What is the cause of Beth's death in Little Women?

Question

I remember that she was sickly the whole time, but I can't remember the symptoms. Do they ever say what it is that she dies of?

Answer 1

Yes, the complications really begin when she contracts Scarlet Fever, she never really recovers and her constitution is always weak. This eventually leads to her death although there might have been another illness such as pneumonia which complicated the Scarlet fever near her death due to her weak immune system after she first contracted Scarlet Fever.

Answer 2

I understood it was diptheria. Don't remember where I read it, but it might have been a biographical issue of Louisa May Alcott in Cobblestone magazine.

Answer 3

Since Little Women is considered to be an Autobiographical Novel in which Jo is Alcott read the attached link for your answer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_May_Alcott

Answer 4

Scarlet Fever. She caught it from the baby of a woman she was helping. She neve recovered.

Answer 5

She contracted scarlet fever, never recovered fully, and ultimatly died. Probably, and this is just conjecture, from heart damage suffered from scarlet fever. She got it from the poor people she visited.

Answer 6

Not specifically. She dies of pneumonia (not uncommon for the time).

Answer 7

I think that she died of scarlet. Yeah, I'm pretty sure of that.