Meg March (Little Women)

Meg, the oldest sister, is 16, when the story starts. She is described as a beauty, and she manages the household, when her mother is absent. She has long brown hair and blue eyes and particularly beautiful hands, and she is seen as the prettiest one of the sisters. Meg fulfils expectations for women of the time; from the start, she is already a nearly perfect "little woman,” in the eyes of the world. Before her marriage to John Brooke, while still living at home, she often lectures her younger sisters to ensure they grow to embody the title of "little women". Meg is employed as a governess for the Kings, a wealthy local family. Because of their father's family's social standing, Meg makes her debut into high society, but she is lectured by her friend and neighbor, Theodore "Laurie" Laurence, for behaving like a snob. Meg marries John Brooke, Laurie's tutor. They have twins, Margaret "Daisy" Brooke and John Laurence "Demi" Brooke. The sequel, Little Men, mentions a baby daughter, Josephine "Josie" Brooke, who is 14, at the beginning of the final book. According to Sarah Elbert, "democratic domesticity requires maturity, strength, and above all, a secure identity that Meg lacks". Others believe Alcott does not intend to belittle Meg for her ordinary life and writes her with loving detail, suffused with sentimentality.