Plot
The March sisters—responsible Meg, tempestuous Jo, tender Beth, and romantic Amy—are growing up in Concord, Massachusetts during and after the American Civil War. Their father is away serving as a chaplain in the war and, with their strong-willed mother, Marmee, they struggle with major and minor problems in 19th-century New England. The girls revel in performing Jo's romantic plays in their attic theater.
Next-door neighbor, wealthy Mr. Laurence's grandson, Theodore ("Laurie"), moves in, becoming a close friend of the Marches, particularly Jo. Mr. Laurence mentors Beth, whose exquisite piano-playing reminds him of his deceased daughter, and Meg falls in love with Laurie's tutor, John Brooke.
When Mr. March is wounded, Jo sells her hair so Marmee can go by train to nurse him back to health. While she is away, Beth continues visiting a struggling immigrant family, providing food and firewood. She contracts scarlet fever from the youngest child. Awaiting Marmee's return, Meg and Jo, who both previously survived scarlet fever, decide to send Amy away to live safely with their Aunt March. Amy laments to Laurie that she may die without ever being kissed. He promises to kiss her before she dies if she becomes ill.
Prior to Beth's illness, Jo had been Aunt March's companion for several years, and although she didn't enjoy it, she hoped she would take her to Europe. Beth gets worse, so Marmee returns home, nursing her to recovery in time for Christmas, but the illness severely weakens her. Mr. Laurence gives his daughter's piano to Beth, Meg accepts John Brooke's proposal and Mr. March surprises them, returning home from the war.
Four years pass; a now twenty years old Meg and John marry, and eighteen-year-old Beth's health is worsening. Graduating from college, Laurie proposes to nineteen year old Jo and asks her to go to London with him but, seeing him more as a brother than a lover, she refuses. Jo is disappointed when Aunt March decides to take seventeen-year-old Amy with her to Europe instead of her. She has been Aunt March's companion and wishes to further her artistic training in Europe. Crushed, Jo departs for New York City to pursue writing and experience life. There she meets Friedrich Bhaer, a German professor who challenges and stimulates her intellectually, introducing her to opera and philosophy, and encouraging her to write better stories than the lurid Victorian melodramas she has penned so far.
In Europe, Amy is reunited with Laurie. Disappointed to find he has become dissolute and irresponsible; she scolds him for pursuing her merely to become part of the March family. In return, he bitterly rebukes her for courting one of his wealthy college friends to marry into money. He asks Amy to wait for him in a letter while he works in London for his grandfather and makes himself worthy.
Jo is called home for Beth, who finally dies of the after-effects of scarlet fever. A saddened Jo retreats to the comfort of the attic, writing her life story. Upon its completion, she sends it to Professor Bhaer. Meanwhile, Meg has twins Demi and Daisy.
A letter from Amy tells them Aunt March is too ill to travel, so Amy must remain in Europe with her. In London, Laurie receives a letter from Jo about Beth's death, saying Amy is in Vevey, Switzerland, unable to come home. He immediately goes to be at Amy's side. They finally return to the March home as spouses, to Jo's surprise and eventual delight.
Aunt March dies, leaving Jo her house. She turns it into a school. Professor Bhaer arrives with the printed galley proofs of her manuscript but, believing Jo is married, he departs to catch a train to the West, to accept a professorship. Jo runs after him, explaining the misunderstanding. She begs him not to go. He then proposes to her, and she happily accepts.
