Resumo de Little Men - Louise M Alcott

This is the third in the quartet of books written in the mid 19th century about the March family, living in the eastern USA (somewhere not far from New York). In 'Little Women' (abstract dated 21 January 2007) we met the four teenage sisters. 'Good Wives' (abstract dated 24 January 2007) opens with the marriage of Meg, the eldest sister, and deals with the tragic death of Beth, the marriage of Amy to the handsome and rich boy-next-door, Laurie, and finally shows us Jo, the madcap of the family (and in some senses the heroine) finding love unexpectedly with Professor Bhaer, the German immigrant somewhat her senior.

At the end of 'Good Wives', Jo and her Professor are able at last to marry, owing to Jo's Good fortune in inheriting a large house and grounds from her great aunt. She and her husband open a school for boys - one of Jo's cherished dreams - and we learn that this is a somewhat unconventional school and that Jo and her husband in due course produce two sons. 'Little Men' opens with the arrival of Nat at the school, sent by Laurie who has discovered him destitute, having lived teh life of a street musician. Following the format of her earlier successful novels, Louisa M Alcott employs the strategy of recounting a series of 'snap-shot' incidents, rather than following a detailed plot, and in this way we learn of the characters of the pupils at the school.

The first boy that Nat encounters as he waits to see Jo ('Mother Bhaer') is Tommy Bangs, a most sociableand friendly boy, who is eternally getting into mischief. Demi and Daisy Brooke, the twin children of Meg and her husband John, then make an appearance, followed byProfessor Bhaer, and the two children Rob and Teddy. Mrs Jo immediately attends to Nat's bodily deeds and, after food and a hot bath, he is tucked up in bed, when, to his surprise, a rowdy pillow-fight breaks out. This is just one example of the fun and games that theBhares try to infuse into the scholastic process.By degrees we meet the other inhabitants ofhte school. Franz and Emil, Professor Bhaer's nephews, we met in 'Good Wives',and they are now almost grown up. Emil has a passion for the sea and has been promised an opportunity as soon as he has finished his schooling. We also meet, 'Stuffy', Ned, Adolphus (or Dolly), Dick, Jack and Billy (a boy who has suffered a mental illness).

In due course two other interesting characters are introduced. One is Dan, an acquaintance of Nat, who Nat asks be admitted to the school. Dan is a very 'street-wise' young person, and Mr & Mrs Bhaer are somewhat concerned about theeffect on their flock. Their fears are soon justified, although Jo consistently takes Dan's part, knowing there is good in him somewhere,and Dan is sent away to a farm, from which he soon runs off. Meanwhile, Mrs Jo has hit on another idea for forming the characters of her boys. She takes on 'Naughty Nan' whose mother has just died, seeing in her all the characteristics of herself asa child. Her idea is that it will not only be good for Daisy to have another girl about, but will also smooth the rough edges of the boys. Whether or not her plan works is left to the reader to decide!Tommy and Nan immediately form an alliance, while Nat is devoted to the gentle Daisy.

Tragedy enters the scene with the death of the upright John Brooke, leaving Meg a widow after only ten years,and Demi and Daisy (and their baby sister Josie) fatherless. The Bhaers impress upon their charges how important the virtues are, and try to teach them to value these above wordly riches. Although these parts of the book can seem overly sentimental to modern eyes, the essence of the simple tales of the day-to-day life of the school is as true to life now as ever.

Dan returns, proving his courage and manages to justify Jo's faith in him. The children are joined from time to time by Bess, the lovely but delicate only child of Laurie and Amy, and (in another rather sentimental episode) the other chioveliness and innocence. Laurie puts in an appearance as a benefactor of the school, either by helping to pay for the keep of poor boys, or donating both time and money to projects such as starting a natural history museum. We are reminded from time to time of the bond between Laurie and the March family - for he too was a motherless and lonely boy, albeit a rich one.

Apart from the incidents mentioned above,there is no plot. Our view and understanding of the characters evolves from the description of the events in what must be a relatively short period of time. The evolvingcharacters and their future are the subject of the final volume - 'Jo's Boys'

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