Little Women Foreshadowing Beth's Death

     Something that stood out to me in the novel, was the constant foreshadowing of Beth's death. This stood out to me most prominently when Beth's bird was found dead. I felt as though the bird was to be a symbol of what was to come for Beth, which ended up being correct. When Beth described how he died, it seemed to be a sort of correlation between Beth and her family. Beth was the only sister who was consistently self-less and who always exuded innocence and purity. "'He's been starved...; and I'll never have another bird, never, my Pip! for I am too bad to own one,' murmured Beth" (Alcott 128). To me, this foreshadowed that the March's are "too bad" to keep Beth, and that was why she was taken by God. It is expressed that the family holds beliefs of that of Pilgrim's Progress, one of which believes the younger and more pure a soul is, the more likely it is that they will be taken. As age increases, a person becomes more corrupt and obtains more sins, which could explain why Beth was taken in the book. 

    Moreover, Beth's death was also foreshadowed to reader's in Chapter 13, when the four sisters and Laurie describe their own "castles in the air". When it is Beth's turn to describe her idea of paradise, she expresses that she does not want for anything, and is perfectly content. She also expresses that the "beautiful country up there"---which I believe is alluding to heaven--seems "so long to wait...I want to fly away at once, as those swallows fly, and go in at that splendid gate" (Alcott 162). While it appears to be a sweet idea, I could not help but find it mildly disturbing that Beth expressed looking forward to death, and that she wished it would happen "at once," and I found myself even more perplexed when her sisters dismissed it entirely, viewing her wish as normal. 

    An additional example that I found to be important pertaining to the topic was Mr. March's brief comment about Beth once he had arrived home, "'I've got you safe, my Beth, and I'll keep you so, please God" (Alcott 252). The reason I find this to be important is because the longevity of any of the girls' lives is never called into question aside from Beth's. Outside from the incident with Amy falling through the ice, there has not been any sort of talk about one of them dying. The fact that there is constant concern about Beth living or not draws attention to the idea that she won't end up living as long as the rest of them. Lastly, Beth's emphasis on the word "soon," when she gives Jo her opinion on how to release her book is not to be overlooked. "'I should so like to see it printed soon,' was all Beth said, and smiled in saying it; but there was an unconscious emphasis on the last word, and a wistful look in the eyes that never lost their childlike candor, which chilled Jo's heart, for a minute, with a foreboding fear, and decided her to make her little venture 'soon'" (Alcott 303). This is one of the first instances where I believe not only did Beth believe she was going to die soon, but so did Jo. It makes sense that Jo, being one of the sisters who was expressed to be closest to Beth, would first be mentioned to pick up on this foreshadowing as well. While this comment may have gone over the heads of the rest of those who heard it, Jo understood the significance behind it. This, in-of-itself, furthers my point that Beth's death was constantly foreshadowed, so much so, that it was the driving force behind Jo publishing her book so quick.