Alison Larkin Presents: Good Wives characters

Appears from the start

The second March sister, now earning money with stories while resisting the social pressure to become a conventional young lady. Jo remains energetic, blunt, and fiercely attached to her family. She wants literary independence and treats her close friendship with Laurie as something separate from romance.

Appears from the start

The eldest March sister, preparing to marry John Brooke and establish a modest home with him. Meg values domestic life but must adjust her youthful ideas of elegance and romance to the practical work of marriage.

Appears from the start

The gentle third March sister, happiest at home and devoted to music and the people around her. Beth remains physically frail after her earlier illness, though she seldom complains or asks the family to dwell on her health.

Appears from the start

The youngest March sister, now a poised young woman still determined to become an artist and enter refined society. Amy combines genuine discipline with concern for manners and status, and she often sees practical consequences that Jo ignores.

Also known as Marmee

Appears from the start

The March sisters' mother and moral center of the family. Marmee offers affection and candid guidance without pretending that patience, marriage, or self-command come easily, drawing on her own experience when her daughters face adult choices.

Appears from the start

The March sisters' father, returned from the war and serving as a steady presence in the household. Thoughtful and scholarly, he supports his daughters' growth while sharing the family's materially modest life.

Also known as Laurie

Appears from the start

The March sisters' wealthy neighbor and intimate friend, now a young man expected to finish college and find a purpose. Affectionate, charming, and sometimes idle, Laurie remains especially close to Jo and assumes that their shared history gives him an important place in her future.

Appears from the start

Meg's husband, once Laurie's tutor and now a hardworking clerk with limited means. John is affectionate and principled, but the couple's household requires both partners to learn how pride, money, fatigue, and differing expectations affect a marriage.

Appears from the start

The wealthy, sharp-tongued great-aunt of the March sisters. She tries to direct the younger generation through criticism, money, and promised inheritances, but her severity coexists with attachment to the family.

Also known as Professor Bhaer

First appears in chapter 10

A German professor living at the New York boarding house where Jo works. Poor, learned, warmhearted, and devoted to the young relatives he supports, Friedrich Bhaer becomes Jo's friend through conversation, books, music, and shared life among the boarders.

First appears in chapter 8

A wealthy English acquaintance Amy meets while traveling in Europe. Handsome, polished, and eligible, Fred pays Amy serious attention and represents the secure match that her relatives expect her to consider.

Also known as Demi

First appears in chapter 5

Meg and John's infant son and Daisy's twin. His formal name honors both his father and the March family, while the household nickname distinguishes him from the adults.

Also known as Daisy

First appears in chapter 5

Meg and John's infant daughter and Demi's twin. Her arrival expands the March household into a new generation and brings Meg the pleasures and demands of caring for two babies.