Monday 2 April 2012

B

B is for 'Beth'.
She’s the second youngest of the March sisters in Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Little Women’. I was barely ten when I read this book and I was shocked by Beth’s character. She seemed so good and soft and all things nice. Then she died. It shook my faith in God-fearing and sensitive young girls. Beth, thirteen when the story starts, is described as shy, even-tempered and musical, and very close to her sister, Jo. Time goes by and she wonders what will become of her. When she suffers from scarlet fever, the whole family is scared stiff that she’d die. She lives, though, but is never healthy again.


When the family understands that Beth will not live much longer, they separate a room for her, filled with all the things she loves best: her kittens, piano, father's books, Amy's sketches, and her beloved dolls. Soon, Beth puts down her sewing needle, saying that it grew "so heavy", never to pick it up again.

Good things do not necessarily happen to good people. Life is not fair. And sometimes, it is much easier to let someone go if they are brash, vivacious, and full of spirit, like Jo. But not Beth, she wasn’t supposed to die.

I’ve written about the plot of the book here.


Elizabeth 'Beth' March

PS: I notice a pattern here. I think I’m going to be blogging about characters that pop into my head in April, as far as I can :)



7 comments:

Kayla Beck said...

Great B post! Beth is probably one of my favorite literary characters and probably the cause of my first "Ugly Cry" from reading a book. :-)

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

This was one of my favorite books when I was a young girl, but it's been so many years since I read it. Maybe it's time I pick it up again. Thanks for the nudge. Happy A-Zing.

JoJo said...

Hi! Visiting from A-Z! I'm about to go read your post from yesterday b/c you chose my fave literary character, Atticus!!!!!! I've never read Little Women but your info about Beth has me intrigued! :D

Unknown said...

Beth March is such a good character. She is a wonderful and loyal sister.

Udita Banerjee said...

Yay to all of you! Thanks for stopping by.
@Kayla: Totally relate to the 'ugly cry' :)

Anonymous said...

I'm liking your theme very much ! :)

S. L. Hennessy said...

She is one of my all time favorite literary characters. Definitely a new follower!