Beth March (2024)

"There are many Beth’s in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence and shadow behind."― Part 1, Chapter 4

Beth March is one of the protagonists in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. She is the daughter of Mr. and Marmee March and the sister of Meg, Jo and Amy March.

A shy, sweet girl, Beth doesn't go to school or work outside of home, and instead makes herself useful around the household and follows the important lessons and morals her wise mother, Marmee, teaches her and her sisters.

Description[]

Beth March is the third March sister, and she is the most different from her sisters. She resembles an old-fashioned heroine who mostly keeps to herself and doesn’t appreciate the roles that women were allowed to accept at the time, such as going to school or work. However, like her sisters, Beth makes a different step in her journey from childhood to adulthood by overcoming her problems, such as getting over her shyness. At the same time, the girls have their “Castles in the Air”, in which they have different sets of goals they would like to accomplish. Unlike her sisters, Beth doesn’t wish to be rich or have a successful career; instead, she is satisfied with herself and has no other goals.

She is inspired by Alcott’s younger sister, Lizzie Alcott. Like Beth March, Lizzie was shy, sweet and loved playing the piano. Very little is known about her life, although she contracted scarlet fever but never fully recovered from it. As her health failed, she refused medical treatment and died at age 22. Her death devastated Alcott and the family, and Alcott had written in her journal that she was relieved her sister wasn’t in pain anymore, and her soul was finally free. Since Lizzie’s personality traits and life are immortalized in the character of Beth March, it’s clear that she was never meant to live a long, successful life like her sister. However, the narrator assured readers that Beth was now at peace with her death.

Some readers underappreciate Beth, as she has less action than the sisters and the choices she makes have grim results, such as forgetting to feed her pet canary, which resulted in it starving to death, or holding a poor family’s sick baby that died in her arms. At the same time, Meg and Jo had been selfish when they refuse to visit the Hummels, and Beth decided she would go alone, even if it meant she would contract the sickness from them. However, Alcott insisted that Beth did a selfless act in helping the less fortunate and blamed society for their treatment of weak women who cannot give their support. If readers had paid close attention and analyzed Beth’s characteristics, they would learn the empathy of Beth’s selflessness and how her illness becomes an important lesson to those who love her.

Storyline[]

An Impoverished Christmas[]

On Christmas Eve, 13-year-old Beth sits in the parlour with her sisters, Meg, Jo and Amy, who lament about living in poverty and not having Christmas gifts.^[1] Beth reminds her sisters that they should be grateful that they still have their parents and each other. But Jo laments that their father is absent and they won’t see him again for a long time.

Beth and Mr. Laurence[]

Personality/Appearance[]

Beth is a sweet, loving and gentle girl whose traits keep her family close. She never complains about not having everything and is grateful for what she has: her sisters, her kittens, her dolls and her music. She spends all her time in her home as she's too shy to attend school or work, and she often finds her home to be a haven. As such, she is considered to be the most feminine of the March sisters, since she is depicted as an angel from Heaven who provides peace in her home, and eager to accept traditional female roles.

Being a shy, timid girl, Beth was initially afraid of leaving her home and experiencing the outside world. She initially fears Mr. Laurence, his wealth and his mansion, and other strangers in general. But when Mr. Laurence ends up gifting her with his grand piano that belonged to his deceased granddaughter, she learns how to overcome her shyness and see the inner goodness of some kind people who care about her, and doesn’t become too scared of Mr. Laurence after his generosity.

Her greatest passion is her music, as playing her piano provides love, warmth and comfort to her family, and some means to express herself and let out her emotions. She also loves her dolls and cats who provide her solace. She is also the most domestic of the sisters, as she enjoys doing housework and always keeps her promises, such as when she promises Marmee that she will balance her housework with play, after she and her sisters find themselves neglecting their chores for a week as an experiment, but this results in her beloved pet canary Pip dying from negligence.

Relationships[]

Meg March[]

Jo March[]

Amy March[]

Marmee March[]

Mr. Laurence[]

Quotes/Relatable Quotes[]

Portrayals[]

References[]