Both girls have a unique spirit and a tomboy style. Beth plays Louisa's first younger sister, Lizzie. Both Beth and Lizzie are gentle and soft-spoken, and at an early age die of scarlet fever. Lastly, the baby of the family, May, is portrayed as Amy. "Quixotic girls at heart, Amy and May both strive to grow up as quickly as possible, and share a talent of art- (MacDonald 13). Louisa May Alcotts mother (Abba) takes the part of a large role in Little Women. As Marmee, "she is a strong women, the head of the household and guides her daughters through their troubles and their faults. She is the mother that all readers would like to have- always available, always loving, always compassionate- (MacDonald [b] 5). Abba Alcott "spent much time teaching her children what she thought they needed to know to be good and happy' people- (Greene 18), as did Mrs. March. Although Louisa's father was not directly recreated in Little Women, Bronson Alcott is "transformed into a peripheral, though heroic, character in this novel- (Morrow 4). He was not largely portrayed due to the fact that this novel was based solely on women. The March family's extreme resemblance of the Alcott family give Little Women a incomparable core unlike many other written novels during the late 1800's. .
As for Louisa's friends, she grew up with the great personal influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau. Emerson "was a great friend and near neighbor; the young Louisa May Alcott had free access to his library and ready widely there- (MacDonald [a] 2). Louisa May Alcott relied heavily on Emerson's guidance and friendship. Emerson was portrayed through Professor Friedrich Bhaer " "an older, wiser man, who plays happily with small children- (Morrow 4). Thoreau was Louisa's botany teacher at one point, and closely resembled John Brooke, a minor character in Little Women, that played a tutor. For if Alcott's inspiration from her friends was not so extreme, Little Women may have never been written.
