AS SEEN IN:
'Little Women'
AS PLAYED BY:
Eve Plumb
TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time
CREATED BY:
Louisa May Alcott
From Wikipedia:
Beth, fourteen when the story starts, is described as shy, even-tempered
and musical, and has always been very close to Jo. As her sisters begin to leave
the nest, Beth wonders what will become of her, as all she wants is to remain at
home with her parents. When Beth's health eventually begins a rapid decline, the
entire family nurses her, especially Jo, who rarely leaves her side. Finally,
the family begins to realize that Beth will not live much longer. They separate
a room for her, filled with all the things she loves best: her kittens, piano,
father's books, Amy's sketches, and her beloved dolls.
In her last year, at age nineteen, Beth is still trying to make it better for those who will be left behind. She is never idle, except in sleep. But soon, Beth puts down her sewing needle, saying that it grew "so heavy", never to pick it up again. In her final illness, she gives her dying attention to Josephine.
In her last year, at age nineteen, Beth is still trying to make it better for those who will be left behind. She is never idle, except in sleep. But soon, Beth puts down her sewing needle, saying that it grew "so heavy", never to pick it up again. In her final illness, she gives her dying attention to Josephine.
From Shmoop.com:
From the source:
MY BETH
Sitting patient in the shadow
Till the blessed light shall
come,
A serene and saintly presence
Sanctifies our troubled
home.
Earthly joys and hopes and sorrows
Break like ripples on the
strand
Of the deep and solemn river
Where her willing feet now
stand.
O my sister, passing from me,
Out of human care and
strife,
Leave me, as a gift, those virtues
Which have beautified your
life.
Dear, bequeath me that great patience
Which has power to
sustain
A cheerful, uncomplaining spirit
In its prison-house of
pain.
Give me, for I need it sorely,
Of that courage, wise and
sweet,
Which has made the path of duty
Green beneath your willing
feet.
Give me that unselfish nature,
That with charity devine
Can
pardon wrong for love's dear sake—
Meek heart, forgive me mine!
Thus our parting daily loseth
Something of its bitter
pain,
And while learning this hard lesson,
My great loss becomes my
gain.
For the touch of grief will render
My wild nature more
serene,
Give to life new aspirations,
A new trust in the unseen.
Henceforth, safe across the river,
I shall see forever
more
A beloved, household spirit
Waiting for me on the shore.
Hope and
faith, born of my sorrow,
Guardian angels shall become,
And the sister
gone before me
By their hands shall lead me home.
Blurred and blotted, faulty and feeble as the lines were, they brought a look of inexpressible comfort to Beth's face, for her one regret had been that she had done so little, and this seemed to assure her that her life had not been useless, that her death would not bring the despair she feared.
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