In her classic 1868 novel about love, family and becoming a woman, Louisa May Alcott opened the door of the Orchard House for generations of readers and evoked a universal vision of Home. Through her spirited rendering in fiction of her own highly individualistic family, Alcott told the domestic saga of the March family - a mother (Susan Sarandon) and four daughters who grow up in Civil War New England, caught in the enchanting years between girlhood and womanhood. The film, like the book, relates the dramas and adventures of Mrs. March’s four “little women” - spirited Jo (Winona Ryder), beautiful Meg (Trini Alvarado), fragile Beth (Claire Danes) and romantic Amy (Kirsten Dunst/Samantha Mathis) - and serves as a glowing depiction of 19th century family life and a tribute to family strength and feminine independence.