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【Abstract】：Louisa May Alcott’s book， Little Women， is considered as a classical children’s story and prevalent for years. The novel principally depicts the four girls’ change especially in their characters and value with the help of their mother’s teaching. All of the plots happened in a common family where they experienced the American civil war. And the growing process of the girls is a main clue， finally all of them became a good manner “little women”. However， we cannot forget the woman— Mrs.March. She is just an ordinary people， but she gives us many good methods of family education.
This thesis focuses on the analysis of womanhood makings of March sisters in Little Women and analyses the functions of Mrs.March’s guidance and the importance of family education.
【Key Words】： Family education; The way of education; Family environment;
A famous educationalist once said， “if family have not been acquired high education quality in the whole society， then no matter how much effort the teacher pay， there is without a ideal result”. A good family education is essential for children to get knowledge， capacity， moral mold and the formation of personality. In the terms of the impact and means of family education， we can find that the children are mainly influenced by what parents constantly behave and do in the daily life. From the novel， Mrs.March would share some truths at the end of each chapter. Moreover， she always tries to make a good example to her daughters. Whether her education is intended or not， it affects all the girls and makes them to be better.
Good family education has an important role for children to accumulate knowledge and improve learning. As well， it has a great impact on children’s learning. For example， parents often study with the children to explore the pros and cons of varieties of learning methods， analyze different problem-solving approaches and handle the difficulties together with children， all of which can help the child to improve his/her learning method， learning attitude and school record. Mrs.March’s education to some extent changes the four girls value of wealth and marriage. In addition， she encouraged them to study further.
Family education is the core of a child whole-life study， a good family education can change children’s attitude toward school education and social education. It is a essential part of children’s growth.
1. The progressing of the four daughters’ character——Mrs.March’s Educational methods 1.1 Create Family atmosphere
Though Marches’ family is in straitened circumstances and Mr.March is far away from his family， Mrs. March manages the whole family in order， creating a good family atmosphere. She always performs patiently and friendly. In the family， Mrs.March never uses violence and shares with each other， teaching them how to love each other. For example， after a busy day， Mrs. March came back home （her children were performing a play）. “Well， dearies， how have you got on today？ Jo， you look tired to death. Come and kiss me， baby”. The bright voice and mother inquiries make the family suddenly full of warm and also infect everyone， hence daughters quickly arranged the table and set chairs and had dinner with their mom.Actually， we can find that Mrs.March really missed Mr.March deeply in her heart and also worried about her husband tough army life. But she didn’t show it， while using the story of Pilgrims Progress to guide her daughters to try to consider overcoming difficulties and facing the hardship of life as the feeling of missing their father.
Every morning， Mrs.March’s voice will go about the house， and this is a household custom. As mother’s sing makes the girls grow old in a happy and harmony environment. Maybe we think it just a boring song， but it can cheer them up all day. As an old saying goes， if you complained in the morning， you will bring a bad feeling all day. Mrs.March’s sing not only gives the four girls a comfortable and happy atmosphere， but also changes their temperament.
In brief， the first step of family education is family atmosphere. In a good circumstance， the parents can easily inculcate their daughters with a harmony and efficient way. Under Mrs.March’s edification， all the girls are able to share the family burdens as much as possible and organize colorful family life.
1.2 Self-experience
To make the children self-experience， Mrs.March can be the learning model of the other parents. Once a time， when the four daughters went to have a time without any work and lessons， Mrs.March didn’t have the thought of criticizing them， however she agreed to let them try their experience for a week. But with a few days go by， all the girls began to tired of the leisure days and hoped the week quickly finish. As for Mrs.March， she thought it a good chance to make a deep lesson for the girls， so she let them handle all the thing by their own instead of refusing them immediately and gave herself a holiday. Make a think， there was no one to work and made meal， the four girls were in bad condition. So they had to do everything by themselves， because the house was out of normal order， they made matters worse. And all of them were depressed. At that moment， their mother appeared and talked with them on the days of the week. Finally they understood that happiness and comfort came from helping each other and doing their duties respectively.
It is well known that practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. When the four girls asked their mom to relax a week， Mrs.March didn’t refuse and allowed them to experience. Only when they experience in practice can they have deeper impression of the lesson.
1.3 Be their Friend
In Marches’ family， Mrs.March is a kind and revered mother and even her daughters intimate friend as well. When the Mr.Laurence invited Beth to play the piano in his house， Beth felt very lucky. So she thought she should thank Mr.Laurence. Then she inquired of her mother about the idea that she planned to make a pair of slippers for Mr.Laurence to show her gratitude. Mrs.March agreed her idea and helped her to finish the work.
When Jo shouted to her sister Amy who burned Jo’s best-loved book， Mrs.March said： “My dear， don’t let the sun go down……and begin again tomorrow”. When Meg is going to be an adult， she went to a party and heard some rubbish words which made her very confused. So she sought the answer from her mother whether she had the “plan”. And Mrs.March said：
I will tell you some of them， for the time has come when a ……I want my daughters to be beautiful， accomplished， and good.……I’d rather see you poor men’s wives， if you were happy， beloved， contented， than queens on thrones， without self-respect and peace.（Alcott 103）.
From the beginning to the end， Mrs.March is still her daughters’ close friend. When they have questions， she always listens to them and helps to figure out. Even her daughters have their own family， she still talks to them patiently.
2. The Effect of Mrs.March’s Education to These Girls
2.1 The Influence of their value of Marriage
Mrs.March teaches her daughters that having a loving husband and family is the greatest joy a woman can have， as emphasized by the concluding line of the book. Mrs.March’s discussions with the girls about their duties to each other and their parents evolve into discussions about their duties to their husbands and children. When Meg wanted to be a rich man’s wife and went to a party， she experienced a lot of upset things. All the people in the party made laugh at her， and her friends also played tricks on her and made her like a “doll”. What made Meg depressed was that she heard Mrs.Moffat told about her mother’s “plan”——her mother wanted her daughter to be Laurie’s wife. With the confusion， Meg came home and told her mother what happened in the party. Just at that time， Mrs.March disabused the foolish prejudices. Also， she told about what kind of man she hoped they marry. She said： “Money is a needful and precious thing， and when well used， a noble thing， ……I’d rather see you poor men’s wives， if you were happy，……” “Better be happy Old Maids than unhappy wives， or unmarried girls， running about to find husbands”.
Therefore， Meg finally found her truth love——Mr.Brooke， although he was not rich and older than her， she was in happiness with him. Even though aunt. March opposed at the very beginning， she still insisted on her choice. All in all， they got together. For Jo， she refused Laurie’s Marriage proposal， and chose professor Bhaer. And Amy gave up Mr.Fred who was rich and kind， but followed her heart staying with Laurie.
In a word， the four girls do not chase vanity and money anymore， they learn to listen to their own heart and seek happiness.
2.2 The Improvement of their characters
As we discussed above， all of the four girls had some bad traits. But after Mrs.March teaching， all of them have more or less improvement of their characters.
For Meg， after experiencing ups and downs in Vanity Fair， she was not vain anymore. When she came home， she said to her mother and sister， “It does seem pleasant to be quiet， and not have company manners on all the time. Home is a nice place， though it isn’t splendid”. Obviously， she had gradually comprehended the essence of life. And she didn’t pay more attention to be a rich man. We can see this from her marriage.
For Jo， when her booklet was burnt by Amy， she lost her temper and gave a slap on Amy’s face. Moreover she refused to forgive Amy. Due to her stubbornness， she nearly lost her sister forever when they had fun in ice-skating. At that time， Jo made a decision that she tried to improve her bad temper. In addition， after hearing mother had been also trying to control her temper for a long time， she gained a wave of power and insisted on improving herself for a long time. Now she would not blow up easily， and gradually controlled her temper. When she played croquet with Laurie’s friends in “Camp Laurence”， she prevented herself from opening her lips to say something rude， and tried to calm herself down. Finally， she won the match by her intelligence rather than cursed Laurie’s friend. For Beth， she learned to communicate with others. When she received a letter from Mr.Laurence and the gift——a piano， she decided to thank him. To everyone’s surprise， she “walked deliberately down the garden， through the hedge， and in at the Laurences’ door”. What’s more， she kissed Mr.Laurence for thanking. She was not the girl who only lived in her own world.
For Amy， after being punished for showing off from physical punishment and experiencing the humiliation， with her mother’s education， she did not like a little girl and not revenged the middle-aged lady who snatched her stall. And to our surprise， Amy helped her. Besides she went to abroad for further study with the support of her aunt， learning to realize herself again and not be impulsive anymore.
2.3 The Development of their Behaviors
At the beginning of the novel， they decided to buy some gifts only for themselves， but later they realized their bad idea and determined to give their mother a surprise---sent gifts to mom. On the Christmas morning， their mother told them a sad thing that “not far away from their house there is a woman with a little newborn baby， and six children are huddled into one bed to keep from freezing， for they have no fire， and they lack of meal for a long time”（Alcott 16）. Immediately， they decided to share their breakfast with the poor woman. From the two example， we can see that they were not the “little girls”， they changed their selfish and learned to share with others.
Because of poor， the two elder girls found a job to help the family. Meg found a place as nursery governess; Jo happened to suit Aunt March and waited upon her. In addition， when mother received a telegram that said their dad was very ill， all the girls tried to make some contributions to the family. And Jo made the best contribution that she sold her beautiful long hair and gave her mother $25 for the long traveling use. They learned to share family’s burden and made her mother relieved.
In the novel， the four girls’ behaviors have changed a lot， but I just show only a small part.
Bibliography
[1]Alcott， Louisa May. Little Women[M]. Beijing：Tsinghua University Press， 2008.
[2]路易莎·梅·奧尔科特.《小妇人》[M]. 盛世教育西方名著翻译委员会译，上海：上海世界图书出版公司，2010.
[3]黄艳.家庭教育的典范——浅析《小妇人》中马奇太太的教育方式[J]. 学理论，2011（26）：105-106.
[4]蒋奖.父母教养方式与青少年行为问题关系的研究[J].健康心理学杂志，2014（1）：72-74.
[5]周小斌. 家庭教育对孩子成长的重要性[J]. 新余高专学报， 2006， 06： 65-66.
This thesis focuses on the analysis of womanhood makings of March sisters in Little Women and analyses the functions of Mrs.March’s guidance and the importance of family education.
【Key Words】： Family education; The way of education; Family environment;
A famous educationalist once said， “if family have not been acquired high education quality in the whole society， then no matter how much effort the teacher pay， there is without a ideal result”. A good family education is essential for children to get knowledge， capacity， moral mold and the formation of personality. In the terms of the impact and means of family education， we can find that the children are mainly influenced by what parents constantly behave and do in the daily life. From the novel， Mrs.March would share some truths at the end of each chapter. Moreover， she always tries to make a good example to her daughters. Whether her education is intended or not， it affects all the girls and makes them to be better.
Good family education has an important role for children to accumulate knowledge and improve learning. As well， it has a great impact on children’s learning. For example， parents often study with the children to explore the pros and cons of varieties of learning methods， analyze different problem-solving approaches and handle the difficulties together with children， all of which can help the child to improve his/her learning method， learning attitude and school record. Mrs.March’s education to some extent changes the four girls value of wealth and marriage. In addition， she encouraged them to study further.
Family education is the core of a child whole-life study， a good family education can change children’s attitude toward school education and social education. It is a essential part of children’s growth.
1. The progressing of the four daughters’ character——Mrs.March’s Educational methods 1.1 Create Family atmosphere
Though Marches’ family is in straitened circumstances and Mr.March is far away from his family， Mrs. March manages the whole family in order， creating a good family atmosphere. She always performs patiently and friendly. In the family， Mrs.March never uses violence and shares with each other， teaching them how to love each other. For example， after a busy day， Mrs. March came back home （her children were performing a play）. “Well， dearies， how have you got on today？ Jo， you look tired to death. Come and kiss me， baby”. The bright voice and mother inquiries make the family suddenly full of warm and also infect everyone， hence daughters quickly arranged the table and set chairs and had dinner with their mom.Actually， we can find that Mrs.March really missed Mr.March deeply in her heart and also worried about her husband tough army life. But she didn’t show it， while using the story of Pilgrims Progress to guide her daughters to try to consider overcoming difficulties and facing the hardship of life as the feeling of missing their father.
Every morning， Mrs.March’s voice will go about the house， and this is a household custom. As mother’s sing makes the girls grow old in a happy and harmony environment. Maybe we think it just a boring song， but it can cheer them up all day. As an old saying goes， if you complained in the morning， you will bring a bad feeling all day. Mrs.March’s sing not only gives the four girls a comfortable and happy atmosphere， but also changes their temperament.
In brief， the first step of family education is family atmosphere. In a good circumstance， the parents can easily inculcate their daughters with a harmony and efficient way. Under Mrs.March’s edification， all the girls are able to share the family burdens as much as possible and organize colorful family life.
1.2 Self-experience
To make the children self-experience， Mrs.March can be the learning model of the other parents. Once a time， when the four daughters went to have a time without any work and lessons， Mrs.March didn’t have the thought of criticizing them， however she agreed to let them try their experience for a week. But with a few days go by， all the girls began to tired of the leisure days and hoped the week quickly finish. As for Mrs.March， she thought it a good chance to make a deep lesson for the girls， so she let them handle all the thing by their own instead of refusing them immediately and gave herself a holiday. Make a think， there was no one to work and made meal， the four girls were in bad condition. So they had to do everything by themselves， because the house was out of normal order， they made matters worse. And all of them were depressed. At that moment， their mother appeared and talked with them on the days of the week. Finally they understood that happiness and comfort came from helping each other and doing their duties respectively.
It is well known that practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. When the four girls asked their mom to relax a week， Mrs.March didn’t refuse and allowed them to experience. Only when they experience in practice can they have deeper impression of the lesson.
1.3 Be their Friend
In Marches’ family， Mrs.March is a kind and revered mother and even her daughters intimate friend as well. When the Mr.Laurence invited Beth to play the piano in his house， Beth felt very lucky. So she thought she should thank Mr.Laurence. Then she inquired of her mother about the idea that she planned to make a pair of slippers for Mr.Laurence to show her gratitude. Mrs.March agreed her idea and helped her to finish the work.
When Jo shouted to her sister Amy who burned Jo’s best-loved book， Mrs.March said： “My dear， don’t let the sun go down……and begin again tomorrow”. When Meg is going to be an adult， she went to a party and heard some rubbish words which made her very confused. So she sought the answer from her mother whether she had the “plan”. And Mrs.March said：
I will tell you some of them， for the time has come when a ……I want my daughters to be beautiful， accomplished， and good.……I’d rather see you poor men’s wives， if you were happy， beloved， contented， than queens on thrones， without self-respect and peace.（Alcott 103）.
From the beginning to the end， Mrs.March is still her daughters’ close friend. When they have questions， she always listens to them and helps to figure out. Even her daughters have their own family， she still talks to them patiently.
2. The Effect of Mrs.March’s Education to These Girls
2.1 The Influence of their value of Marriage
Mrs.March teaches her daughters that having a loving husband and family is the greatest joy a woman can have， as emphasized by the concluding line of the book. Mrs.March’s discussions with the girls about their duties to each other and their parents evolve into discussions about their duties to their husbands and children. When Meg wanted to be a rich man’s wife and went to a party， she experienced a lot of upset things. All the people in the party made laugh at her， and her friends also played tricks on her and made her like a “doll”. What made Meg depressed was that she heard Mrs.Moffat told about her mother’s “plan”——her mother wanted her daughter to be Laurie’s wife. With the confusion， Meg came home and told her mother what happened in the party. Just at that time， Mrs.March disabused the foolish prejudices. Also， she told about what kind of man she hoped they marry. She said： “Money is a needful and precious thing， and when well used， a noble thing， ……I’d rather see you poor men’s wives， if you were happy，……” “Better be happy Old Maids than unhappy wives， or unmarried girls， running about to find husbands”.
Therefore， Meg finally found her truth love——Mr.Brooke， although he was not rich and older than her， she was in happiness with him. Even though aunt. March opposed at the very beginning， she still insisted on her choice. All in all， they got together. For Jo， she refused Laurie’s Marriage proposal， and chose professor Bhaer. And Amy gave up Mr.Fred who was rich and kind， but followed her heart staying with Laurie.
In a word， the four girls do not chase vanity and money anymore， they learn to listen to their own heart and seek happiness.
2.2 The Improvement of their characters
As we discussed above， all of the four girls had some bad traits. But after Mrs.March teaching， all of them have more or less improvement of their characters.
For Meg， after experiencing ups and downs in Vanity Fair， she was not vain anymore. When she came home， she said to her mother and sister， “It does seem pleasant to be quiet， and not have company manners on all the time. Home is a nice place， though it isn’t splendid”. Obviously， she had gradually comprehended the essence of life. And she didn’t pay more attention to be a rich man. We can see this from her marriage.
For Jo， when her booklet was burnt by Amy， she lost her temper and gave a slap on Amy’s face. Moreover she refused to forgive Amy. Due to her stubbornness， she nearly lost her sister forever when they had fun in ice-skating. At that time， Jo made a decision that she tried to improve her bad temper. In addition， after hearing mother had been also trying to control her temper for a long time， she gained a wave of power and insisted on improving herself for a long time. Now she would not blow up easily， and gradually controlled her temper. When she played croquet with Laurie’s friends in “Camp Laurence”， she prevented herself from opening her lips to say something rude， and tried to calm herself down. Finally， she won the match by her intelligence rather than cursed Laurie’s friend. For Beth， she learned to communicate with others. When she received a letter from Mr.Laurence and the gift——a piano， she decided to thank him. To everyone’s surprise， she “walked deliberately down the garden， through the hedge， and in at the Laurences’ door”. What’s more， she kissed Mr.Laurence for thanking. She was not the girl who only lived in her own world.
For Amy， after being punished for showing off from physical punishment and experiencing the humiliation， with her mother’s education， she did not like a little girl and not revenged the middle-aged lady who snatched her stall. And to our surprise， Amy helped her. Besides she went to abroad for further study with the support of her aunt， learning to realize herself again and not be impulsive anymore.
2.3 The Development of their Behaviors
At the beginning of the novel， they decided to buy some gifts only for themselves， but later they realized their bad idea and determined to give their mother a surprise---sent gifts to mom. On the Christmas morning， their mother told them a sad thing that “not far away from their house there is a woman with a little newborn baby， and six children are huddled into one bed to keep from freezing， for they have no fire， and they lack of meal for a long time”（Alcott 16）. Immediately， they decided to share their breakfast with the poor woman. From the two example， we can see that they were not the “little girls”， they changed their selfish and learned to share with others.
Because of poor， the two elder girls found a job to help the family. Meg found a place as nursery governess; Jo happened to suit Aunt March and waited upon her. In addition， when mother received a telegram that said their dad was very ill， all the girls tried to make some contributions to the family. And Jo made the best contribution that she sold her beautiful long hair and gave her mother $25 for the long traveling use. They learned to share family’s burden and made her mother relieved.
In the novel， the four girls’ behaviors have changed a lot， but I just show only a small part.
Bibliography
[1]Alcott， Louisa May. Little Women[M]. Beijing：Tsinghua University Press， 2008.
[2]路易莎·梅·奧尔科特.《小妇人》[M]. 盛世教育西方名著翻译委员会译，上海：上海世界图书出版公司，2010.
[3]黄艳.家庭教育的典范——浅析《小妇人》中马奇太太的教育方式[J]. 学理论，2011（26）：105-106.
[4]蒋奖.父母教养方式与青少年行为问题关系的研究[J].健康心理学杂志，2014（1）：72-74.
[5]周小斌. 家庭教育对孩子成长的重要性[J]. 新余高专学报， 2006， 06： 65-66.