March girls must struggle to overcome a character flaw: Meg, vanity; Jo, a hot temper; Beth, shyness; and Amy, selfishness.
In the course of the novel, the girls become friends with their next-door neighbor, 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 Jo and Laurie get into. Jo consistently struggles with the boundaries 19th century 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.
Characters
Josephine "Jo" March: The protagonist of the novel, Jo is an autobiographical depiction of Louisa May Alcott herself. A tomboy, Jo is the second daughter, aged fifteen at the beginning of the story. She is outspoken and has a passion for writing. Her nature often gets her into trouble, while her heart often pushes her into acts of kindness. She is 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 employed as a companion by her Aunt March, a job she dislikes. When Beth comes down with scarlet fever, Amy replaces Jo as Aunt March's companion. Jo cuts off her long, chestnut brown hair—"her one beauty", as Amy calls it — and sells it to a wig shop to earn travel money for her mother to visit their father, a 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 perversity went and made a funny match for her". In the 1994 film directed by the Australian film director Gillian Armstrong, Jo was portrayed 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 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 as a governess for the Kings, a wealthy local family. Because of the genteel 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 lie with money. She falls in love with Mr. John Brooke, Laurie's tutor, whom she marries. Meg bears twin children, Margaret "Daisy" and John Laurence "Demi" (short for Demi-John). In the 1994 film, Meg was portrayed by Trini Alvarado.
Elizabeth "Beth" March: Thirteen years old when the novel opens, Beth is a quiet, kind young woman, and a pianist. She enjoys her dolls and cats. Docile and shy, she prefers to be homeschooled and avoids most public situations. At the beginning of the book, 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 mother nurture poor families at the beginning of the novel. Later, when her mother is in Washington caring for their father, Beth comes down with scarlet fever, caught while looking after a family with sick children. Although Jo and Meg do their best to nurse her, Beth becomes so dangerously ill that they send for their mother to return home. However, 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 become of her, as all she wants is to remain at home with her parents. When Beth contracts tuberculosis, the family nurses her. 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 signals Alcott's denial of the ability of the traditional, sentimental heroine to survive in an increasingly industrial world. In the 1994 film, Beth was portrayed by Claire Danes and in the 1978 television movie by Eve Plumb.
Amy Curtis March: The youngest sister—age twelve when the story begins—Amy is interested in art. She is described by the author as a 'regular snow-maiden' with curly golden hair and blue eyes, 'pale and slender' and 'always carrying herself' like a very proper young lady. She is dissatisfied with the shape of her nose which she attempts to fix with a 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 novel and throws it all in the fireplace grate, burning 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 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 trip. Although she enjoys travelling, after seeing the works of artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael, Amy gives up her art, because she believes herself to be lacking in talent. In Europe, Amy meets up with Laurie, and shortly after Beth dies, they marry. Later, Amy gives birth to daughter Elizabeth (Beth). Amy was portrayed by Kirsten Dunst as a young girl and Samantha Mathis as an adult.
Margaret "Marmee" March: The girls' mother and head of household while her husband is away at war. She engages 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 Susan 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 scholar and a minister, he serves as a chaplain for the Union Army.
Hannah Mullet: The March family maid.
Aunt Josephine March: Mr. March's aunt, a rich widow. Somewhat 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 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 Italian pianist and was disowned. Both died young, and as an orphan, Laurie was sent to live with his grandfather. Laurie is preparing to enter at Harvard and is being tutored by Mr. John 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 New York 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 with his high-spirited grandson, he finds comfort in becoming a benefactor to the Marches. He protects the March sisters while 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.
John Brooke: During his employment with the Laurences as a tutor to Laurie, he falls in love with Meg. When Laurie leaves for college, Brooks continues his employment with Mr. Laurence as an assistant. He accompanies Mrs. March to Washington D.C. when her husband is ill. When Aunt March overhears Meg rejecting John's declaration of love, she threatens Meg with disinheritance on the basis that Brooke is only interested in Meg's future prospects. Eventually Meg admits her feelings to Brooke, they 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. She 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 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.
Autobiographical context
Although plot elements from Little Women are similar to of Louisa May Alcott experiences, some differences exist:
* Unlike Jo, Alcott did not marry. However, there has been speculation that Ralph W. Emerson was the inspiration for Friedrich's character. Alcott was employed as governess to Emerson's children's, and Emerson and Louisa May Alcott's father, Bronson Alcott, were colleagues in the movement known as American transcendentalism.
* Unlike Jo's father, who served as a chaplain in the Union Army, Alcott's father was a pacifist. It was she herself who served as a nurse for wounded soldiers.
Critical response
G. K. Chesterton noted that in Little Women, Alcott "anticipated realism by twenty or thirty years," and that Fritz's proposal to Jo, and her acceptance, "is one of the really human things in human literature."
Notable adaptations
Play
A Little Women play, adapted by Marian De Forest, opened on Broadway at the Playhouse Theatre, on October 14, 1912. The production was directed by Jessie Bonstelle and Bertram Harrison. The cast included Marie Pavey, Alice Brady, Gladys Hulette and Beverly West. It ran for 184 performances and was later revived on December 18, 1916 at the Park Theatre for 24 performances. The company was invited to produce the play in London starring Katharine Cornell. Another revival opened on December 7, 1931 at the Playhouse Theatre in a production directed by William A. Brady, Jr. with Jessie Royce Landis as Jo, Lee Patrick as Meg, Marie Curtis, and Jane 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 Lynch-Giddings premiered in a production by the Wisdom Bridge Theatre Company at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago. The play covers the events of Part One of Alcott's novel, interspersed with scenes depicting complementary aspects of her own life, including the influence of her father Bronson Alcott and her acquaintance with Henry David Thoreau, Julia Ward Howe, and Frank Leslie.
An adaptation by Emma Reeves was performed at GSA in Guildford, Surrey, England, and made its American debut at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, north of Seattle, Washington.
Literature
In 2005, Geraldine Brooks published March, a novel exploring the gaps in Little Women, telling the story of Mr. March during the Civil War. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Film
Little Women has seen several cinematic adaptations. One of the first film adaptations was the 1918 Harley Knoles-directed version, starring Dorothy Bernard, Kate Lester and Conrad Nagel. The 1933 version starred Katharine Hepburn as Jo and Spring Byington as Marmee. The film was followed by a 1949 version featuring Elizabeth Taylor as Amy, June Allyson as Jo, Janet Leigh as Meg, Margaret O'Brien as Beth, Mary Astor as Marmee, Peter Lawford as Laurie, and C. Aubrey Smith as the elderly Mr. Lawrence. A 1978 version starred Meredith Baxter as Meg, Susan Dey as Jo, Eve Plumb as Beth, William Shatner as Friedrich Bhaer, Greer Garson as Aunt March, and Robert Young as Grandpa James Lawrence. A 1994 version starred Susan Sarandon as Marmee, Winona Ryder as Jo, Kirsten Dunst as the younger Amy, Samantha Mathis as the older Amy, Christian Bale as Laurie, Claire Danes as Beth and Trini Alvarado as Meg. Other film versions of the novel appeared in 1917, 1918, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1979, and 2001.
Opera and musical
In 1998 composer Mark Adamo adapted the story as the Little Women (opera). On January 23, 2005, a Broadway musical adaptation of Little Women (musical) opened at the Virginia Theatre in New York City with a book by Allan Knee, music by Jason Howland, and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein. The musical starred Sutton Foster as Jo, and pop singer Maureen McGovern as Marmee. The mixed-reviewed production ran through May 2005, garnering a Tony nomination 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 season. The musical's UK premiere was performed by "Imagine Productions" at the Lowther Pavilion in December 2006.
Anime
Little Women, a popular novel in Japan, has been adapted into at least four anime versions, and referenced in several others. The first anime adaptation of Little Women was an episode of the TV series Manga Sekai Mukashi Banashi ("Manga World's Classic Tales"), aired in October 1977. In 1980, director Yugo Serikawa (Mazinger Z) adapted the novel into a Toei Animation TV special titled Wakakusa Monogatari (The Story of Young Grass). The success of Serikawa's TV special was parlayed into Wakakusa no Yon Shimai ("Four Sisters of Young Grass"), a 26-episode TV series directed by Kazuya Miyazaki for the Kokusai Eigasha studio which aired on Fuji TV in 1981.
The most well-known anime version of the story is Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari (The Story of Love's Young Grass), a 1987 TV series that was part of Nippon Animation and Fuji TV's World Masterpiece Theater, which featured character designed and drawn by the late Yoshifumi 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 well as the historycal background of the American Civil War. Nippon Animation also adapted the sequel Little Men into a World Masterpiece Theater TV series, Wakakusa Monogatari Nan to Jou Sensei ("The Story of Young Grass: Nan and Teacher Jo"), in 1993.
The 1980 TV special and the 1981 and 1987 TV series were all released, at least in part, in the United States in English-dubbed form during the 1980s (with the Nippon Animation series broadcast by HBO in the late 1980s under the title Tales of Little Women), and both TV series were broadcast widely in Europe and Latin America as well.
References to the story
A number of other anime and manga series include references to Little 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; Glass no Kamen, in which a production of Little Women where protagonist, Maya plays the role of Beth is an important story arc; and 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 in the English release of the Nintendo 64 game, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In the Forest Temple, the player must solve four puzzles hosted by 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, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, but only in an optional mini game. In this game, the name "Joelle" was corrected to "Jo," since Jo's full name is Josephine and not Joelle.
A Korean artist and writer, Kim Hee Eun, created a manhwa called Dear My Girls. The manhwa had the characters Amy, Beth, Jo, and Meg. The story is based on ideas from Little Women. The manhwa is serialized in a Korean magazine, mink.
《小妇人》-作者简介
路易莎•奥尔科特（LouisaMayAlcott，1832－1888），美国作家。1832年11月 29日出生在宾夕法尼亚州的杰曼镇（Germantown）。她的父亲布郎逊•奥尔科特是马萨诸塞州康科德一位自学成才的哲学家、学校改革家和乌托邦主义者。他一生沉迷于对理想的追求，以至无力担负家庭生活。维持生计的担子先是落到他的妻子身上，而后又落到他那富有进取精神的二女儿路易莎•奥尔科特身上，路易莎到学校教过书，当过女裁缝、护士，做过洗熨活，15岁时还出去做过佣人。
路易莎10岁时便已热心于业余戏剧演出，15岁时写出第一部情节剧，21岁开始发表诗歌及小品。
1868 年，一位出版商建议她写一部关于“女孩子的书”，她便根据孩提的记忆写成《小妇人》。书中把自己描写成乔•马奇，她的姐妹安娜、亚碧、伊丽莎白便分别成为梅格、艾美、贝思。书中的许多故事取材于现实生活，不过现实生活中的奥尔科特一家经济状况远不如她笔下的马奇一家。出于作者意料的是《小妇人》打动了无数美国读者，尤其是女性读者的心弦。之后，路易莎又续写了《小男人》和《乔的男孩子们》，1873年又以小说形式出版了自传著作《经验的故事》。
路易莎成名后，继续撰写小说和故事，并投身于妇女选举运动和禁酒运动。美国内战期间她在华盛顿做过军队救护人员，后来，她还担任过一家儿童刊物（RobertMerry'sMuseum）的编辑。她于1888年3月 6日在波士顿去世。
《小妇人》-内容分析
马奇一家有四个姐妹，生活清贫、简单而又温馨。四组妹性格迥异；老大梅格漂亮端庄，有些爱慕虚荣；老二乔自由独立，渴望成为作家，老三贝丝善良羞涩，热爱音乐，老四埃米聪慧活泼，爱好艺术，希望成为一名上流社会的 “淑女”。
所有时代的所有少女成长过程中所要面对的经历的，都可以在这本书中找到：初恋的甜蜜和烦恼，感情与理智的选译，理想和现实的差距，贫穷与富有的矛盾。
《小妇人》故事情节简单真实，却感人至深，问世一百多年以来，多次被般上银幕，并被译成各种文字，成为世界文学宝库中的经典名作。书中描写的种种情感体验和生活经历，都曾经、正在并将要发生在每一个少女走向成熟的过程之中；书中提倡善良、忠诚、无私、慷慨、尊严、宽容、坚韧、勇敢、亦是人类永远尊崇和追求的美德和信低仰。所有这些，赋予这本书超赵时代和国度的生命力，这也正是她成为不朽的典的魅力和原因所在。
《小妇人》-演员介绍
《小妇人》薇诺娜•瑞德
薇诺娜•瑞德1971年10月出生于明尼苏达州，父母是60年代的嬉皮士——热爱自由，反对主流文化。他们以一座明尼苏达州的小镇的名字作为女儿的名字。薇诺娜从小受到家庭的溺爱，生活十分美满幸福。在是作家的父亲的影响下，她从小就酷爱看书，掌握了大量知识。而幼年时对经典电影的迷恋，使她下决心要当一名演员。上高中后，她加入了学校的剧团，活跃在戏剧舞台上。她具有极好的表演天赋，又十分肯虚心钻研学习，高中毕业后，就与经纪人签约拍电影。
在好莱坞众多女星中，要在不同时期获得伟大导演的赏识实属不易，但薇诺娜却可以获得不同领域导演的一致赞赏，不管是喜剧、科幻、恐怖、或是使坏，薇诺娜瑞德都在用尽全力，努力的扮演一个女演员的角色。1988年《甲壳虫汁》一片使观众注意到这个有着一双慧黠大眼的女星。在演过多部少女片后，1991年接演吉姆•贾木许的《地球之夜》正式迈入成熟角色，而次年大导演柯波拉的《惊情四百年》更将她推上票房明星的地位，自此成为好莱坞新一代的接班女星之一。
《小妇人》-幕后制作
露易莎•梅•阿尔考特的经典自传体小说，强调个人尊严和自立自律的重要，富有强烈的感染力，属于女性题材的保留剧目。这个版本编剧、表演、摄影均取得不俗的成绩，可与1933年版媲美。1933年的黑白版由乔治•科克导演、凯瑟琳•赫本主演，乃该剧的经典版；1949年的彩色版阵容更豪华，包括伊丽莎白•泰勒等，但总体成绩稍逊一筹；1978年的电视版最弱。
《小妇人》-影片评价
《小妇人》是莎士比亚之后被改编成电影的次数最多的小说之一，露伊斯•梅•阿尔科特的小说提供了非常有趣的情节，它以马奇姐妹的生活丽成为线索，随着她们的成长和变化，处理永恒的爱与死的问题。除了故事本身在场景设置在十九世纪六十年代而引人注目，人物及其相互关系——父与子，朋友与爱人——都属于永不过时的主题。这些都成了这部小说不断地被改编成电影的永远的驱动力。相对于其他版本的电影，三十年代好莱坞高峰期的这一部也算得上极为优秀的一部，它以对小说原著的忠实而取胜，而凯瑟琳•赫本扮演的乔•马奇也楚楚动人，深入人心。
没有激动人心的章回，也没有跌宕起伏的情节，她如一条淙淙流淌的小溪，交织着对爱的忠诚、对亲情的渴望，让人感觉仿佛像在寒冷凛冽的冬季，坐在温暖的火炉边，读一本让人感动得落泪的小说或喝着一杯浓香四溢的咖啡，泛着微微的涟漪，《小妇人》给我的更多的是一种温馨。
梅格，一个有着花一样容貌的女孩，大大的眼睛，甜甜的笑容，一头棕色秀发又浓又厚，她虽然有点爱慕虚荣，但她为了爱情而甘于贫困，放弃了马奇婶婶的遗产，嫁给了清贫的布鲁克先生，过着苦中带甜的幸福生活。她放弃了享受荣华富贵的梦想，却换来了自己一生的幸福。她在家庭的磨难中体会到了一家人的和睦、互爱才是最珍贵的财富，所以她选择了令她一生富有的爱情。梅格，花一般美丽，人美，心美。
贝思是一个典型的“小宁静”，酷爱音乐，有着一双明亮的眼睛，红润的肤色，润泽的秀发，她处处为别人着想，默默地为别人付出自己的关爱当面对死亡的时候，当整整一天都是大雪纷飞、狂风怒吼的时候，她苍白而平静的脸上没有所谓的怨天尤人，她总是充满希望地说：“很快都会好起来的。”她的病痛使周围的人无限的悲痛。如果一个人不愿意付出，那么他也永远不会得到回报。尤其在困难之际，关心与真情尤为重要，是一个人不可或缺的生命之柱。而这些都需要我们平日做到真诚与关爱。
艾米，我觉得她是一个很具艺术感的女孩，热爱绘画，对事物有着自己的审美，似乎是姐妹中最有灵气的，但有强的虚荣心，但是她既善良，又坚强，一直以扶贫济困为己任，在国外的几年，让她更加成熟，也因为劳里，她明白了“有了金钱但却不懂得自尊自重是并不能得到幸福的”，她也逐渐成长为一个惹人喜爱的小妇人。
《小妇人》-花絮
克里斯蒂娜•里奇曾为小艾米一角试镜，但是克里斯滕•邓斯特得到了这个角色。娜塔丽•波特曼也曾来试镜。拍摄中，克莱尔•丹尼斯拿着蜡烛上楼时头发被烧着了。•影片结尾写着献给两个人，一个是被绑架的12岁加州女孩PollyKlaas，后来发现时已经被杀。另一个是薇诺娜•瑞德，她跟这个女孩都来自Petaluma，她为女孩的搜救行动奔走疾呼，付出了很多努力。布景设计师拷贝了小说作者路易莎•梅•爱尔考特在马萨诸塞州康科德(Concord)的家。爱尔考特是在家中完成的小说创作，并把事件发生的场景想象成家里。片中艾米给姑妈所读的圣经是《利未记》基督教圣经《旧约全书》中的一卷)第22章的内容。
《小妇人》-书摘
乔和梅格坐在一起做针线时，发现姐姐有了很大的进步。她能得体地谈话，知道许多有关良家妇女的冲动、想法以及感情。她从丈夫和孩子们身上得到了很大的幸福，他们都为对方尽着力。
“婚姻毕竟是一件极好的事情。要是我试试，不知结局会不会有你一半好？”乔说。她在弄得乱七八糟的育儿室里为德米制作一个风筝。
“你所需要的正是露出你性格中女子温柔的那一半，乔。你就像一个带壳的栗子，外面多刺，内里却光滑柔软。要是有人能接近，还有个甜果仁。将来有一天，爱情会使你表露心迹的，那时你的壳便脱落了。”“夫人，严霜会冻开栗壳，使劲摇会摇下栗子。男孩子们好采栗子。可是，我不喜欢让他们用口袋装着，”乔答道。她在继续粘着风筝。这个风筝无论刮什么风都上不了天，因为黛西把自己当作风筝尾巴系在了上面。
梅格笑了。她高兴地看到了一点乔的老脾气。但是她觉得，用她所能想到的全部论据来坚持她的观点，这是她的责任。姐妹俩的谈话没有白费，特别是因为梅格两个最有说服力的论据是孩子们，乔温柔地爱着他们。乔几乎做好准备被装进口袋了：还需要照些阳光，使栗子成熟。然后，不是被男孩焦躁地摇落，而是一个男人的手伸上去，轻轻地剥开壳，就会发现果仁成熟甜美。假使她曾怀疑到这一点，她会紧紧封闭起来的，会比以前更刺人，所幸的是她没有想到自己。所以时间一到，她这个栗子便掉落下来了。
要说乔是道德故事书中的女主人公的话，那么，在她生活的这一时起，她应该变得十分圣洁，应该退隐，应该口袋里装着宗教传单，戴着清心寡欲的帽子，四处去做善事。可是，要知道，乔不是一个女主人公。像成百上千的其他姑娘一样她只是个挣扎着的凡人。所以，她依着性子行事。她悲哀、焦躁、不安，或者精神饱满，随心境而定。我们要做好人，这样说非常有道德，可是我们不可能立马就做得到。需要有人长期的引导、有力的引导，还要大家同心协力去帮助，我们中有些人甚至才能正确起步。到目前为止，乔起步不错。
她学着尽自己的责任，尽不到责便会感到不快乐。可是心甘情愿地去做--哦，这是另一码事了！她常说要做些出色的事，不管那有多难。现在她实现了愿望。因为，一生奉献给爸爸妈妈，努力使他们感到家庭幸福，就像他们让她感到的那样，有什么比这件事更美好的呢？这样一个焦躁不安、雄心勃勃的姑娘，放弃了自己的希望、计划和意愿，无怨无悔地为别人活着。假如需要用困难来增加努力的美妙之处的话，还有什么比这更难做到的呢？
上帝相信了她的话；使命就在这里，并不是她所期待的，但是更好，因为她自己和它没有关系。那么，她能完成任务吗？她决定一试。在最初的尝试中，她找到了我提出的那些帮助。还有别的帮助给她，她也接受了，不是作为奖赏，而是作为安慰，就像基督徒跋涉困难之山，在小树下歇息时，小树使他提神一样。
“你为什么不写点东西呢？以前那总会使你快乐的，”一次，妈妈见乔又来了阵消沉情绪，脸色阴沉，便这样说道。
“我没有心思写。即使写了，也没人喜欢读。”“我们喜欢。为我们写点东西吧。千万别在乎别的人。亲爱的，试试吧。我肯定那会对你有好处，而且使我们非常高兴。”
“我不相信我能写了。”然而，乔搬出了她的桌子，开始翻查她写了一半的一些手稿。
一小时以后，妈妈朝屋里瞥了一眼，乔就坐在那里。她围着黑围裙，全神贯注，不停地涂写着。马奇太太为她的建议奏效感到高兴，她笑着悄悄走开了。乔一点也不知道这是怎么发生的。某种东西夹进了故事，打动了读者。当她的家人读着故事又哭又笑时，爸爸将它寄给了一家通俗杂志，这是完全违反她的意愿的。使她大吃一惊的是，杂志社不仅付了她稿酬，而且还要求她再写些故事。这个小故事登出来后，她收到了一些人的来信，这些人的赞扬是种荣誉。报纸也转载了这个故事。朋友们及陌生的人们都赞赏它。对这样的一个小东西来说，这是巨大的成功。以前乔的小说同时遭人褒贬，现在她比那时更为感到惊讶。
“我不懂，像那么一个小姑娘，能有什么让人们这样夸赞的？”她十分困惑地说。
“故事里有真实的东西，乔，这就是秘密。幽默与悲哀使故事生动。你终于找到了自己的风格。你没有想着名誉和金钱，而是在用心写作，我的女儿。你尝过了痛苦，现在有了甜蜜。你要尽力去做，像我们一样，为你的成功快乐起来吧。“假如我写的东西里当真有什么好的、真实的东西，那不是我的功劳。这一切都得归于您和妈妈，还有贝思，”乔说。爸爸的话比外界的任何赞扬都更使她感动。
《小妇人》-穿帮镜头
当劳利看艾米画画时他扔了2次他的香烟。艾米去学校时捡了2次掉在地上的小黑板。乔和弗雷德里奇在剧院观看《PearlFishers》，而这部1863年在巴黎公演的剧直到1892年才登陆美国，早已过了电影中故事发生的时间。当乔给劳利写信时，结尾处她让他“回到我们身边”，但是对信的特写镜头显示的字是“回到我身边”。当乔在街上遇到弗雷德里奇时，裙边被街上的泥泞弄脏了，但是到了屋子里裙子又变干净了。
《小妇人》-同名动画片
基本资料
日本动画片《小妇人》
原 片 名：若草物語より若草の四姉妹
出品年代：1981年
出品公司：国际映画社
国别归属：日本
剧集总数：26集
剧情简介
以南北战争时期美国北部的坚毅家庭为舞台。一边期待着上战场打仗的父亲可以快点回来，个性丰厚的四姊妹追逐著各自的梦想而成长著。
歌曲
片头曲
蓝天里多美妙，白云袅袅，我追求光，追求明天幸福的理想。吹起那欢快的口哨，沃野万顷，小草青青。你看，你看，我找到了幸福。你看，你看，我找到了幸福。我愿和你分享，也和她啊……我们大家，得到了，得到了幸福。我愿和你分享，也和她啊……我们大家得到了，得到了幸福。
片尾曲
起舞吧，梅格，起舞吧。旋转吧，梅格，旋转吧。啊，炉中幸福之火暖洋洋，胸怀美好的梦想。白色绢织的盛装，穿上多么漂亮，跳起了华尔兹。起舞吧，梅格，起舞吧。旋转吧，梅格，梅格，梅格。
Plot introduction
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 in Pilgrim'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"; they receive on Christmas morning. Each of the March girls must struggle to overcome a character flaw: Meg, vanity; Jo, a hot temper; Beth, shyness; and Amy, selfishness.
In the course of the novel, the girls become friends with their next-door neighbor, 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 Jo and Laurie get into. Jo consistently struggles with the boundaries 19th century 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.
Characters
Josephine "Jo" March: The protagonist of the novel, Jo is an autobiographical depiction of Louisa May Alcott herself. A tomboy, Jo is the second daughter, aged fifteen at the beginning of the story. She is outspoken and has a passion for writing. Her nature often gets her into trouble, while her heart often pushes her into acts of kindness. She is 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 employed as a companion by her Aunt March, a job she dislikes. When Beth comes down with scarlet fever, Amy replaces Jo as Aunt March's companion. Jo cuts off her long, chestnut brown hair—"her one beauty", as Amy calls it — and sells it to a wig shop to earn travel money for her mother to visit their father, a 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 perversity went and made a funny match for her". In the 1994 film directed by the Australian film director Gillian Armstrong, Jo was portrayed 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 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 as a governess for the Kings, a wealthy local family. Because of the genteel 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 lie with money. She falls in love with Mr. John Brooke, Laurie's tutor, whom she marries. Meg bears twin children, Margaret "Daisy" and John Laurence "Demi" (short for Demi-John). In the 1994 film, Meg was portrayed by Trini Alvarado.
Elizabeth "Beth" March: Thirteen years old when the novel opens, Beth is a quiet, kind young woman, and a pianist. She enjoys her dolls and cats. Docile and shy, she prefers to be homeschooled and avoids most public situations. At the beginning of the book, 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 mother nurture poor families at the beginning of the novel. Later, when her mother is in Washington caring for their father, Beth comes down with scarlet fever, caught while looking after a family with sick children. Although Jo and Meg do their best to nurse her, Beth becomes so dangerously ill that they send for their mother to return home. However, 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 become of her, as all she wants is to remain at home with her parents. When Beth contracts tuberculosis, the family nurses her. 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 signals Alcott's denial of the ability of the traditional, sentimental heroine to survive in an increasingly industrial world. In the 1994 film, Beth was portrayed by Claire Danes and in the 1978 television movie by Eve Plumb.
Amy Curtis March: The youngest sister—age twelve when the story begins—Amy is interested in art. She is described by the author as a 'regular snow-maiden' with curly golden hair and blue eyes, 'pale and slender' and 'always carrying herself' like a very proper young lady. She is dissatisfied with the shape of her nose which she attempts to fix with a 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 novel and throws it all in the fireplace grate, burning 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 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 trip. Although she enjoys travelling, after seeing the works of artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael, Amy gives up her art, because she believes herself to be lacking in talent. In Europe, Amy meets up with Laurie, and shortly after Beth dies, they marry. Later, Amy gives birth to daughter Elizabeth (Beth). Amy was portrayed by Kirsten Dunst as a young girl and Samantha Mathis as an adult.
Margaret "Marmee" March: The girls' mother and head of household while her husband is away at war. She engages 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 Susan 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 scholar and a minister, he serves as a chaplain for the Union Army.
Hannah Mullet: The March family maid.
Aunt Josephine March: Mr. March's aunt, a rich widow. Somewhat 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 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 Italian pianist and was disowned. Both died young, and as an orphan, Laurie was sent to live with his grandfather. Laurie is preparing to enter at Harvard and is being tutored by Mr. John 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 New York 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 with his high-spirited grandson, he finds comfort in becoming a benefactor to the Marches. He protects the March sisters while 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.
John Brooke: During his employment with the Laurences as a tutor to Laurie, he falls in love with Meg. When Laurie leaves for college, Brooks continues his employment with Mr. Laurence as an assistant. He accompanies Mrs. March to Washington D.C. when her husband is ill. When Aunt March overhears Meg rejecting John's declaration of love, she threatens Meg with disinheritance on the basis that Brooke is only interested in Meg's future prospects. Eventually Meg admits her feelings to Brooke, they 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. She 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 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.
Autobiographical context
Although plot elements from Little Women are similar to of Louisa May Alcott experiences, some differences exist:
* Unlike Jo, Alcott did not marry. However, there has been speculation that Ralph W. Emerson was the inspiration for Friedrich's character. Alcott was employed as governess to Emerson's children's, and Emerson and Louisa May Alcott's father, Bronson Alcott, were colleagues in the movement known as American transcendentalism.
* Unlike Jo's father, who served as a chaplain in the Union Army, Alcott's father was a pacifist. It was she herself who served as a nurse for wounded soldiers.
Critical response
G. K. Chesterton noted that in Little Women, Alcott "anticipated realism by twenty or thirty years," and that Fritz's proposal to Jo, and her acceptance, "is one of the really human things in human literature."
Notable adaptations
Play
A Little Women play, adapted by Marian De Forest, opened on Broadway at the Playhouse Theatre, on October 14, 1912. The production was directed by Jessie Bonstelle and Bertram Harrison. The cast included Marie Pavey, Alice Brady, Gladys Hulette and Beverly West. It ran for 184 performances and was later revived on December 18, 1916 at the Park Theatre for 24 performances. The company was invited to produce the play in London starring Katharine Cornell. Another revival opened on December 7, 1931 at the Playhouse Theatre in a production directed by William A. Brady, Jr. with Jessie Royce Landis as Jo, Lee Patrick as Meg, Marie Curtis, and Jane 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 Lynch-Giddings premiered in a production by the Wisdom Bridge Theatre Company at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago. The play covers the events of Part One of Alcott's novel, interspersed with scenes depicting complementary aspects of her own life, including the influence of her father Bronson Alcott and her acquaintance with Henry David Thoreau, Julia Ward Howe, and Frank Leslie.
An adaptation by Emma Reeves was performed at GSA in Guildford, Surrey, England, and made its American debut at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, north of Seattle, Washington.
Literature
In 2005, Geraldine Brooks published March, a novel exploring the gaps in Little Women, telling the story of Mr. March during the Civil War. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Film
Little Women has seen several cinematic adaptations. One of the first film adaptations was the 1918 Harley Knoles-directed version, starring Dorothy Bernard, Kate Lester and Conrad Nagel. The 1933 version starred Katharine Hepburn as Jo and Spring Byington as Marmee. The film was followed by a 1949 version featuring Elizabeth Taylor as Amy, June Allyson as Jo, Janet Leigh as Meg, Margaret O'Brien as Beth, Mary Astor as Marmee, Peter Lawford as Laurie, and C. Aubrey Smith as the elderly Mr. Lawrence. A 1978 version starred Meredith Baxter as Meg, Susan Dey as Jo, Eve Plumb as Beth, William Shatner as Friedrich Bhaer, Greer Garson as Aunt March, and Robert Young as Grandpa James Lawrence. A 1994 version starred Susan Sarandon as Marmee, Winona Ryder as Jo, Kirsten Dunst as the younger Amy, Samantha Mathis as the older Amy, Christian Bale as Laurie, Claire Danes as Beth and Trini Alvarado as Meg. Other film versions of the novel appeared in 1917, 1918, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1979, and 2001.
Opera and musical
In 1998 composer Mark Adamo adapted the story as the Little Women (opera). On January 23, 2005, a Broadway musical adaptation of Little Women (musical) opened at the Virginia Theatre in New York City with a book by Allan Knee, music by Jason Howland, and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein. The musical starred Sutton Foster as Jo, and pop singer Maureen McGovern as Marmee. The mixed-reviewed production ran through May 2005, garnering a Tony nomination 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 season. The musical's UK premiere was performed by "Imagine Productions" at the Lowther Pavilion in December 2006.
Anime
Little Women, a popular novel in Japan, has been adapted into at least four anime versions, and referenced in several others. The first anime adaptation of Little Women was an episode of the TV series Manga Sekai Mukashi Banashi ("Manga World's Classic Tales"), aired in October 1977. In 1980, director Yugo Serikawa (Mazinger Z) adapted the novel into a Toei Animation TV special titled Wakakusa Monogatari (The Story of Young Grass). The success of Serikawa's TV special was parlayed into Wakakusa no Yon Shimai ("Four Sisters of Young Grass"), a 26-episode TV series directed by Kazuya Miyazaki for the Kokusai Eigasha studio which aired on Fuji TV in 1981.
The most well-known anime version of the story is Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari (The Story of Love's Young Grass), a 1987 TV series that was part of Nippon Animation and Fuji TV's World Masterpiece Theater, which featured character designed and drawn by the late Yoshifumi 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 well as the historycal background of the American Civil War. Nippon Animation also adapted the sequel Little Men into a World Masterpiece Theater TV series, Wakakusa Monogatari Nan to Jou Sensei ("The Story of Young Grass: Nan and Teacher Jo"), in 1993.
The 1980 TV special and the 1981 and 1987 TV series were all released, at least in part, in the United States in English-dubbed form during the 1980s (with the Nippon Animation series broadcast by HBO in the late 1980s under the title Tales of Little Women), and both TV series were broadcast widely in Europe and Latin America as well.
References to the story
A number of other anime and manga series include references to Little 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; Glass no Kamen, in which a production of Little Women where protagonist, Maya plays the role of Beth is an important story arc; and 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 in the English release of the Nintendo 64 game, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In the Forest Temple, the player must solve four puzzles hosted by 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, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, but only in an optional mini game. In this game, the name "Joelle" was corrected to "Jo," since Jo's full name is Josephine and not Joelle.
A Korean artist and writer, Kim Hee Eun, created a manhwa called Dear My Girls. The manhwa had the characters Amy, Beth, Jo, and Meg. The story is based on ideas from Little Women. The manhwa is serialized in a Korean magazine, mink.
随着翻译介绍，路易莎·梅·奥尔科特这位在19世纪下半叶美国家喻户晓的女作家名字开始为中国读者所熟悉。在《小妇人》那部带有自传色彩作品中，我们看到奥尔科特那独有的细腻的笔触所焕发出来的迷人光芒，紧接着，她又写出第二部《小男人》和第三部《乔的男孩们》，从而奠定了她在美国文学史中不可动摇的地位。她所描写的童年时光，虽然带着生活中本来就挥之不去的艰辛和忧伤，但是，它依然是美丽的，一如既往地唤醒着我们每一个人灵魂深处的记忆。
Plot Details
Little Men follows the life of Jo Bhaer and the students who live and learn at the Plumfield Estate School that she runs with her husband, Professor Bhaer. The mischievous children, whom she loves and cares for as her own, learn valuable lessons as they become proper gentlemen and ladies. We also get cameo appearances of almost all the characters found in the previous books, almost all of them happy and well. Meg's older two children, Demi and Daisy, also attend the school and so do Mr. Bhaer's German nephews Franz and Emil.
The story begins with the arrival of Nathaniel "Nat" Blake, a shy young orphan with a talent for playing the violin and a penchant for telling fibs. Through his eyes we are introduced to the majority of the characters, from the Bhaers' children to other classmates. We follow Nat's life from April through Thanksgiving, meeting new students and playing games and having adventures throughout. Each student has his or her own struggles: Nat lies; Demi, although adored by his mother and sister, is so naïve that he finds it hard to live in the real world, but swears that he will be like 'parpar' after John Brooke (Meg's husband) dies; Emil has a bad temper; Dan is rebellious and rude; Tommy is careless (and once sets the house afire); Annie alias Nan is too tomboyish; Daisy is too prim and even weak-willed etc. They all learn to cope with their faults as they grow into young men and women.
Plot Details
Little Men follows the life of Jo Bhaer and the students who live and learn at the Plumfield Estate School that she runs with her husband, Professor Bhaer. The mischievous children, whom she loves and cares for as her own, learn valuable lessons as they become proper gentlemen and ladies. We also get cameo appearances of almost all the characters found in the previous books, almost all of them happy and well. Meg's older two children, Demi and Daisy, also attend the school and so do Mr. Bhaer's German nephews Franz and Emil.
The story begins with the arrival of Nathaniel "Nat" Blake, a shy young orphan with a talent for playing the violin and a penchant for telling fibs. Through his eyes we are introduced to the majority of the characters, from the Bhaers' children to other classmates. We follow Nat's life from April through Thanksgiving, meeting new students and playing games and having adventures throughout. Each student has his or her own struggles: Nat lies; Demi, although adored by his mother and sister, is so naïve that he finds it hard to live in the real world, but swears that he will be like 'parpar' after John Brooke (Meg's husband) dies; Emil has a bad temper; Dan is rebellious and rude; Tommy is careless (and once sets the house afire); Annie alias Nan is too tomboyish; Daisy is too prim and even weak-willed etc. They all learn to cope with their faults as they grow into young men and women.
《小妇人》出版后，奥尔科特又写作了《旧式女孩》（Old Fashioned Girl，1870）、《小男人》（Little Men，1871）、《工作》（Work，1873）及其他一些儿童作品，但其影响远不如前者。
It was first serialised in the Merry's Museum magazine between July and August in 1869 and consisted of only six chapters. For the finished product, however, Alcott continued the story from the chapter "Six Years Afterwards" and so it ended up with nineteen chapters in all. The book turns around Polly Milton, the old-fashioned girl who titles the story. Polly visits her wealthy friend Fanny Shaw in the city and is overwhelmed by the fashionable and urban life they live––but also left out because of her "countrified" manners and outdated clothes.
The novel was the basis of a 1949 musical film starring Gloria Jean as Polly.
Plot summary
Polly Milton, a 14-year-old country girl, visits her friend Fanny Shaw and her wealthy family in the city for the first time. Poor Polly is overwhelmed by the splendor at the Shaws' and their urbanized, fashionable lifestyles, expensive clothes and other habits she has never been exposed to, and, for the most part, dislikes. Fanny's friends reject her because of her different behavior and simple clothing, and Fan herself can't help considering her unusual sometimes. However, Polly's warmth, support and kindness eventually win the hearts of all the family members, and her old-fashioned ways teach them a lesson.
Success (Roberts Bros., 1870)
Six years later, Polly comes back to the city to become a music teacher and struggles with profession issues and internal emotions. Later in the book, Polly finds out that the prosperous Shaws are on the brink of bankruptcy, and she guides them to the realization that a wholesome family life is the only thing they will ever need, not money or decoration.
With the comfort of the ever helpful Polly, the family gets to change for the better and to find a happier life for all of them. After being rejected by his fiancée, Trix, Tom procures a job out West, with Polly's brother Ned, and heads off to help his family and compensate for all the money he has wasted in frivolous expenditures. At that point of the book, we see that Polly and Tom seem to have developed strong feelings for one another.
At the end of the book, Tom returns from the West and finally gets engaged to his true love, Polly.
It was first serialised in the Merry's Museum magazine between July and August in 1869 and consisted of only six chapters. For the finished product, however, Alcott continued the story from the chapter "Six Years Afterwards" and so it ended up with nineteen chapters in all. The book turns around Polly Milton, the old-fashioned girl who titles the story. Polly visits her wealthy friend Fanny Shaw in the city and is overwhelmed by the fashionable and urban life they live––but also left out because of her "countrified" manners and outdated clothes.
The novel was the basis of a 1949 musical film starring Gloria Jean as Polly.
Plot summary
Polly Milton, a 14-year-old country girl, visits her friend Fanny Shaw and her wealthy family in the city for the first time. Poor Polly is overwhelmed by the splendor at the Shaws' and their urbanized, fashionable lifestyles, expensive clothes and other habits she has never been exposed to, and, for the most part, dislikes. Fanny's friends reject her because of her different behavior and simple clothing, and Fan herself can't help considering her unusual sometimes. However, Polly's warmth, support and kindness eventually win the hearts of all the family members, and her old-fashioned ways teach them a lesson.
Success (Roberts Bros., 1870)
Six years later, Polly comes back to the city to become a music teacher and struggles with profession issues and internal emotions. Later in the book, Polly finds out that the prosperous Shaws are on the brink of bankruptcy, and she guides them to the realization that a wholesome family life is the only thing they will ever need, not money or decoration.
With the comfort of the ever helpful Polly, the family gets to change for the better and to find a happier life for all of them. After being rejected by his fiancée, Trix, Tom procures a job out West, with Polly's brother Ned, and heads off to help his family and compensate for all the money he has wasted in frivolous expenditures. At that point of the book, we see that Polly and Tom seem to have developed strong feelings for one another.
At the end of the book, Tom returns from the West and finally gets engaged to his true love, Polly.
路易莎•奥尔科特（Louisa May Alcott，1832－1888），美国作家。1832年11月29日出生在宾夕法尼亚州的杰曼镇（Germantown）。她的父亲布郎逊•奥尔科特是马萨诸塞州康科德一位自学成才的哲学家、学校改革家和乌托邦主义者。他一生沉迷于对理想的追求，以至无力担负家庭生活。维持生计的担子先是落到他的妻子身上，而后又落到他那富有进取精神的二女儿路易莎 •奥尔科特身上，路易莎到学校教过书，当过女裁缝、护士，做过洗熨活，15岁时还出去做过佣人。
路易莎10岁时便已热心于业余戏剧演出，15岁时写出第一部情节剧，21岁开始发表诗歌及小品。
1868年，一位出版商建议她写一部关于“女孩子的书”，她便根据孩提的记忆写成《小妇人》。书中把自己描写成乔•马奇，她的姐妹安娜、亚碧、伊丽莎白便分别成为梅格、艾美、贝思。书中的许多故事取材于现实生活，不过现实生活中的奥尔科特一家经济状况远不如她笔下的马奇一家。出于作者意料的是《小妇人》打动了无数美国读者，尤其是女性读者的心弦。之后，路易莎又续写了《小男人》和《乔的男孩子们》，1873年又以小说形式出版了自传著作《经验的故事》。
路易莎成名后，继续撰写小说和故事，并投身于妇女选举运动和禁酒运动。美国内战期间她在华盛顿做过军队救护人员，后来，她还担任过一家儿童刊物（Robert Merry's Museum ）的编辑。她于1888年3月6日在波士顿去世。
Among green New England hills stood an ancient house, many-gabled, mossy-roofed, and quaintly built, but picturesque and pleasant to the eye; for a brook ran babbling through the orchard that encompassed it about, a garden-plat stretched upward to the whispering birches on the slope, and patriarchal elms stood sentinel upon the lawn, as they had stood almost a century ago, when the Revoiution rolled that way and found them young.
One summer morning, when the air was full of country sounds, of mowers in the meadow, black- birds by the brook, and the low of kine upon the hill-side, the old house wore its cheeriest aspect, and a certain humble history began.
路易莎10岁时便已热心于业余戏剧演出，15岁时写出第一部情节剧，21岁开始发表诗歌及小品。
1868年，一位出版商建议她写一部关于“女孩子的书”，她便根据孩提的记忆写成《小妇人》。书中把自己描写成乔•马奇，她的姐妹安娜、亚碧、伊丽莎白便分别成为梅格、艾美、贝思。书中的许多故事取材于现实生活，不过现实生活中的奥尔科特一家经济状况远不如她笔下的马奇一家。出于作者意料的是《小妇人》打动了无数美国读者，尤其是女性读者的心弦。之后，路易莎又续写了《小男人》和《乔的男孩子们》，1873年又以小说形式出版了自传著作《经验的故事》。
路易莎成名后，继续撰写小说和故事，并投身于妇女选举运动和禁酒运动。美国内战期间她在华盛顿做过军队救护人员，后来，她还担任过一家儿童刊物（Robert Merry's Museum ）的编辑。她于1888年3月6日在波士顿去世。
Among green New England hills stood an ancient house, many-gabled, mossy-roofed, and quaintly built, but picturesque and pleasant to the eye; for a brook ran babbling through the orchard that encompassed it about, a garden-plat stretched upward to the whispering birches on the slope, and patriarchal elms stood sentinel upon the lawn, as they had stood almost a century ago, when the Revoiution rolled that way and found them young.
One summer morning, when the air was full of country sounds, of mowers in the meadow, black- birds by the brook, and the low of kine upon the hill-side, the old house wore its cheeriest aspect, and a certain humble history began.