Margaret "Marmee" March Character Analysis in Little Women

Mother of Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, and wife of Mr. March. Mrs. March runs the household in the first half of the book, when Mr. March is away at war. She is calm and collected, deeply moral, and teaches her girls to see the proper way to behave and the value of their poverty.

Margaret "Marmee" March Quotes in Little Women

The Little Women quotes below are all either spoken by Margaret "Marmee" March or refer to Margaret "Marmee" March. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“Our burdens are here, our road is before us…Now, my little pilgrims, suppose you begin again, not in play, but in earnest, and see how far on you can get before Father comes home.”

Related Characters: Margaret "Marmee" March (speaker), Robert March, Josephine "Jo" March, Margaret "Meg" March, Elizabeth "Beth" March, Amy Curtis March

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 16

Explanation and Analysis:

“Work is wholesome, and there is plenty for everyone. It keeps us from ennui and mischief, is good for health and spirits, and gives us a sense of power and independence better than money or fashion.”

Related Characters: Margaret "Marmee" March (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 124

Explanation and Analysis:

“My dear, where did you get it? Twenty-five dollars! Jo, I hope you haven’t done anything rash?”
“No, it’s mine honestly. I didn’t beg, borrow, or steal it. I earned it, and I don’t think you’ll blame me, for I only sold what was my own.”
As she spoke, Jo took off her bonnet, and a general outcry arose, for all her abundant hair was cut short.

Related Characters: Margaret "Marmee" March (speaker), Josephine "Jo" March (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 167

Explanation and Analysis:

“I’m not ambitious for a splendid fortune, or fashionable position, or a great name for my girls. If rank and money come with love and virtue, also, I should accept them gratefully, and enjoy your good fortune, but I know, by experience, how much genuine happiness can be had in a plain little house, where the daily bread is earned, and some privations give sweetness to the few pleasures.”

Related Characters: Margaret "Marmee" March (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 209

Explanation and Analysis:

“Meg and John begin humbly, but I have a feeling that there will be quite as much happiness in the little house as in the big one. It’s a great mistake for young girls like Meg to leave themselves nothing to do but dress, give orders, and gossip.”

Related Characters: Margaret "Marmee" March (speaker), Margaret "Meg" March, John Brooke

Page Number and Citation: 248

Explanation and Analysis:

It wasn’t at all the thing, I’m afraid, but the minute she was fairly married, Meg cried,” The first kiss for Marmee!” and turning, gave it with her heart on her lips.

Related Characters: Margaret "Meg" March (speaker), Margaret "Marmee" March

Page Number and Citation: 258

Explanation and Analysis:

Touched to the heart, Mrs. March could only stretch out her arms, as if to gather children and grandchildren to herself, and say, with face and voice full of motherly love, gratitude, and humility…
“Oh, my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater happiness than this!”

Related Characters: Margaret "Marmee" March (speaker), Josephine "Jo" March, Margaret "Meg" March, Amy Curtis March

Page Number and Citation: 499

Explanation and Analysis:

Margaret "Marmee" March Character Timeline in Little Women

The timeline below shows where the character Margaret "Marmee" March appears in Little Women. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...- are sitting in their sparsely furnished living room. The March family is poor, and Mrs. March (their mother) has suggested that the family go without presents, given that it would be... (full context)

The girls prepare for their mother’s return after a long day of work. Beth puts Mrs. March ’s slippers by the fire to warm up, and the girls note how worn they... (full context)

Mrs. March – “a tall, motherly lady with a ‘can I help you’ look about her” -... (full context)

Mrs. March reminds her daughters of the times they used to act out scenes from Pilgrim’s Progress... (full context)

...read, Amy sneaks out and exchanges the small, cheap bottle of cologne she bought for Mrs. March for a large one. (full context)

Mrs. March comes home from some early morning errands, and tells the girls that the Hummels –... (full context)

The Marches return home and breakfast on bread and milk. After Mrs. March receives her gifts, the girls spend the rest of the day making preparations for their... (full context)

Mrs. March, who has been quietly listening the whole time, gathers the girls around her and tells... (full context)

Jo reveals that Laurie said he’d been grateful for the “medicine” Mrs. March had sent over, and Meg remarks that Laurie was paying Jo a compliment. Jo is... (full context)

...go next door to try out Mr. Laurence’s grand piano. Realizing this, Mr. Laurence visits Mrs. March and, within earshot of Beth, tactfully mentions that he wishes someone would drop by and... (full context)

At recess, Amy runs home and tells her family what happened. Her family is incensed. Mrs. March agrees that Amy can take a vacation from school, given that she disagrees with corporal... (full context)

...and Amy quickly guesses that they’re going to the theater with Laurie. Meg explains that Mrs. March wants Amy to go another time, given that Amy’s recovering from a cold. Jo snorts... (full context)

...rush Amy home, where she’s bundled in blankets and parked in front of the fire. Mrs. March assures Jo that Amy will be perfectly fine. Jo, however, is shaken, and is ashamed... (full context)

...with her new friend Annie Moffat, whom she met at the New Year’s Eve dance. Mrs. March has given Meg a few dainty accessories to wear from the “treasure chest” (a trunk... (full context)

...party, a box of roses is delivered. They’re from Laurie, accompanied by a note from Mrs. March . Meg uses the flowers to decorate her dress and hair, offers bouquets to the... (full context)

...unknown women (presumably two of the Moffat women) gossiping about her. The women speculate that Mrs. March is planning on marrying Meg off to Laurie, given that he’s rich. They also pity... (full context)

...returns home and is relieved that she can just be herself again. She confesses to Mrs. March that she allowed herself to give in to her vanity at the Moffats’ party, and... (full context)

...own hands and pitch in to make a sub-par breakfast, which they proudly serve to Marmee. Jo invites Laurie over for dinner, and gets in well over her head when she... (full context)

At day’s end, Mrs. March asks the girls what they’ve learned this week. She reveals that she wanted the girls... (full context)

...someday make a fortune for the Marches through their art, but Meg remains skeptical. Meanwhile, Mrs. March and Laurie come home. All is normal until Hannah bursts in with news of a... (full context)

...grief, quickly springs to action. Hannah (for whom “work was panacea for most afflictions”) encourages Mrs. March to get ready to leave for Washington right away. Laurie rushes off to send a... (full context)

...gone to him for a couple bottles of wine for Mr. March. Mr. Laurence offers Mrs. March everything he has at his disposal, and promises to keep an eye on the girls... (full context)

The afternoon quickly passes as preparations are made for Mrs. March ’s departure. Jo is gone all afternoon, and the Marches begin to worry about her.... (full context)

Addressing her stunned family, Jo tells the story of how she sold her hair. Mrs. March isn’t upset, but does worry that Jo will regret her decision. Later that night, Jo... (full context)

The girls awake at dawn to see their mother off. As Mrs. March leaves the house, she bids her daughters to be brave, to refrain from grieving, to... (full context)

...girls tell Mrs. March about how they haven’t forgotten her lessons. (Jo, for instance, tells Marmee that she recently battled with her temper in a quarrel with Laurie.) Hannah, Laurie, and... (full context)

...to play with clay, and Meg forgets her sewing in lieu of writing letters to Marmee. Beth, however, continues to be industrious (although she does grieve). (full context)

Laurie and Meg wonder if Mrs. March should be told of Beth’s illness. Hannah (who has experience with scarlet fever) has told... (full context)

...She bumps into Laurie when she returns, and she tells him that she’s sent for Marmee, and about Beth’s worsening condition. Tears stream down her face as she talks, and Laurie... (full context)

He then reveals that he’s already contacted Mrs. March, and that she’s scheduled to arrive that very night. Jo throws herself into Laurie’s arms... (full context)

News of Mrs. March ’s imminent arrival spreads throughout the house, and hope is renewed. Beth’s pet bird begins... (full context)

...she wakes. Outside, the girls hear sleigh bells, and Laurie calls from outside to announce Mrs. March ’s arrival. (full context)

Mrs. March returns, and the girls are ecstatic. The girls sleep most of the day, and a... (full context)

...her cries awake an exhausted Laurie, who had been napping on the couch. Amy shows Marmee the chapel Esther made for her, and Mrs. March approves of it. (full context)

Mrs. March notices that Amy is wearing a turquoise ring, and Amy explains that Aunt March gave... (full context)

That evening, Jo goes to Mrs. March and tells her what Laurie told her: that Mr. Brooke took one of Meg’s gloves,... (full context)

...go away. “Why weren’t we all boys, then there wouldn’t be any bother,” she sighs. Mrs. March, on the other hand, thinks Mr. Brooke is an excellent man, and that she would... (full context)

Jo asks her mother if she wouldn’t rather see Meg married to a rich man. Mrs. March replies that she’d rather see her daughters happily, if humbly, married rather than have them... (full context)

Meg walks in at that moment with a letter for Mrs. March to proofread. Mrs. March tells Meg to add a note to “John,” sending him Mrs.... (full context)

...that she was too young to marry, and that he must speak to Mr. March. Mrs. March is proud of Meg’s response. Meg then reveals that the letter she received today is... (full context)

Jo runs to fetch Laurie. While she’s gone, Mrs. March asks Meg if she loves Mr. Brooke. Meg responds that she wants nothing to do... (full context)

...with the Marches, but Laurie didn’t tell him the whole story given that he’d given Mrs. March his word to keep quiet. When Laurie refused to tell the whole story, Mr. Laurence... (full context)

...Jo receives a long-desired book) until, that evening, Laurie brings Mr. March into the parlor. Mrs. March and her daughters are ecstatic. Later that night, they all sit down for a triumphant... (full context)

...its décor and upkeep give it a charm that, Meg decides, money could never buy. Mrs. March estimates that there will be quite as much happiness in Meg’s small house as there... (full context)

...the couple, and after she’s married Meg declares that the first kiss shall go to Marmee. (full context)

With this in mind, Amy asks Mrs. March if she might have the girls from her drawing class over for lunch and a... (full context)

Mrs. March suggests a simple lunch, but Amy insists on delicacies: cold chicken and tongue, French chocolate,... (full context)

...Amy bursts out laughing. She bids that they take the party leftovers to the Hummels. Mrs. March expresses her sympathy that the party was a disappointment, but Amy reflects that she is... (full context)

...mind the money,” he cautions. Jo resolves to use her earnings to send Beth and Mrs. March on a seaside holiday. (full context)

...Brooke returns home, Meg gives Mr. Brooke the cold shoulder until she recalls some advice Mrs. March had given her regarding Mr. Brooke: “Watch yourself, be the first to ask pardon if... (full context)

...her anger. “Because they are mean is no reason why I should be,” she tells Mrs. March . Her mother agrees that this is the right course of action. (full context)

...to Europe. Jo is devastated – she was sure that Aunt Carrol would pick her. Mrs. March explains that Jo was passed over due to her “blunt manners and too independent spirit.” (full context)

...to Mrs. March, Amy reveals that she thinks Fred wishes to marry her. She tells Marmee that though she’s “not madly in love,” she’s decided that she will say yes if... (full context)

Something in Beth’s behavior worries Mrs. March . After observing Beth in secret, Jo concludes that she has fallen in love with... (full context)

Several days later, prompted by both Beth and Laurie’s behavior, Jo tells Mrs. March that she thinks it would be best if she left town for a while. Jo’s... (full context)

Jo writes to Mrs. March and Beth about her adventures in New York. Mrs. Kirke is the proprietor of a... (full context)

When they return home, Mr. and Mrs. March plainly see that Beth is not long for the world. Beth is tired from the... (full context)

Meg begins to feel abandoned, and she goes to Mrs. March for advice. Marmee explains that Meg has “made the mistake that most young wives make – forgotten your... (full context)

Meg reveals to her husband that she’s trying to take Mrs. March ’s advice, and Mr. Brooke is overjoyed. In the end, though experiments such as this,... (full context)

...in the house. The family gathers with her here (Daisy and Demi often visit, and Mrs. March, Jo, and Mr. March often do their work in the room), and for the first... (full context)

Mrs. March suggests to Jo that she start writing again. Jo takes her advice, and pens a... (full context)

...apple orchard is overrun with children. A toast is raised to Aunt March, and to Mrs. March ’s sixtieth birthday. Jo’s students disappear into the branches of the trees and soon begin... (full context)

Mrs. March sits “enthroned” in the grass, surrounded by her daughters. They all reflect on their respective... (full context)

Little Women

Margaret "Marmee" March Character Analysis

Margaret "Marmee" March Quotes in Little Women

Part 1, Chapter 1 Quotes

Part 1, Chapter 11 Quotes

Part 1, Chapter 15 Quotes

Part 1, Chapter 20 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 24 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 25 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 47 Quotes

Margaret "Marmee" March Character Timeline in Little Women