The mood of Little Women is introspective and emotional. Alcott excels at describing family dynamics and strives to get readers to understand and sympathize with her characters. Despite the fact that the March girls struggle to provide for themselves, they always have a good attitude, which inspires sympathy in the reader.
The following scene from Chapter 1 exemplifies the warmth and positive emotion the characters derive from one another by showing the effect of Marmee's presence on the girls:
Somehow the sight of the old shoes had a good effect upon the girls, for Mother was coming, and everyone brightened to welcome her. Meg stopped lecturing, and lighted the lamp, Amy got out of the easy chair without being asked, and Jo forgot how tired she was as she sat up to hold the slippers nearer to the blaze.
Old shoes and good feelings seem incongruous. Indeed, the very first lines of the novel see the girls complaining about their financial hardships. But Marmee transforms these hardships into formative journeys by teaching her girls important lessons about the true meaning of life. Family, love, connection, and friendship are the most worthy riches one can possibly earn. Marmee makes sure her girls understand that a simple gesture of kindness can brighten someone's day. The shifts in mood often reflect the presence or absence of essential characters like Marmee, whose emotional guidance often dictates the dynamics among her daughters.
