| Margaret March | |
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Birth and Death |
Mid 1840s - Unknown |
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Also Known As |
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Hair Color |
Brunette |
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Eyes |
Blue |
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Nationality |
American |
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"Fatal Flaw" |
Want |
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Family Members |
Parents and Siblings
Spouse and Children
Aunts and Uncles
In-laws
Nieces and Nephews
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Affiliation |
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Margaret "Meg" Brooke (née March) was the first daughter of Robert and Margaret March, as well as the oldest of the four March sisters.
Storyline
When Meg was first introduced, she was portrayed as being just as unhappy as any of her sisters were regarding their family's poverty, especially since she could still remember former times where their family was wealthy. She also felt their father's absence keenly. To help make ends meet, she had to work as a governess for four children of a wealthy local family, the Kings, and also helped her mother to look after her younger sisters.
It was easy to view Meg as vain and superficial - she prided herself on her beautiful white hands, and her "castle in the sky" was of her being a fabulously wealthy mistress who lived in a palatial estate and enjoyed the very best of everything. She also could not help but constantly draw comparisons between her possessions and those of her much wealthier acquaintances. Fortunately for Meg, her debut into high society taught her a hard lesson regarding the grim reality of so-called wealth, and Beth's illness made her better cherish the true blessings in life, such as good health.
As she matured, she blossomed into a beautiful woman and married Mr. John Brooke, the tutor of her neighbour, Laurie. Together, they had three children: Daisy and Demi (twins), and Josie.
Personality
As a young girl, Meg was susceptible to beautiful things, and longed for luxury. She was also particularly vain about her pretty white hands. In fact, she once confessed that her "castle in the air" was a lovely house full of all sorts of luxurious things: delicacies, fine clothes, fine furniture, pleasant people, and great wealth.
Fortunately for Meg, as she matured, she grew to understand that true worth did not lie in money, and she even learned to release some of her vanity, as evidenced by her father observing (when he finally returned home) that her hands were no longer as fair and fine as he had remembered them before he had left. Later on, especially after she married John, she learned to tolerate being poor, and to wholeheartedly appreciate the blessings she had in life, as well as the truly admirable qualities of individuals.
Hence, though Meg never truly lost her desire for beauty and luxury, the combination of maturity, marriage, and later motherhood helped her to grow into a sensible and intelligent woman who understood what really mattered in life. Her one constant feature was her care for her sisters, though her role as the oldest of them could lead her to be slightly bossy and overbearing at times.
Appearance
In Little Women, the sixteen-year-old Meg was described to be the prettiest of the four March sisters: plump and fair, with large eyes, plenty of soft brown hair, a sweet mouth, and beautiful white hands.
In Good Wives, the fully-matured Meg was described to have become a truly beautiful young woman, and on her wedding day, she was said to resemble a rose in full bloom - her face was fair and tender, with a charm more beautiful than beauty.
Etymology
- Margaret is a female given name of Greek origin and means "pearl".
- Meg was named after her mother, Margaret "Marmee" March.
- Meg's eldest daughter, Margaret "Daisy" Brooke, was named after her.