Louisa M. Alcott
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT was born in 1832 and died in 1888. She was the daughter of A. Bronson Alcott, the "Sage of Concord." Her early surroundings were of a highly intellectual and literary character, and she naturally took to writing while still very young.
In her sketch "Transcendental Oats" she describes in an amusing way the experience of a year at Fruitlands, where an attempt was made to establish an ideal community.
Miss Alcott was obliged to be a wage-earner to help out the family income, and so taught school, served as a governess and at times worked as a seamstress. Wearying of this, she wrote for the papers stories of a sensational nature, which were remunerative financially, but unsatisfactory to her as a literary pursuit, and she abandoned this style of writing.
In a Washington hospital she served as a nurse for a time, but the work was so hard that she failed in health, and when she recovered she had to find new fields of work; then she traveled as attendant to an invalid, and with her visited Europe.
After several attempts at literature, Miss Alcott wrote "Little Women," which was an immediate success, reaching a sale of 87,000 copies in three years. She wrote from the heart, and wove into the story incidents from the lives of herself and her three sisters at Concord. She afterward wrote "An Old-Fashioned Girl," "Little Men," "Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag," "The Eight Cousins," and "Rose in Bloom," besides other stories and sketches.
In their old-fashioned New England home the little women lived with Mrs. March, their brisk and cheery mother, who always had a "can-I-help-you" look about her, and whom her four girls lovingly called "Marmee."
Pretty Meg, the oldest, was sixteen, and already showed domestic tastes and talents, though she detested the drudgery of household work; and, a little vain of her white hands, longed at heart to be a fine lady. Jo, fifteen, was tall, thin, and coltish, and gloried in an unconcealed scorn of polite conventions. Beth, thirteen, was a loveable little thing, shy, fond of her dolls and devoted to music, which she tried hopefully to produce from the old, jingling tin pan of a piano. Amy, twelve, considered herself the flower of the family. An adorable blonde, she admitted that the trial of her life was her nose. For, when she was a baby Jo had accidentally dropped her into the coal-hod and permanently flattened that feature, and though poor Amy slept with a patent clothespin pinching it, she couldn't attain the Grecian effect she so much desired.
Father March was an army chaplain in the Civil War, and in his absence Jo declared herself to be the man of the family. To add to their slender income, she went every day to read to Aunt March, a peppery old lady; and Meg, too, earned a small salary as daily nursery governess to a neighbor's children.
In the big house next door to the Marches lived a rich old gentleman, Mr. Laurence, and his grandson, a jolly, chummy boy called Laurie.
The night Laurie took the two older girls to the theater, Amy, though not invited, insisted on going too. Jo crossly declared she wouldn't go if Amy did, and, furiously scolding her little sister, she slammed the door and went off, as Amy called out: "You'll be sorry for this, Jo March! See if you ain't!" The child made good her threat by burning up the manuscript of a precious book which Jo had written and on which she had spent three years of hard work. There was a terrible fracas, and, though at her mother's bidding Amy made contrite apology, Jo refused to be pacified. It was only when poor little Amy was nearly drowned by falling through the ice that consicence-stricken Jo forgave her sister and learned a much-needed lesson of self-control.
Meg, too, learned a salutary lesson when she went to visit some fashionable friends and had her first taste of "Vanity Fair." Her sisters gladly lent her all their best things. Yet she soon saw that her wardrobe was sadly inadequate to the environment in which she found herself. Whereupon the rich friends lent her some of their own finery; and, after laughingly applying paint and powder, they laced her into a sky-blue silk dress, so low that modest Meg blushed at herself in the mirror, and Laurie, who was at the party, openly expressed his surprised disapproval. Chagrin and remorse followed, and it was not until after full confession to Marmee that Meg realized the trumpery value of fashionable rivalry and the real worth of simplicity and contentment.
Now John Brooke, the tutor of Laurie, was a secret admirer of pretty Meg. Discovering this, the mischievous boy wrote Meg a passionate love-letter, purporting to be from Brooke. This prank caused a terrible upset in both houses, but later on Brooke put the momentous question, and Meg meekly whispered, "Yes, John," and hid her face on his waistcoat. Jo, blundering in, was transfixed with astonishment and dismay, and exclaimed, "Oh, do somebody come quick! John Brooke is acting dreadfully, and Meg likes it!"
At Christmas, Father March came home from the war. Later came the first ;break in their restored home circle. The Dovecote was the name of the little brown house that John Brooke had prepared for his bride. The wedding, beneath the June roses, was a simple, homey one, and the bridal journey was only the walk from the March home to the dear little new house. "I'm too happy to care what any one says —— I'm going to have my wedding just as I want it!” Meg had declared; and so, leaning on her husband's arm, her hands full of flowers, she went away, saying: “Thank you all for my happy wedding-day. Good-by, good-by!"
Jo developed into a writer of sensational stories. This, however, was because she found a profitable market for such work and she wanted the money for herself and the other. For little Beth was ailing, and a summer stay at the seashore might, they all hoped, bring back the roses to her cheeks. But it didn't, and after a time the dark days came when gentle Beth, like a tired but trustful child, clung to the hands that had led her all through life, as her father and mother guided her tenderly through the Valley of the Shadow and gave her up to God.
Then came a day when Laurie was invited to the Dovecote to see Meg's new baby. Jo appeared, a proud aunt, bearing a bundle on a pillow. "Shut your eyes and hold out your arms," she ordered, and Laurie, obeying, opened his eyes again, to see —— two babies! "Twins, by Jupiter!" he cried; "take 'em, quick, somebody! I'm going to laugh, and I shall drop 'em!"
Laurie had loved Jo for years, but Jo, though truly sorry, couldn't respond. As she said, "It's impossible for people to make themselves love other people if they don't!" And so, after a time, Laurie decided that Amy was the only woman in the world who could fill Jo's place and make him happy. And the two were very happy together, Amy taking great pride in her handsome husband. "Don't laugh," she said to him, "but your nose is such a comfort to me!" and she caressed the well-cut feature with artistic satisfaction.
Jo found her fate in an elderly professor, wise and kind, but too poor to think of marriage. For a year the pair worked and waited and hoped and loved, and then Aunt March died and left Jo her fine old country place. Here Jo and her professor set up their home, and established a boy's school which became a great success. Jo lived a very happy life, and, as the years went on, two little lads of her own came to increase her happiness. Amy, too, had a dear child named Beth, but she was a frail little creature and the dread of losing her was the shadow over Amy's sunshine.
But the little women and all their dear ones formed a happy, united family, of whom Jo truly wrote:
Lives whose brave music long shall ring
小 婦 人
〔美〕露易莎·梅·奧爾科特 原著
作者生于1832年，卒于1888年。她是“康科德的圣人”A.布朗森·奧爾科特的女兒。早期生活在一個(gè)高級(jí)知識(shí)分子和文人的環(huán)境中，很自然地在她還很年輕的時(shí)候就從事了寫(xiě)作。
她的隨筆《想入非非》有趣地描述了有一年在果樹(shù)園里的經(jīng)歷。人們?cè)噲D在那里建立一個(gè)理想的社會(huì)。
奧爾科特小姐不得不去掙工資來(lái)增加家庭的收入，她去學(xué)校教書(shū)，做家庭教師，有時(shí)還替人縫補(bǔ)。由于她對(duì)此感到厭煩，于是就替報(bào)刊寫(xiě)些聳人聽(tīng)聞的故事，這些故事是有報(bào)酬的。但是作為一個(gè)從事文學(xué)的人來(lái)說(shuō)，她對(duì)此是不滿足的，因而她就放棄了這種寫(xiě)作風(fēng)格。
她曾經(jīng)在華盛頓一家醫(yī)院里做過(guò)護(hù)士，由于工作十分艱苦，身體垮了下來(lái)，待到健康恢復(fù)之后，不得不另找新的領(lǐng)域的工作；于是她作為一個(gè)病人的護(hù)理員開(kāi)始到處游歷，跟這位病人一起訪問(wèn)過(guò)歐洲。
在文學(xué)方面幾經(jīng)嘗試，奧爾科特小姐寫(xiě)下了《小婦人》一書(shū)，立即獲得極大的成功，三年之內(nèi)銷(xiāo)售了八萬(wàn)七千冊(cè)。這是她從心坎里寫(xiě)出來(lái)的書(shū)，她把自己生活中的瑣事和在康科德她的三個(gè)姐妹都寫(xiě)進(jìn)故事里去。后來(lái)她又寫(xiě)了《一個(gè)舊式的姑娘》、《小男人》、《喬姨的廢料袋》、《八個(gè)堂表》和《盛開(kāi)的玫瑰花》以及其他一些故事和隨筆等。
在他們老式的新英格蘭家里住著這些小婦人和她們的母親馬奇太太，這是一位做事麻利、身心愉快的太太，她的臉上老掛著“我能幫你忙嗎?”這種神情，四個(gè)姑娘親切地叫她“媽咪”。
美麗的梅格是大姐，十六歲的年紀(jì)已經(jīng)表現(xiàn)出是位善理家務(wù)的能手，盡管她并不喜歡單調(diào)的家務(wù)事。她對(duì)自己雪白的手頗為自負(fù)，從心底里想做一個(gè)體面的貴婦。喬，十五歲，是個(gè)瘦高個(gè)活潑的姑娘，她毫不掩飾對(duì)斯文習(xí)俗的蔑視，并以此自豪。貝思，十三歲，這個(gè)可愛(ài)怕羞的小東西喜歡娃娃，酷愛(ài)音樂(lè)，總想從那個(gè)舊的叮叮的鋼琴上奏出點(diǎn)什么來(lái)。艾米，十二歲，自認(rèn)為是這個(gè)家庭的花朵。她是一個(gè)可愛(ài)的金發(fā)女郎，卻也承認(rèn)她生命中磨難的根源就是她自己那只鼻子。因?yàn)?，在她還是嬰兒時(shí)，喬不小心把她掉進(jìn)煤筐里，把鼻子摔扁了，造成了永久的破相。盡管可憐的艾米在睡覺(jué)時(shí)用一只特制的衣服夾子夾住它，也無(wú)法達(dá)到她所要求的高鼻子的目的。
父親馬奇是南北戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)時(shí)期的軍隊(duì)牧師，他不在家期間，喬自命為一家之主。為了要增加她們微薄的收入，她每天去給馬奇姑姑，一個(gè)暴躁的老太太朗讀；梅格也每天去做鄰居孩子們的保姆以掙得些微薄的工資。
馬奇家隔壁的一所大房子里住著一個(gè)有錢(qián)的老人勞倫斯先生和他的孫子勞里，一個(gè)快活、友好的少年。
有一天晚上，勞里帶著兩個(gè)大姑娘去看戲，雖然沒(méi)有請(qǐng)艾米，她卻堅(jiān)持要去。喬發(fā)脾氣說(shuō)如果艾米去那她就不去了，并且把她的小妹妹大罵了一頓，然后把門(mén)砰地一聲關(guān)上走了。艾米朝外喊道：“你會(huì)后悔的，喬·馬奇! 瞧你會(huì)不會(huì)后悔!” 這孩子把威脅付諸行動(dòng)，她把喬所寫(xiě)的一本珍貴的書(shū)的手稿全部燒掉了，這本書(shū)足足花了喬三年艱苦勞動(dòng)才寫(xiě)下的。接著是一場(chǎng)大吵大鬧，盡管在母親的嚴(yán)命下，艾米作了懺悔性的道歉，喬卻不肯罷休。只是一直等到有一天，可憐的小艾米掉進(jìn)冰窟窿幾乎淹死，喬才良心發(fā)現(xiàn)原諒了她的妹妹，并且由此得到了一個(gè)非常需要的自我克制的教訓(xùn)。
梅格，在她去訪問(wèn)了一些時(shí)髦的朋友并第一次嘗到了“名利場(chǎng)”的味道以后，也從中學(xué)得了一個(gè)有益的教訓(xùn)。她的妹妹們心甘情愿地把她們所有的東西都借給了她。但是她很快就發(fā)現(xiàn)她的衣服少得可憐，這和她所處的環(huán)境是何等的不相稱。因此，那些有錢(qián)的朋友把她們自己的華麗服飾借一些給她；在嘻嘻哈哈涂脂抹粉之后，她們把她套進(jìn)一件天藍(lán)色的綢衣服里，開(kāi)胸低得使端莊的梅格一照鏡子就臉紅。勞里也參加了這個(gè)晚會(huì)，并公開(kāi)表示他那出人意外的責(zé)難。梅格感到既委屈又懊惱，一直到她把此事向媽咪和盤(pán)托出之后，她才認(rèn)識(shí)到這種時(shí)髦競(jìng)賽的淺薄無(wú)聊和樸素知足的真正價(jià)值。
約翰·布魯克，勞里的一位家庭教師，暗中愛(ài)上了美麗的梅格。勞里這個(gè)淘氣的孩子，發(fā)現(xiàn)了這個(gè)秘密，就以布魯克的名義給梅格寫(xiě)了一封熱情洋溢的情書(shū)。這個(gè)惡作劇在兩家人之中引起了軒然大波，但后來(lái)布魯克自己把這個(gè)重要問(wèn)題提出來(lái)，梅格才溫順地喃喃道，“是，約翰，”說(shuō)完就把臉撲到他的背心上藏了起來(lái)。正好這時(shí)喬魯莽地闖了進(jìn)來(lái)，驚訝得目瞪口呆，然后喊了起來(lái)，“喂，快來(lái)人啦! 約翰·布魯克表演得可怕極了，梅格居然喜歡這種表演!”
圣誕節(jié)時(shí)，父親馬奇從戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上回來(lái)了。不久，他們重新團(tuán)聚起來(lái)的家就發(fā)生了第一次突破。鴿棚是約翰·布魯克為他的新娘所準(zhǔn)備的一幢棕色小房子的名字。六月玫瑰下的婚禮是簡(jiǎn)樸而又親切溫暖的，新娘所要走的路程只是從馬奇家到親愛(ài)的新的小屋的一點(diǎn)路?！拔铱旎顦O了，我才不在乎人家會(huì)說(shuō)什么呢——我只要舉行我所想要的婚禮!”梅格說(shuō)；于是，依著她丈夫的臂膀，雙手捧著鮮花，就這樣走了，她邊走邊說(shuō)：“謝謝你們大家來(lái)參加我這快樂(lè)的婚禮。再見(jiàn)，再見(jiàn)了!”
喬發(fā)展成為專寫(xiě)聳人聽(tīng)聞的故事的作家。因?yàn)樗l(fā)現(xiàn)這種作品有利可圖，而她本人和家庭中其他成員又都需要錢(qián)。因?yàn)樾∝愃忌×?，大家都希望在海濱呆上一個(gè)夏天可能會(huì)使她的雙頰恢復(fù)血色?？上](méi)有用，過(guò)了一些時(shí)候，黑暗的日子終于來(lái)臨了，小貝思的父母親切地把她帶進(jìn)幽谷奉給上帝時(shí)，她象一個(gè)疲倦的乖孩子緊緊握著領(lǐng)她走完人生道路的父母的手。
接著有一天，勞里被邀請(qǐng)到鴿棚來(lái)看看梅格的新生嬰兒。喬出現(xiàn)了，一個(gè)自豪的姨媽，抱著躺在枕頭上的一個(gè)包包。“閉上眼睛把胳臂伸出來(lái)”，她命令道，勞里遵命照辦，再睜開(kāi)眼睛時(shí)，他看見(jiàn)了——兩個(gè)嬰兒! “天哪，雙胞胎!” 他喊了起來(lái)；“快，誰(shuí)來(lái)抱一抱他們! 我要大笑了，我會(huì)把他們摔壞的!”
勞里已愛(ài)上喬多年了，喬雖然真誠(chéng)地感到抱歉，卻無(wú)法答應(yīng)，就象她所說(shuō)的：“如果一個(gè)人不愛(ài)另一個(gè)人，那就沒(méi)法逼著自己去愛(ài)!”就這樣過(guò)了一些日子，勞里確定艾米是世界上能填補(bǔ)喬的空白并能使他快活的女人。這兩個(gè)人在一起確是非?？旎?，艾米對(duì)她的漂亮丈夫感到很自豪?！皠e笑，”她對(duì)他說(shuō)，“你的鼻子對(duì)我是個(gè)很大的安慰!”說(shuō)完她以一種欣嘗藝術(shù)感到滿足的心情撫摸著這只雕塑得這樣完美的藝術(shù)品。
喬命中注定要跟一個(gè)年紀(jì)大的教授過(guò)，這位教授博學(xué)而又慈祥，但是窮得從沒(méi)想到結(jié)婚。一年來(lái)這一對(duì)工作著、等待著、期望著、相愛(ài)著，直到馬奇姑姑死了，把她古老優(yōu)雅的鄉(xiāng)村住處留給了喬，喬和她的教授才在這里安了家，并且還在這里建立了一個(gè)男童學(xué)校，這個(gè)學(xué)校辦得極為成功。喬過(guò)得非?？旎睿S著歲月的流逝，她自己的兩個(gè)小兒子更給她增添了幸福。艾米也有一個(gè)可愛(ài)的孩子取名貝思，但她是個(gè)纖弱的小東西，擔(dān)心失掉她變成艾米幸福中的一個(gè)陰影。
但這些小婦人和她們親愛(ài)的成員組成一個(gè)幸福、團(tuán)結(jié)的家庭，對(duì)于他們，喬真實(shí)地這樣寫(xiě)道：
生命的勇敢的音樂(lè)
象震憾人心的曲調(diào)
將長(zhǎng)奏不已。
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT was born in 1832 and died in 1888. She was the daughter of A. Bronson Alcott, the "Sage of Concord." Her early surroundings were of a highly intellectual and literary character, and she naturally took to writing while still very young.
In her sketch "Transcendental Oats" she describes in an amusing way the experience of a year at Fruitlands, where an attempt was made to establish an ideal community.
Miss Alcott was obliged to be a wage-earner to help out the family income, and so taught school, served as a governess and at times worked as a seamstress. Wearying of this, she wrote for the papers stories of a sensational nature, which were remunerative financially, but unsatisfactory to her as a literary pursuit, and she abandoned this style of writing.
In a Washington hospital she served as a nurse for a time, but the work was so hard that she failed in health, and when she recovered she had to find new fields of work; then she traveled as attendant to an invalid, and with her visited Europe.
After several attempts at literature, Miss Alcott wrote "Little Women," which was an immediate success, reaching a sale of 87,000 copies in three years. She wrote from the heart, and wove into the story incidents from the lives of herself and her three sisters at Concord. She afterward wrote "An Old-Fashioned Girl," "Little Men," "Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag," "The Eight Cousins," and "Rose in Bloom," besides other stories and sketches.
In their old-fashioned New England home the little women lived with Mrs. March, their brisk and cheery mother, who always had a "can-I-help-you" look about her, and whom her four girls lovingly called "Marmee."
Pretty Meg, the oldest, was sixteen, and already showed domestic tastes and talents, though she detested the drudgery of household work; and, a little vain of her white hands, longed at heart to be a fine lady. Jo, fifteen, was tall, thin, and coltish, and gloried in an unconcealed scorn of polite conventions. Beth, thirteen, was a loveable little thing, shy, fond of her dolls and devoted to music, which she tried hopefully to produce from the old, jingling tin pan of a piano. Amy, twelve, considered herself the flower of the family. An adorable blonde, she admitted that the trial of her life was her nose. For, when she was a baby Jo had accidentally dropped her into the coal-hod and permanently flattened that feature, and though poor Amy slept with a patent clothespin pinching it, she couldn't attain the Grecian effect she so much desired.
Father March was an army chaplain in the Civil War, and in his absence Jo declared herself to be the man of the family. To add to their slender income, she went every day to read to Aunt March, a peppery old lady; and Meg, too, earned a small salary as daily nursery governess to a neighbor's children.
In the big house next door to the Marches lived a rich old gentleman, Mr. Laurence, and his grandson, a jolly, chummy boy called Laurie.
The night Laurie took the two older girls to the theater, Amy, though not invited, insisted on going too. Jo crossly declared she wouldn't go if Amy did, and, furiously scolding her little sister, she slammed the door and went off, as Amy called out: "You'll be sorry for this, Jo March! See if you ain't!" The child made good her threat by burning up the manuscript of a precious book which Jo had written and on which she had spent three years of hard work. There was a terrible fracas, and, though at her mother's bidding Amy made contrite apology, Jo refused to be pacified. It was only when poor little Amy was nearly drowned by falling through the ice that consicence-stricken Jo forgave her sister and learned a much-needed lesson of self-control.
Meg, too, learned a salutary lesson when she went to visit some fashionable friends and had her first taste of "Vanity Fair." Her sisters gladly lent her all their best things. Yet she soon saw that her wardrobe was sadly inadequate to the environment in which she found herself. Whereupon the rich friends lent her some of their own finery; and, after laughingly applying paint and powder, they laced her into a sky-blue silk dress, so low that modest Meg blushed at herself in the mirror, and Laurie, who was at the party, openly expressed his surprised disapproval. Chagrin and remorse followed, and it was not until after full confession to Marmee that Meg realized the trumpery value of fashionable rivalry and the real worth of simplicity and contentment.
Now John Brooke, the tutor of Laurie, was a secret admirer of pretty Meg. Discovering this, the mischievous boy wrote Meg a passionate love-letter, purporting to be from Brooke. This prank caused a terrible upset in both houses, but later on Brooke put the momentous question, and Meg meekly whispered, "Yes, John," and hid her face on his waistcoat. Jo, blundering in, was transfixed with astonishment and dismay, and exclaimed, "Oh, do somebody come quick! John Brooke is acting dreadfully, and Meg likes it!"
At Christmas, Father March came home from the war. Later came the first ;break in their restored home circle. The Dovecote was the name of the little brown house that John Brooke had prepared for his bride. The wedding, beneath the June roses, was a simple, homey one, and the bridal journey was only the walk from the March home to the dear little new house. "I'm too happy to care what any one says —— I'm going to have my wedding just as I want it!” Meg had declared; and so, leaning on her husband's arm, her hands full of flowers, she went away, saying: “Thank you all for my happy wedding-day. Good-by, good-by!"
Jo developed into a writer of sensational stories. This, however, was because she found a profitable market for such work and she wanted the money for herself and the other. For little Beth was ailing, and a summer stay at the seashore might, they all hoped, bring back the roses to her cheeks. But it didn't, and after a time the dark days came when gentle Beth, like a tired but trustful child, clung to the hands that had led her all through life, as her father and mother guided her tenderly through the Valley of the Shadow and gave her up to God.
Then came a day when Laurie was invited to the Dovecote to see Meg's new baby. Jo appeared, a proud aunt, bearing a bundle on a pillow. "Shut your eyes and hold out your arms," she ordered, and Laurie, obeying, opened his eyes again, to see —— two babies! "Twins, by Jupiter!" he cried; "take 'em, quick, somebody! I'm going to laugh, and I shall drop 'em!"
Laurie had loved Jo for years, but Jo, though truly sorry, couldn't respond. As she said, "It's impossible for people to make themselves love other people if they don't!" And so, after a time, Laurie decided that Amy was the only woman in the world who could fill Jo's place and make him happy. And the two were very happy together, Amy taking great pride in her handsome husband. "Don't laugh," she said to him, "but your nose is such a comfort to me!" and she caressed the well-cut feature with artistic satisfaction.
Jo found her fate in an elderly professor, wise and kind, but too poor to think of marriage. For a year the pair worked and waited and hoped and loved, and then Aunt March died and left Jo her fine old country place. Here Jo and her professor set up their home, and established a boy's school which became a great success. Jo lived a very happy life, and, as the years went on, two little lads of her own came to increase her happiness. Amy, too, had a dear child named Beth, but she was a frail little creature and the dread of losing her was the shadow over Amy's sunshine.
But the little women and all their dear ones formed a happy, united family, of whom Jo truly wrote:
Lives whose brave music long shall ring
小 婦 人
〔美〕露易莎·梅·奧爾科特 原著
作者生于1832年，卒于1888年。她是“康科德的圣人”A.布朗森·奧爾科特的女兒。早期生活在一個(gè)高級(jí)知識(shí)分子和文人的環(huán)境中，很自然地在她還很年輕的時(shí)候就從事了寫(xiě)作。
她的隨筆《想入非非》有趣地描述了有一年在果樹(shù)園里的經(jīng)歷。人們?cè)噲D在那里建立一個(gè)理想的社會(huì)。
奧爾科特小姐不得不去掙工資來(lái)增加家庭的收入，她去學(xué)校教書(shū)，做家庭教師，有時(shí)還替人縫補(bǔ)。由于她對(duì)此感到厭煩，于是就替報(bào)刊寫(xiě)些聳人聽(tīng)聞的故事，這些故事是有報(bào)酬的。但是作為一個(gè)從事文學(xué)的人來(lái)說(shuō)，她對(duì)此是不滿足的，因而她就放棄了這種寫(xiě)作風(fēng)格。
她曾經(jīng)在華盛頓一家醫(yī)院里做過(guò)護(hù)士，由于工作十分艱苦，身體垮了下來(lái)，待到健康恢復(fù)之后，不得不另找新的領(lǐng)域的工作；于是她作為一個(gè)病人的護(hù)理員開(kāi)始到處游歷，跟這位病人一起訪問(wèn)過(guò)歐洲。
在文學(xué)方面幾經(jīng)嘗試，奧爾科特小姐寫(xiě)下了《小婦人》一書(shū)，立即獲得極大的成功，三年之內(nèi)銷(xiāo)售了八萬(wàn)七千冊(cè)。這是她從心坎里寫(xiě)出來(lái)的書(shū)，她把自己生活中的瑣事和在康科德她的三個(gè)姐妹都寫(xiě)進(jìn)故事里去。后來(lái)她又寫(xiě)了《一個(gè)舊式的姑娘》、《小男人》、《喬姨的廢料袋》、《八個(gè)堂表》和《盛開(kāi)的玫瑰花》以及其他一些故事和隨筆等。
在他們老式的新英格蘭家里住著這些小婦人和她們的母親馬奇太太，這是一位做事麻利、身心愉快的太太，她的臉上老掛著“我能幫你忙嗎?”這種神情，四個(gè)姑娘親切地叫她“媽咪”。
美麗的梅格是大姐，十六歲的年紀(jì)已經(jīng)表現(xiàn)出是位善理家務(wù)的能手，盡管她并不喜歡單調(diào)的家務(wù)事。她對(duì)自己雪白的手頗為自負(fù)，從心底里想做一個(gè)體面的貴婦。喬，十五歲，是個(gè)瘦高個(gè)活潑的姑娘，她毫不掩飾對(duì)斯文習(xí)俗的蔑視，并以此自豪。貝思，十三歲，這個(gè)可愛(ài)怕羞的小東西喜歡娃娃，酷愛(ài)音樂(lè)，總想從那個(gè)舊的叮叮的鋼琴上奏出點(diǎn)什么來(lái)。艾米，十二歲，自認(rèn)為是這個(gè)家庭的花朵。她是一個(gè)可愛(ài)的金發(fā)女郎，卻也承認(rèn)她生命中磨難的根源就是她自己那只鼻子。因?yàn)?，在她還是嬰兒時(shí)，喬不小心把她掉進(jìn)煤筐里，把鼻子摔扁了，造成了永久的破相。盡管可憐的艾米在睡覺(jué)時(shí)用一只特制的衣服夾子夾住它，也無(wú)法達(dá)到她所要求的高鼻子的目的。
父親馬奇是南北戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)時(shí)期的軍隊(duì)牧師，他不在家期間，喬自命為一家之主。為了要增加她們微薄的收入，她每天去給馬奇姑姑，一個(gè)暴躁的老太太朗讀；梅格也每天去做鄰居孩子們的保姆以掙得些微薄的工資。
馬奇家隔壁的一所大房子里住著一個(gè)有錢(qián)的老人勞倫斯先生和他的孫子勞里，一個(gè)快活、友好的少年。
有一天晚上，勞里帶著兩個(gè)大姑娘去看戲，雖然沒(méi)有請(qǐng)艾米，她卻堅(jiān)持要去。喬發(fā)脾氣說(shuō)如果艾米去那她就不去了，并且把她的小妹妹大罵了一頓，然后把門(mén)砰地一聲關(guān)上走了。艾米朝外喊道：“你會(huì)后悔的，喬·馬奇! 瞧你會(huì)不會(huì)后悔!” 這孩子把威脅付諸行動(dòng)，她把喬所寫(xiě)的一本珍貴的書(shū)的手稿全部燒掉了，這本書(shū)足足花了喬三年艱苦勞動(dòng)才寫(xiě)下的。接著是一場(chǎng)大吵大鬧，盡管在母親的嚴(yán)命下，艾米作了懺悔性的道歉，喬卻不肯罷休。只是一直等到有一天，可憐的小艾米掉進(jìn)冰窟窿幾乎淹死，喬才良心發(fā)現(xiàn)原諒了她的妹妹，并且由此得到了一個(gè)非常需要的自我克制的教訓(xùn)。
梅格，在她去訪問(wèn)了一些時(shí)髦的朋友并第一次嘗到了“名利場(chǎng)”的味道以后，也從中學(xué)得了一個(gè)有益的教訓(xùn)。她的妹妹們心甘情愿地把她們所有的東西都借給了她。但是她很快就發(fā)現(xiàn)她的衣服少得可憐，這和她所處的環(huán)境是何等的不相稱。因此，那些有錢(qián)的朋友把她們自己的華麗服飾借一些給她；在嘻嘻哈哈涂脂抹粉之后，她們把她套進(jìn)一件天藍(lán)色的綢衣服里，開(kāi)胸低得使端莊的梅格一照鏡子就臉紅。勞里也參加了這個(gè)晚會(huì)，并公開(kāi)表示他那出人意外的責(zé)難。梅格感到既委屈又懊惱，一直到她把此事向媽咪和盤(pán)托出之后，她才認(rèn)識(shí)到這種時(shí)髦競(jìng)賽的淺薄無(wú)聊和樸素知足的真正價(jià)值。
約翰·布魯克，勞里的一位家庭教師，暗中愛(ài)上了美麗的梅格。勞里這個(gè)淘氣的孩子，發(fā)現(xiàn)了這個(gè)秘密，就以布魯克的名義給梅格寫(xiě)了一封熱情洋溢的情書(shū)。這個(gè)惡作劇在兩家人之中引起了軒然大波，但后來(lái)布魯克自己把這個(gè)重要問(wèn)題提出來(lái)，梅格才溫順地喃喃道，“是，約翰，”說(shuō)完就把臉撲到他的背心上藏了起來(lái)。正好這時(shí)喬魯莽地闖了進(jìn)來(lái)，驚訝得目瞪口呆，然后喊了起來(lái)，“喂，快來(lái)人啦! 約翰·布魯克表演得可怕極了，梅格居然喜歡這種表演!”
圣誕節(jié)時(shí)，父親馬奇從戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上回來(lái)了。不久，他們重新團(tuán)聚起來(lái)的家就發(fā)生了第一次突破。鴿棚是約翰·布魯克為他的新娘所準(zhǔn)備的一幢棕色小房子的名字。六月玫瑰下的婚禮是簡(jiǎn)樸而又親切溫暖的，新娘所要走的路程只是從馬奇家到親愛(ài)的新的小屋的一點(diǎn)路?！拔铱旎顦O了，我才不在乎人家會(huì)說(shuō)什么呢——我只要舉行我所想要的婚禮!”梅格說(shuō)；于是，依著她丈夫的臂膀，雙手捧著鮮花，就這樣走了，她邊走邊說(shuō)：“謝謝你們大家來(lái)參加我這快樂(lè)的婚禮。再見(jiàn)，再見(jiàn)了!”
喬發(fā)展成為專寫(xiě)聳人聽(tīng)聞的故事的作家。因?yàn)樗l(fā)現(xiàn)這種作品有利可圖，而她本人和家庭中其他成員又都需要錢(qián)。因?yàn)樾∝愃忌×?，大家都希望在海濱呆上一個(gè)夏天可能會(huì)使她的雙頰恢復(fù)血色?？上](méi)有用，過(guò)了一些時(shí)候，黑暗的日子終于來(lái)臨了，小貝思的父母親切地把她帶進(jìn)幽谷奉給上帝時(shí)，她象一個(gè)疲倦的乖孩子緊緊握著領(lǐng)她走完人生道路的父母的手。
接著有一天，勞里被邀請(qǐng)到鴿棚來(lái)看看梅格的新生嬰兒。喬出現(xiàn)了，一個(gè)自豪的姨媽，抱著躺在枕頭上的一個(gè)包包。“閉上眼睛把胳臂伸出來(lái)”，她命令道，勞里遵命照辦，再睜開(kāi)眼睛時(shí)，他看見(jiàn)了——兩個(gè)嬰兒! “天哪，雙胞胎!” 他喊了起來(lái)；“快，誰(shuí)來(lái)抱一抱他們! 我要大笑了，我會(huì)把他們摔壞的!”
勞里已愛(ài)上喬多年了，喬雖然真誠(chéng)地感到抱歉，卻無(wú)法答應(yīng)，就象她所說(shuō)的：“如果一個(gè)人不愛(ài)另一個(gè)人，那就沒(méi)法逼著自己去愛(ài)!”就這樣過(guò)了一些日子，勞里確定艾米是世界上能填補(bǔ)喬的空白并能使他快活的女人。這兩個(gè)人在一起確是非?？旎?，艾米對(duì)她的漂亮丈夫感到很自豪?！皠e笑，”她對(duì)他說(shuō)，“你的鼻子對(duì)我是個(gè)很大的安慰!”說(shuō)完她以一種欣嘗藝術(shù)感到滿足的心情撫摸著這只雕塑得這樣完美的藝術(shù)品。
喬命中注定要跟一個(gè)年紀(jì)大的教授過(guò)，這位教授博學(xué)而又慈祥，但是窮得從沒(méi)想到結(jié)婚。一年來(lái)這一對(duì)工作著、等待著、期望著、相愛(ài)著，直到馬奇姑姑死了，把她古老優(yōu)雅的鄉(xiāng)村住處留給了喬，喬和她的教授才在這里安了家，并且還在這里建立了一個(gè)男童學(xué)校，這個(gè)學(xué)校辦得極為成功。喬過(guò)得非?？旎睿S著歲月的流逝，她自己的兩個(gè)小兒子更給她增添了幸福。艾米也有一個(gè)可愛(ài)的孩子取名貝思，但她是個(gè)纖弱的小東西，擔(dān)心失掉她變成艾米幸福中的一個(gè)陰影。
但這些小婦人和她們親愛(ài)的成員組成一個(gè)幸福、團(tuán)結(jié)的家庭，對(duì)于他們，喬真實(shí)地這樣寫(xiě)道：
生命的勇敢的音樂(lè)
象震憾人心的曲調(diào)
將長(zhǎng)奏不已。