In Little Women, the four daughters of the March family try to live in peace with their father absent during the American Civil War. When Mr. March is wounded, their mother must leave to tend to his health. In her absence, three of the four girls fall into a lethargy and neglect their vow to care of a local immigrant family, focusing on their own affairs rather than those of the needy. Fortunately for the ailing Hummels, 14-year old Beth remembers the promise and continues providing aid, asking for nothing in return. Less fortunately for Beth, however, she does get something for her efforts: scarlet fever. The fever quickly burns through her, leaving her delirious and seemingly on her deathbed with no one to look after her except for her remorseful sisters. Little Women is a book that made girls wish for sisters, or at least wish for different sisters. It paints an idyllic portrait of harmonious life among women which we'd all like to believe is possible. Of course, readers know that Beth's original illness is merely the precursor to the real tearjerker of the novel, but it is the first serious calamity faced by the little women. Also, the literary significance of Beth being the sister to fall ill is...troubling. Not only is Beth's contraction of the life-threatening sickness completely unfair to her, it is also used as a punishment to her sisters for their selfishness. So, basically, the message is that doing good deeds does not karmically protect you from terrible illnesses, but self-absorption can karmically send your loved-ones to the verge of death.
Fiction buff and writer. If it's on Netflix, it's probably in my queue. I've bought DVDs for the special features and usually claim that the book is better than the movie or show (and can provide examples). I've never met a TV show that I won't marathon. Follow on Twitter @lah9891 .
