Which Little Women Character Are You?

The Little Women cast, sorted

Most people meet the March sisters at fifteen. This quiz asks who they turn into. Little Women runs for long enough that Meg marries and has twins, Jo moves to New York and writes for money, and Amy takes over Europe. The questions here are about adult choices: what to do about money, work, love and family. Your answers are matched against how each character handles those choices once she is in charge of her own life.

The book's real subject is not goodness, whatever the opening chapters suggest. It is the cost of the thing each person wants. Meg wants a home, and learns what it takes to run one on very little. Jo wants a life of her own, and learns that independence is lonely. Amy wants distinction, and decides in a single conversation that she would rather be useful than second-rate. Beth wants no more than the people she loves in the room. Alcott lets every one of them be right about something.

The fault line fans argue about most is money. Aunt March believes in it with no apology, and is unpopular for saying so. Marmee believes that love matters more, and she has the evidence of a household that has never quite had enough. The sisters spend the book somewhere between the two. Amy is the one who says out loud that a good marriage is a practical decision, and she is also the one who ends up happiest in love. The novel does not settle the argument.

The men are easy to underrate. John Brooke is the steady one, a man who spends a marriage making sure his wife never has to be ashamed of what they have. Professor Bhaer is poor, middle-aged and honest enough to tell Jo that her fast money is bad work. Laurie is the charmer who must learn that having every option is not the same as having a direction. Each of them is defined less by who he loves than by what he does about it.

The quiz does not require you to like your result. Alcott gave every character a flaw you can see from a distance: envy, temper, pride, sulking, bossiness. A fan who finds themselves in Aunt March or Laurie is probably being honest. Answer the way you would act on an ordinary Tuesday, not on the day you are at your best, and the book will find you.

All 9 possible results

Meg The Homemaker

You want a warm, steady home and you will work for it, even when envy gets in the way.

Jo The Writer

You need work that is yours and a door that closes, and you pay for both in sharp words.

Beth The Peacekeeper

You want very little for yourself and give a great deal, mostly without being asked.

Amy The Strategist

You plan your life with open eyes, and you are more generous than your ambitions let on.

Marmee The Anchor

You are the steadiest person in the house, partly because you have worked hard at not being angry.

Laurie The Charmer

You have every option and a gift for making people feel lucky, and you are still working out a direction.

Aunt March The Gatekeeper

You hold the purse strings and the opinions, and you are not wrong as often as people say.

John Brooke The Steady Hand

You do the quiet work of being reliable, and you say less than you feel.

Professor Bhaer The Honest Critic

You tell people the truth with kindness, and you expect them to be able to hear it.

How this quiz scores you

Each answer gives points to one to three characters, based on how that character chooses and behaves as an adult in the novel. At the end the points are added up, and the character with the highest total is your result. Your later answers break any tie.

Spoilers: Discusses the sisters' marriages, Jo's choices and a death in the March family. Read the book first if you want to be surprised.

Sources

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Project Gutenberg

An unofficial fan quiz. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the makers of Little Women.