Chapters 44-47

NOTE: Page numbers refer to the Barnes & Noble Classics paperback edition.

Background Information/Vocabulary

• "new broom" (p. 439)--I've heard this in the context of the saying "new brooms sweep clean," which means that when new people take charge of something they often get rid of the old people/old ways of doing things.  So I don't know if Amy and Laurie are reacting against that or what, but this seems like Laurie acknowledging their inexperience (which is a new thing for both of these characters!)

• "conjugal" (p. 450)--relating to marriage

• "canonized" (p. 460)--in this context, canonization is the process through which the Catholic Church officially recognizes saints.  Jo means that Beth's death has turned her into a saint for the March family.

• "weal and woe" (p. 461)--"weal" here means well-being or prosperity, and "woe" means sadness, so the phrase essentially means "good and bad."

My Noticings: 

•   Demi's characterization is a bit strange: Mr. March is held up as a paragon of manhood throughout the book, but when Demi follows in his footsteps by showing an inclination toward philosophy, it makes everyone nervous and he has to prove that he is "a true boy."

• I always forget how close to the end this poem is, but I don't think we'd appreciate it as much earlier in the book.  It's a nice look back, and a nice summary of what has become of these characters.

• Some critics have complained about Jo winding up married after all, but I think she does it in such a Jo-like ("Joian", as Laurie says) fashion--insisting on doing her share, saying that even for Professor Bhaer she wouldn't give up her work, even kissing him in the street--that it feels all right to me.

Final Thoughts:

I think it's noteworthy that a book remembered almost universally as "so sad" (because of Beth) in fact has this impossibly happy ending.  Everyone winds up with what they truly wanted all along.  There's the ominous concern over Amy's daughter, but even that is mitigated by Marmee's hopefulness.  (It sounds like she's not ill but perhaps prone to illness--which, in those days, was really nervewracking because common childhood ailments were often deadly.)  I will mention that this book has two sequels, although together they kind of feel like parts one and two of this book.  Both focus on the students at Plumfield; Little Men is the story of their childhoods and Jo's Boys follows them into young adulthood.

Question for readers:

If you could change one thing about this story, what would it be, and why?

Chapters 42-43

NOTE: Page numbers refer to the Barnes & Noble Classics paperback edition.

Background Information/Vocabulary

• "abnegation" (p. 417)--the act of renouncing something; so "self-abnegation" is renouncing one's own desires in order to better serve others.  (Sometimes "abnegation" is used to mean "self-abnegation", as in the Divergent series.)

My Noticings: 

•   It's strange that, as often as the Marches talk about their religious beliefs and faith, they don't seem to belong to a church.  You'd think a church community would help them out, but we never hear of them going to church, or knowing anyone from church.  We just get Jo and Mr. March, and their "church of one member."

Final Thoughts:

I actually realloy love the little scene between Laurie and Jo that settles them into their new relationship as adults and as "brother and sister."  I know many readers over the years have been outraged that they didn't wind up married, but I like them so much as friends that I don't mind a bit.  Also: hurrah for the return of Professor Bhaer, and stand by for more tears!

Question for readers:



With only four chapters left to go, what do you hope to see before the end of the book?

Chapters 40-41

NOTE: Page numbers refer to the Barnes & Noble Classics paperback edition.

Background Information/Vocabulary

•  "weeds" (p. 406)--in this context, weeds are the clothing a person wears when they are mourning a recent death.  In this case, Laurie is mourning his "blighted affections", or his love for Jo, but has reflected that he doesn't need to "wear his weeds ostentatiously"--in other words, he's decided to stop moping around over Jo's rejection.

• "interred" (p. 406)--buried (as a coffin)
   
• "embalm" (p. 406)--to preserve a corpse for burial (in this case, Laurie intends to preserve his feelings about Jo by writing music about them)

• "requiem" (p. 406)--a musical composition to be played at a funeral or memorial service (usually has religious connotations)

My Noticings: 

•     Ok, so as a modern reader, I have some problems with Beth.  She's this perfect little angel, and we never really see her point of view because she's barely even human--she's just a pillar of goodness and light.  She's an example of a problematic trope in "sicklit" or disability lit in which the invalid character is entirely good and pure and inspirational, when in fact sick people are roughly the same as everyone else: a few really nice ones, a few jerks, and most in between.  But none of that keeps me from crying at the end of this chapter every single time I read it.

• Wow--I never noticed that immediately following Beth's actual death, we get this whole extended death metaphor from Laurie--his love for Jo has been killed, so he has to bury it and go into mourning over it and write a requiem for it and so on.  The comparison really makes him look foolish and melodramatic!

• By the end of this chapter, though, I've completely forgiven Laurie's melodrama: he and Amy are so sweet together and I have to admit, I'm crying again.  Double whammy today!

Final Thoughts:

A lot happens in these two chapters--as with the end of part one, suddenly the pace is really starting to pick up as we draw near the end of the book. 

Question for readers:

Are you on board with the pairing of Laurie and Amy?  What makes you like them together or wish they had stayed apart?

Chapters 38-39

NOTE: Page numbers refer to the Barnes & Noble Classics paperback edition.

Background Information/Vocabulary

•  "marplot" (p. 382)--someone who interferes with (or "mars") a plan (or "plot")
  
• "autocrat" (p. 383)--a ruler who has complete control (or, in this case, anyone who demands complete control, as Demi is usually able to do with Meg)
  
• "kids" (p. 388)--this refers to Laurie's kid gloves (gloves made from the skin of a young goat, or "kid")

My Noticings: 

•     Marmee's advice to Meg, to involve John in taking care of the babies, is actually pretty progressive even today!  (Think I'm exaggerating?  Just ten years ago, Eddie Murphy starred in Daddy Day Care, a broad comedy that took as its premise the idea that men having to look after their children would lead to absurd results!)
  
• Sallie Moffatt seems to exist solely to notice what a nice life Meg is having, which is really turning her into a heartbreaking character!

Final Thoughts:

Once again, we hear about Meg and Amy, but no Beth.  (Well, her chapter is coming up, so look out.  It's rough.)  In the meantime, though, Amy and Laurie are a study in contrasts.  While I've never found chapter 39 to be one of the more exciting chapters in the novel, I can see how important it is to both of these characters (particularly Laurie.)

Question for readers:

What do you think the "solitary scarlet flower that grew just beyond [Laurie's] reach" and the lower-down, thornless "tiny cream-colored ones" that Amy puts in Laurie's buttonhole symbolize?

Chapters 36-37

NOTE: Page numbers refer to the Barnes & Noble Classics paperback edition.

Background Information/Vocabulary

•  This isn't so much an answer as a question: what is Beth dying from?  It's such a slow, peaceful death--it seems to be mostly painless, although I guess with Beth she's such a trooper you'd never know if she was in pain.  

My Noticings: 

•     Wow, the transition from Beth and Jo's chapter to Amy's is really jarring!  You really don't expect to wind up in a European park on Christmas Day after reading that heartbreaking scene.

Final Thoughts:

I can't help but feel as though Beth is getting narrative short shrift here.  Meg got her chapter with the jam, and both Jo and Amy have gotten several point-of-view chapters about their travels.  But poor Beth, wasting away at home, never gets the same attention.

Question for readers:

How do you think the story would be different if the chapters were actually narrated by the March sisters?  What were the effects of the two chapters told in letters (from Jo and from Amy) and how would the book be changed if that technique were used more often?  Which do you prefer?

Chapters 34-35

NOTE: Page numbers refer to the Barnes & Noble Classics paperback edition.

Background Information/Vocabulary:

• "banditti" (p. 339)--plural of "bandit" (another word for robber); "bandit" is from the Italian "bandito" (which meant "banned", like an outlaw), which I guess is why it can be pluralized "banditti" (Fun fact: the singular form of "grafitti" is "grafitto!")  I've also, more commonly, seen "bandits" as the plural of "bandit."

• "jew's harp" (p. 350)--a small musical instrument played by placing one end in the mouth and then plucking the other end.  I can't find out why it's called that, though there are lots of theories, but you can hear one here.

 My Noticings: 

•   Mr. Dashwood's assertion that "morals don't sell these days" is, as the narrator points out, certainly untrue: the book we're reading at this very moment is proof of that, as this second half wouldn't have been written if the first half didn't sell, and Little Women is nothing but morals!

• This passage about how writing sensationalistic stories was eroding Jo's womanhood or femininity or something really strikes an odd note today; Alcott is so progressive for her time that it's odd to see her apparently endorse an opinion that seems so conservative today.    

Final Thoughts: 

Aside from Laurie's assertion that he had to propose outright because women can't be trusted otherwise (ew) this is actually a really lovely section.  We get to know Professor Bhaer a bit more and see how much he cares for Jo, which makes it a little easier for the reader to understand how Jo can turn down Laurie (even if she doesn't yet know why she's doing it!)  That last line is heartbreaking--and true.  This could almost be the end of a second section of the book, and if it was Laurie's book, it would be.

Question for readers:

If you were Laurie, would you have proposed?  If you were Jo, would you have accepted?  Why?

Chapters 32-33

NOTE: Page numbers refer to the Barnes & Noble Classics paperback edition.

Background Information/Vocabulary:

• "assiduity" (p. 316)--close attention
• If you want to see what Jo's pillow looked like, you can click here to see replicas of Louisa May Alcott's own mood pillow!

• "harum-scarum" (p. 318)--wild, reckless
  
• "coquettish" (p. 327)--flirtatious, playful

• Full text of "The Steadfast Tin Soldier"(p. 333)

My Noticings: 

• Laurie's picture is hanging on Jo's bedroom wall?!?  I mean, it's probably just because he was willing to sit still and model for Amy, but yikes. It's one thing now, when people can put up tons of photos, but it sounds like there is a portrait of Laurie on Jo's wall.  (I feel like when I was in HS, it would have been weird even for me to put up a photo that was just, like, one of my guy friends by himself.  I had tons of group shots up around my room, but I don't think I had any pictures of just one of my friends hanging on my walls.  Thoughts?)
  
• This bit of conversation between Laurie and Jo feels a lot like many, many blog posts and critical essays I've read in the last few years:
  

  "I'm glad you can't flirt. It's really refreshing to see a sensible, straightforward girl, who can be jolly and kind without making a fool of herself. Between ourselves, Jo, some of the girls I know really do go on at such a rate I'm ashamed of them. They don't mean any harm, I'm sure, but if they knew how we fellows talked about them afterward, they'd mend their ways, I fancy."
  "They do the same, and as their tongues are the sharpest, you fellows get the worst of it, for you are as silly as they, every bit. If you behaved properly, they would, but knowing you like their nonsense, they keep it up, and then you blame them."

  Essentially--women are so often criticized for their behavior, whether for being too flirty/dressed too sexy/wearing too much makeup, or for the opposite.  (If I had a dollar for every time one of my students told me I could be pretty if I'd just wear makeup, I could afford a whole lot of makeup--but I'd just spend it on books anyway.)  Jo is calling out that hypocrisy here, noting that the men encourage flirty behavior from women but then blame them and make fun of them for it.
   

Final Thoughts: 

This is getting quite tricky--none of the four March girls are living under the same roof at the moment, so keeping up with all of them requires some creativity on Alcott's part.  I like Jo's letters, though--and I can't help but love Professor Bhaer.  

Question for readers:

Do you think Jo is right about Beth and Laurie?  Why or why not?