Life in the nineteenth century could be difficult. Families suffered in these times to feed their families, keep warm, take care of infants, and pay the bills. Many said goodbye sadly to all the fathers and husbands going away to fight in the war. They knew they initially weren't coming home for years at a time, which saddened families but they knew it was for a good cause. The novel "Little Women," by Louisa May Alcott describes many compare and contrast relationships between Jo and Beth March, the two extremely close, yet vary personality types as sisters that cause their relationship to be complex at times. As Margaret said to Jo in the beginning of the book, “”You are old enough to leave off boyish tricks, and to behave better, Josephine. It didn't matter so much when you were a little girl, but now you are so tall, and turn up your hair, you should remember that you are a young lady.”” (Page 9) This quote shows a glimpse of Jo’s personality. She is a tomboy giving off the ‘dominate’ role in the March household now that her father is away at war. She hates it when people call her by her lady name Josephine and wishes she went away at war to be with her father who has volunteered as a chaplain. Sadly, she is stuck at home living up to the 19th century expectations to be a classy young lady, which is extremely difficult for her. The author in Little Woman describes Elizabeth, or ‘Beth’ to be the complete opposite of Jo. “was a rosy, smooth-haired, bright-eyed girl of thirteen, with a shy manner, a timid voice, and a peaceful expression which was seldom disturbed.” (page 12) This shows Jo’s and Beth’s differences right from the start. Beth is quiet and timid but only has good intentions such as keeping the family together and happy. She, in fact, came up with the idea to surprise their mother with a Christmas present from each of them. Beth thought this was a great idea instead of being selfish and spendi