Trix Wilkins's Blog: Much ado about Little Women, page 2

Every Food and Drink in Little Women

How to eat like the March sisters…Great post about every food and drink in Little Women and an excuse to have French chocolate, champagne, and gingerbread (wishing I had written more food into the Courtship of Jo March!).

36 Eggs

It’s finally here! Let’s celebrate the release of the new Little Women movie trailer the 36 Eggs way — with a list of every food and drink in the book!

Here’s our Little Women Food & Drink Index, in alphabetical order. (You can also click on the sheets to see the foods and beverages organized by frequency of appearance.)

If you are a bit obsessive like me and need further detail, the Little Women Food & Drink Concordance is a chronological list, including the chapter and passage.

But here’s a brief-ish summary for readers who’d rather not mess with Google Sheets …

The foods most commonly eaten in the novel:
1. fruit, including apples, berries, dates, figs, grapes, (pickled) limes, oranges, and plums. Fresh fruit is Beth’s favorite food.

2. bread. Not terribly exciting, but also not surprising.

3. meat, including beef, chicken, and turkey.
4. candy, including molasses candy…

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A Jo March Book Club: 20 questions about Little Women and The Courtship of Jo March

By Trix Wilkins

Some ideas for all who love books, love friends, and love to talk books with friends… These questions about Little Women and The Courtship of Jo March are probably best with the best of your friends and the best of tea and cookies…

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Little Women Book Club discussion questions

1 What is the
best and most unexpected Christmas gift you’ve ever received? Have you ever had
a Christmas when you longed for something desperately but didn’t receive it?

2 Who has helped you through a difficult and lonely season, the way the Marches came alongside and befriended the Hummels and the Laurences?

3 Did you ever
have a crush on ‘the boy next door’ like Amy, only to find that he seemed more
enamored with your sister/friend/just didn’t notice at all?

4 If money and
time weren’t an object, and you could take lessons or classes in anything the
way Beth longed to learn music, what would you want to learn and why?

5 Have you ever
been in a “secret society” like the March sisters’ Pickwick Club? (Tell the
truth…) Who were you with, what was it for, what did you do, and how did you
get into trouble?

6 What is your family history more like – money and privilege with loss and tragedy like the Laurences, or creativity and close community with poverty and societal limitations like the Marches?

7 Which Little
Women character would you most want to be like and why?

8 Which Little
Women character do you feel had the most untapped potential? How would you have
liked to have seen their life play out in the novel?

9 How did you go
about applying for your first job/ starting your first business/making your
first proposal? (Basically, when you first risked being rejected, like when Jo
first submitted to the papers.)

10 Whose relationship in Little Women do you relate to the most? (Jo and Laurie’s friendship, the sisters’ relationships with each other, Jo-Marmee’s mother-daughter connection, Meg and John’s courtship, etc)

Courtship of Jo March Book Club discussion questions

1 Have you ever
had a surprise run-in with someone you never expected to see again, the way
Beth encountered Frank? Did you reconnect on a friendlier, deeper level – or run
away?

2 The last time
you played matchmaker like Jo did for Laurie – how did it go?

3 What is one thing you – and/or others – thought was something you would never do because you thought you couldn’t do it? If you’ve already done it, who helped? If you haven’t, how can we help?

4 Do you have a ‘status
quo’ pet peeve like Jo does with women’s career prospects – ‘the way things are
done’ that apparently cannot be changed? What is it and how do you think it should change?

5 Who has always
believed in you no matter what – has been your biggest fan, given you tips and
nudges and brought you joy to help you persevere? How did you meet? How are
they involved in your life now?

6 Where in the
world have you travelled for business? (Or you wish you had, the way Laurie travelled.)
Who (or what) did you encounter along the way that decidedly changed the course
of your life?

7 Have you ever had to reject someone because you loved someone else, and how did you do it? (Or: what is the most emotionally difficult conversation you’ve ever had to initiate?)

8 What is a mental
health challenge you have personally had to work through, or seen someone close
to you encounter? What did you find helpful, and who helped you pull through?

9 Which of the March sisters’ marriage proposals do you connect with the most and why? (Or if none really meshed with you, what is your idea of an ideal proposal?)

10 What is the
most extravagant, unthinkable, memorable gift anyone has ever given you? What
is the story – who gave it to you, to what lengths did they go to procure it,
what do you love about it?

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For all who feel like starting a Book Club or just want to read the books, here’s where to get them 

10 ideas for reading Little Women this Christmas

By Trix Wilkins

You’ve read Little Women before. Perhaps you read it every year, and you’re thinking of mixing it up a bit this time. Or maybe you’ve never read Little Women and you’re wondering how do you read a book other than, well, reading it?

Here are some ideas for reading Little Women this Christmas…

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1 Read then walk (as in, the March sisters’ shoes)

Read a chapter, then do one thing the sisters did in that chapter! Housework and writing a will are things they did but perhaps something more along the lines of: treat your neighbors to a Christmas breakfast (Ch 1), dance in something “not fit to be seen” (Ch 3), play ‘Authors’ around the dinner table (Ch 12)…

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Courtesy of Columbia Pictures (1994)

2 Friends. Outfits. And your very own Acting Society.

Read the novel out loud with friends, and assign parts to different ‘actors’ (eg: narrator, Jo, Beth, etc). While the narrator is talking, the others silently play out what’s happening while the narrator tries not to laugh (like that part about Aunt March and the suitor and the bird with the wig – why is that not in a movie…).

Variant: Dress the part! Here’s an excuse to get a sword and boots like Jo. Or paint your own shoes like Amy. Or put fresh flowers over your dress like Meg. And ask your partner to dress like this:

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3 Check out Jo March’s descendants 100 years later

This is for all who have wondered what Jo March’s descendants might have been like if she had been a real historical figure, and had kids who had kids who had kids…

Read all four books of the Little Women series. Then read The Little Women Letters for the “to be continued” in the 21st century. (This is my favorite Little Women inspired novel so far :))

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4 Read a page, color a page

Hmm, that might be a bit disruptive to the whole reading process (especially when a page ends mid-sentence). Maybe read one chapter then color one page, or a quote, or a whole coloring book!

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5 …while you’re at it, make your own artsy edition

Little Women is now in the public domain, so if you’re keen to own one that features your own artwork (or at least artwork that you’ve chosen yourself), you could print out a personal copy with said art inserted between the text. Draw/sketch your own pics as you read, then color in. Design your own page using some favorite quotes/scenes. Commission art through a company such as Pixel Berry Pie Designs .

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6 Some serious mother-and-daughter moments

Marmee & Louisa: the untold story of Louisa May Alcott and her mother would be great to explore alongside Little Women for mother-daughter reading groups (or if you’re simply reading with your own daughter or another special little girl in your life).

You don’t even have to think of your own discussion questions – they’re already online! (Thank you Eve LaPlante :))

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7 Don’t read it, just listen, please!

This is one for all of us who have long work commutes (eg: all of Sydney), feed babies, exercise, and/or otherwise time poor. Listen to an audio book.

Variant: If you know someone who likes reading out loud, ask them to record themselves and you can listen to it in the car (and/or you can hire someone you want to help out financially to do it).

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8 Why read just one book when you could read sixty-six?

Pair with Susan Bailey’s Little Women devotional (it’s got passages from Little Women and the Bible side by side). Read it and the Bible leading up to Christmas. Pray after each section. Write down any insights and ideas and share with others.

Variant: If you’re already in a Bible study (or thinking about forming one), you could study the passages in their biblical and historical context. The devotional doesn’t contain discussion questions so you’re free as a group to make your own.

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9 Bake, read, eat. Repeat.

I am not entirely sure how this French chocolate recipe relates to Little Women – but it has Little Women in the title, it’s chocolate, so that’s good enough for me! (Credit for this idea must go to my lovely friend Sussan, who hosts baking nights every month. =D)

Variant: If you don’t like the thought of blancmange, turnovers and other foods in the novel, you can opt for French goodies. Nice is in the novel. Nice is in France. Therefore baguettes and macarons are defensible as part of a genuine Little Women reading experience. Or pink and white ice cream. Or both…

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10 Stop and switch before the ending

This one is for fans of Beth and shippers of Jo and Laurie. (And/or for all who stopped reading Little Women at the chapter “Heartache” or when Laurie gets to Europe.)

Read all of Little Women Part 1. Read the first eight chapters of Part 2 (Good Wives). Then switch to The Courtship of Jo March for a different ending for all the March sisters.

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Little Women Legacy: (Down) Under the Umbrella with Trix Wilkins, Featured Author

Reminiscing over favorite moments in Little Women, feeling sentimental about what led to the Courtship of Jo March, and honoring the unforgettable people who have spoken truth into my life… Thank you to the editors of the Little Women Legacy who brought my thoughts on Jo and Laurie to the world, and who dared to ask me for truth.

In this blog post series, we’ll feature contributing authors from our new anthology, Alcott’s Imaginary Heroes: The Little Women Legacy. Today we’ll catch up with Trix Wilkins, writer, Aussie, and Alcott enthusiast.

Contributor Trix Wilkins, photographed by her seven-year-old son, reads Little Women across from the iconic Sydney Opera House.

What is your favorite scene from Little Women?

I love the New Year’s Eve ball where Jo and Laurie officially meet. They have an interesting and free-flowing conversation, and of course that wonderful dance in the hallway that happens because Jo says she can’t show the burn in her dress and Laurie says let’s dance anyway. It’s a lot of fun. I think this is the first time in the novel we see Jo unburdened—no thoughts of money or war or work, just joyful moments—and being the person she might always be in the company of such a friend…

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A Tale of Two Editors of The Little Women Legacy

I had to ask: Team Laurence or Team Bhaer? Editors Merry Gordon and Marnae Kelly talk Jo March’s ending, how they’d put the March sisters to work at Pink Umbrella Books (not just work of course – they’d go on holiday too), and surprises for fans in the to-be-released anthology, Alcott’s Imaginary Heroes: The Little Women Legacy.

Jo March’s ending – Jo with Friedrich Bhaer, Jo with Theodore Laurence, Jo single, or something else?

MERRY: I’m Team Friedrich. Unpopular opinion, perhaps, but Laurie is such a puppy.

MARNAE: I’m a big Bhaer fan because of the equality of minds in that relationship and the opportunities for growth in both characters.

Who of all the March sisters would you go on holiday with, where would you go, and why?

MERRY: I’d take an English holiday with Jo – specifically to hit up the literary landmarks, as we are kindred spirits that way.

MARNAE: A literary holiday with Jo would be fantastic, but I would also love a good introverted “staycation” with Beth. If I’m not out seeing the world, my favorite place to be is under a cozy blanket at home.

If you had to change everything but one thing about Little Women, what would you keep?

MARNAE: Yikes, that would be hard. But if I absolutely had to change everything else, I would keep the relationships between the March sisters. All of the ups and downs they go through are so relatable still and are absolutely key for shaping each of them. To me, that feels like the heart of Little Women.

MERRY: I can’t imagine changing anything. I know that seems like such a trite answer and a bit of a dodge, but the book is such a product both of its time and its author’s unique biographical circumstances, and I think it marvelous that Little Women still speaks to us as it is, in spite of what we might see as its flaws (its occasionally didactic nature, the failure of the women to “establish” themselves in careers in a modern context, etc.).

If each of the March sisters worked at Pink Umbrella with you, what jobs would they have?

MERRY: Jo would write and edit, of course. Amy would illustrate. I think an adult Meg, given the economic straits she experienced, might have a better head for finance than she thinks, and Beth would keep the whole establishment cozy.

MARNAE: Merry pretty much nailed it, but I could also see Beth being some kind of creative director. Or putting together the soundtracks for our book trailers. Something behind the scenes but important nonetheless.

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How did your idea for the Little Women anthology come about? Any surprises in the mix for fans?

MARNAE: Merry was definitely the mastermind behind the anthology. It’s been such a pleasure to work with her and all of the authors to put it together.

Little Women first impacted my life when my mother read it out loud to me, and one of my strongest childhood memories is crying with her when Beth died.

Louisa May Alcott didn’t just write a very good piece of children’s literature; she created a home for readers around the world to return to again and again. I think that comes through in the anthology. So many different backgrounds and experiences come together because Little Women has touched them all.

MERRY: Little Women has always been on my radar, since I was a child. It’s something of a pivotal read for many girls, and I found myself returning to it at different seasons in my life (particularly when I had daughters).

I participated in a Jane Austen anthology about a year or two ago, and aware that the 150th was coming up for Little Women, I thought a similar anthology would be an appropriate tribute to a book that’s impacted so many of us.

Surprises? – I had anticipated a rather Jo-heavy book, but I was surprised to see many of our authors write movingly about Beth. There is a sweet homage to Meg, a few spirited defenses of Amy, a great discussion about why Jo didn’t end up with Laurie, and then some fascinating personal connections.

Our authors touch upon doll collecting, grieving, introversion, the ecology of Concord, the Boston Marathon bombing and racial profiling, reading Little Women as a large Italian family in New York, teaching the book in college – there are so many wonderful perspectives in the book. I’m delighted to be part of it, and to connect with a community of readers who are as passionate about the book as I am.

The [Little Women] 150th celebration is Louisa’s own legacy…We are delighted to be even a little part of it. Marnae will be unable to make it due to prior commitments, but she is having her well-deserved “Meg moment” just now and enjoying life as a newlywed, and I’m so happy for her!

Merry Gordon and Adrienne Quintana (owner of Pink Umbrella Books and Marnae’s big sister) will be at the Little Women Anniversary at Orchard House on September 30, 1:00-4:30pm – along with some of the authors of the anthology, who I’m told will kindly sign copies available for sale on the day.

A Tale of Two Editors: the makings of The Little Women Legacy

I had to ask: Team Laurence or Team Bhaer? Editors Merry Gordon and Marnae Kelly talk Jo March’s ending, how they’d put the March sisters to work at Pink Umbrella Books (not just work of course – they’d go on holiday too), and surprises for fans in the to-be-released anthology, Alcott’s Imaginary Heroes: The Little Women Legacy.

Jo March’s ending – Jo with Friedrich Bhaer, Jo with Theodore Laurence, Jo single, or something else?

MERRY: I’m Team Friedrich. Unpopular opinion, perhaps, but Laurie is such a puppy.

MARNAE: I’m a big Bhaer fan because of the equality of minds in that relationship and the opportunities for growth in both characters.

Who of all the March sisters would you go on holiday with, where would you go, and why?

MERRY: I’d take an English holiday with Jo – specifically to hit up the literary landmarks, as we are kindred spirits that way.

MARNAE: A literary holiday with Jo would be fantastic, but I would also love a good introverted “staycation” with Beth. If I’m not out seeing the world, my favorite place to be is under a cozy blanket at home.

If you had to change everything but one thing about Little Women, what would you keep?

MARNAE: Yikes, that would be hard. But if I absolutely had to change everything else, I would keep the relationships between the March sisters. All of the ups and downs they go through are so relatable still and are absolutely key for shaping each of them. To me, that feels like the heart of Little Women.

MERRY: I can’t imagine changing anything. I know that seems like such a trite answer and a bit of a dodge, but the book is such a product both of its time and its author’s unique biographical circumstances, and I think it marvelous that Little Women still speaks to us as it is, in spite of what we might see as its flaws (its occasionally didactic nature, the failure of the women to “establish” themselves in careers in a modern context, etc.).

If each of the March sisters worked at Pink Umbrella with you, what jobs would they have?

MERRY: Jo would write and edit, of course. Amy would illustrate. I think an adult Meg, given the economic straits she experienced, might have a better head for finance than she thinks, and Beth would keep the whole establishment cozy.

MARNAE: Merry pretty much nailed it, but I could also see Beth being some kind of creative director. Or putting together the soundtracks for our book trailers. Something behind the scenes but important nonetheless.

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How did your idea for the Little Women anthology come about? Any surprises in the mix for fans?

MARNAE: Merry was definitely the mastermind behind the anthology. It’s been such a pleasure to work with her and all of the authors to put it together.

Little Women first impacted my life when my mother read it out loud to me, and one of my strongest childhood memories is crying with her when Beth died.

Louisa May Alcott didn’t just write a very good piece of children’s literature; she created a home for readers around the world to return to again and again. I think that comes through in the anthology. So many different backgrounds and experiences come together because Little Women has touched them all.

MERRY: Little Women has always been on my radar, since I was a child. It’s something of a pivotal read for many girls, and I found myself returning to it at different seasons in my life (particularly when I had daughters).

I participated in a Jane Austen anthology about a year or two ago, and aware that the 150th was coming up for Little Women, I thought a similar anthology would be an appropriate tribute to a book that’s impacted so many of us.

Surprises? – I had anticipated a rather Jo-heavy book, but I was surprised to see many of our authors write movingly about Beth. There is a sweet homage to Meg, a few spirited defenses of Amy, a great discussion about why Jo didn’t end up with Laurie, and then some fascinating personal connections.

Our authors touch upon doll collecting, grieving, introversion, the ecology of Concord, the Boston Marathon bombing and racial profiling, reading Little Women as a large Italian family in New York, teaching the book in college – there are so many wonderful perspectives in the book. I’m delighted to be part of it, and to connect with a community of readers who are as passionate about the book as I am.

The [Little Women] 150th celebration is Louisa’s own legacy…We are delighted to be even a little part of it. Marnae will be unable to make it due to prior commitments, but she is having her well-deserved “Meg moment” just now and enjoying life as a newlywed, and I’m so happy for her!

Merry Gordon and Adrienne Quintana (owner of Pink Umbrella Books and Marnae’s big sister) will be at the Little Women Anniversary at Orchard House on September 30, 1:00-4:30pm – along with some of the authors of the anthology, who I’m told will kindly sign copies available for sale on the day.

Little Women Reading Journal: Jo’s Boys (Part 4)

By Trix Wilkins

A very close second favorite novel of the Little Women series. Full of heroism, compassion, humor, redemption. An admittedly late post for the Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge.

Ten years later (Chapter 1)

Opens like a fairy tale – Mr Laurence passes away at a ripe old age and leaves Plumfield a massive legacy (therefore, Jo has no financial worries), Mrs March passess away at not-so-ripe-an-old age but having lived a full life (therefore, Mr March lives at Plumfield and teaches to his heart’s content), and all this seems to pave the way for everyone to live at Plumfield – including Laurie and Amy.

And somehow, for all the different people living together, there is only harmony and no apparent conflict…

Still unsettled by Jo’s calling her son Teddy “my daughter” (which she seems to have picked up from Professor Bhaer, who did the same in Little Men).

Love the fact that Demi aims to be a journalist (wonder if Louisa would have been one given the opportunity?). Jo and Laurie are ecstatic and encourage him (wonder what the Professor thought? Text doesn’t say…).

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this could be truly said of every woman, being in a such a happy situation! “Full of the energy and promise that suddenly blossoms when the ambitious seeker finds the work she is fitted to do well.”

Laughing at how Nan deals with her admirers, “proposing to look at the tongue which spoken of adoration, or professionally felt the pulse in the manly hand offered for her acceptance.”

Puzzles me how Nan and Tommy remained such “excellent friends” when one clearly hopes and the other clearly saying no…

I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry at poor Tommy’s unrequited love, for delivering to Nan lines such as these, “I’ve a deep seated heart complaint, and it will carry me off sooner or later, for only one doctor in the world can cure it, and she won’t.” Then Nan just stomps all over the hints…OK, laughing is winning out.

This is an adorable opening chapter with everyone chattering about the news, with a little reunion at Plumfield.

LOL at cheeky Tommy and serious Demi –

Tommy: It’s the duty of nice girls to marry as soon as possible.

Demi: If there are enough nice fellows to go round.

(Well said, Demi!)

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Parnassus (Chapter 2)

It’s beautiful, what Laurie and Amy have made of their home! They’ve become patrons of musicians and artists, and Amy has the delight of sharing a mutual love of art with her daughter Bess.

I like that Amy has become “one of those who prove that women can be faithful wives and mothers without sacrificing the special gift bestowed upon them for their own development and the good of others.” (Important though to note Amy’s context: she is wealthy, her husband is the sole breadwinner, she has one daughter, her daughter shares and delights in her gift, she has the support of not only her husband and daughter but also her extended family.)

Oh, ouch…I might be reading something into this that isn’t there, but the impression I get from Laurie is essentially his saying to Amy, ‘I wish you were more like Jo.’ Bess and Amy have been working on their art, caught up in a vortex of genius, and Laurie says to Bess he wishes she would give out into the sunshine to dance and laugh, “I want a flesh and blood girl, not a sweet statue in a grey pinafore, who forgets everything but her work.”

The dynamic between Jo, Amy and Laurie I think can be read in one of two ways:

They have a very healthy relationship and kindly give each other advice for everyone’s benefit OR
Laurie’s more inclined to Jo’s parenting style and personality than his wife’s.

Wonder what Jo means by her “thorns and dead leaves,” and “Life had never been very easy to her, and even now she had her troubles both within and without.” What troubles? With her family? Her health? Her work? Her husband?

Awww, Nat loves Daisy so much! Very natural that Meg wants “the best man to be found on the face of the earth” for Daisy, and seems intent on putting Nat through the fire to prove himself worthy, and so she should! (Says a mother with a daughter…)

What a rascal young Teddy is, teasing his cousin Josie and saying that women must “always obey men and say that they are the wisest, just because they are the strongest.” (I wonder why Mr March doesn’t directly contradict this assertion, instead supplying an evasive answer?) Love Josie’s response to such an idea, “I’ll never own that my brain isn’t as good as his.”

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Love all the references to Troy. I feel that Louisa let loose in Jo’s Boys, having an excuse to debate books and women’s rights, challenging norms and seizing progress, and I’m enjoying the start to this novel almost as much as Little Women!

Jo’s last scrape (Chapter 3)

Ahhh, this is where Little Women itself is inserted into the plot – Jo writes the novel out of desperation during hard times to earn money, not dreaming it would “[sail] with a fair wind…heavily laden with an unexpected cargo of gold and glory.” (Incidentally, her hard time and illness falls while Laurie’s abroad – though it isn’t spelled out why everything falls apart, Jo overworks, and gets sick…)

This was Louisa’s dream…how dearly and tenderly she loved her mother and how precious was the latter’s well-being to her! “The success Jo valued most, the happiness that nothing could change or take away…was the power of making her mother’s last years happy and serene; to see the burden of care laid down forever, the weary hands at rest, the dear face untroubled by any anxiety, and the tender heart free to pour itself out in the wise charity which was its delight.”

A bit of a comic picture of the Professor that makes me giggle, “making a little speech of welcome,” while his audience takes off “leaving their host to orate bareheaded in the wet.”

What a lovely end to the chapter, Dan’s surprise coming home!

Dan (Chapter 4)

Um, what?! Who did Jo ever like? The only boy who fits this description as far as we know is Laurie… “When I was a girl I liked just such adventurous fellows…anything fresh and daring, free and romantic, is always attractive.” (Is she saying she liked Laurie once upon a time romantically?)

Demi, what a kindred spirit

Little Women Reading Journal: Little Men (Part 3)

By Trix Wilkins

Much deeper appreciation for Little Men upon this re-read! Endearing moments of childhood, wrenching loss of love – and, inevitably, this line by Theodore Laurence: “It is sometimes the strong brave woman who stirs up the boy and makes a man of him.” An admittedly late post for the Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge.

Nat (Chapter 1)

Lovely opening chapter with new boy Nat walking in and observing how Jo’s school is run.

I love that precocious Demi became “a gentle bookworm” who speaks of his sister Daisy “as if presenting a rare and precious creature” and that he “knows lots and reads like anything.”

Little Women Reading Journal: Good Wives (Part 2, Chapters 20-24)

By Trix Wilkins

The courtship chapters…there are engagements, elopements, weddings, reunions, and grand plans. Plenty to laugh at, plenty to love, and plenty that unexpectedly broke my heart this time. Written for the Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge.

 

Surprises (Chapter 20)

At the age of 25, Jo begins thinking she’ll be “an old maid” which rather depresses her – because even if she were to be famous, she would then be “old, and can’t enjoy it; solitary, and can’t share it; independent, and don’t need it.”

“Many silent sacrifices of youth, health, ambition, love itself, make the faded faces beautiful in God’s sight.” This reminds me so much of my uncle…and Jane Austen…and Louisa herself!

I love this ‘preaching’ to men: “The only chivalry worth having is that which is readiest to pay deference to the old, protect the feeble, and serve womankind regardless of rank, age or color.”

I still feel heartbroken when I read this – the moment Laurie says “my wife.” That was the moment I realized for certain they were not to be when I first read Good Wives. Jo was so happy to see him home, “Oh my Teddy!” Then she quickly asks, “Where’s Amy?” Is she happy? Is she checking if that is over? She doesn’t seem to be expecting Amy to be with Laurie, “Your what?”

The friendship is changed; even though this is necessary, I mourn what was and what will never be again, that there must be “a barricade…a natural one raised by time, absence and change of heart.” Laurie is married, whatever could have been is done and dusted.

Oh, ouch! Feels like there’s such an undercurrent in this exchange – so much that isn’t said. Even if Jo felt horrible hearing of Laurie’s marriage in such a way, how would she show it? We already know she’s a sufficiently good actress (not just the theatrical pieces the Marches put on; she did put on a show for the calls and at the Chesters’ fair), then there’s this ambiguous snippet:

Jo: You always have things to suit you.

Laurie: Not always.

“You’ve had a great deal to bear, and had to bear it alone; what a selfish beast I’ve been!” Yes Laurie, those are true words indeed. (Hmm what if Jo had replied, “Yes you have”…!)

Laurie tells Jo he couldn’t decide between her and Amy until he saw Amy in Vevey. Wonder if it ever crossed Laurie’s mind, when Beth was unwell, to think Jo needed him (even though she wouldn’t ask for him because she’s trying not to be selfish, and to care for her other sister Amy)? What if instead of going to Vevey he’d returned home?

Jo tells Laurie, “Somehow all my troubles seem to fly away when you came. You always were a comfort.” And then, when he talks about respecting himself and his wife, “Jo liked that, and thought the new dignity very becoming, and regret mingled with her pleasure.”

Still find this heartbreaking. It feels like the way Baz Luhrmann portrayed Romeo and Juliet…the moment Juliet awakes, it’s too late. Laurie is married; it is just too late.

Also heartbreaking when Jo looks at Laurie and Amy, and thinks that he “has found the beautiful accomplished girl who will become his home better than clumsy old Jo.” (Incidentally, I think Amy has the beauty and Jo has the accomplishment…)

I love how Laurie tussles with Demi! (It’s a little reminiscent of Professor Bhaer in NY actually.) And how the kids sneak treats while adults distracted; Louisa writes such delightful life details.

Poor Jo – all this happens the day before her birthday! When everyone has gone off to the parlor, Jo manages to get away, not caring what she’ll have for breakfast, overcome with loneliness for “even Teddy had deserted her.” What good timing on Professor Bhaer’s part – to come when Jo is so lonely; she’s lost her dearest sister to death, her dearest friend to her younger sister, and no prospect of closeness with anyone but her parents…

Don’t remember having noticed this before – Laurie is Jo’s yardstick: she usually compared “strange men” to Laurie, “to their great detriment” and upon the Professor’s arrival she forgets to do so (which is not surprising, since after all Laurie is now her brother in law).

I love that Amy sings Beth’s songs…

I’m not sure why it would have been inappropriate for Amy to travel with Mr Laurence and Laurie…? Is it because a lady doesn’t travel with only gentlemen, even if one of them is the elderly guardian of the other?

I wonder: What if Laurie had come home that day not married and Professor Bhaer had shown up as per text?! Would Jo have remembered to compare him to Laurie, and how would he have fared? Would Professor Bhaer have returned another time, having not been assured that the man he considered his chief rival was disposed of already in matrimony? Would Laurie still have been as convinced in his feelings, seeing Jo and Amy in the same room at the same time?

My lord and lady (Chapter 21)

“Jo had grown quite her own saucy self again since Teddy came home.”

Hmm, my mind is full of what ifs: What if Professor Bhaer had shown up and Laurie were still in Europe? Would Jo’s spirits have returned the same way? Would she still have felt that “all her troubles seemed to fly away” at the sight of just the Professor?

“I must confess that I’m prouder of my handsome husband than all of his money.” Wondering…would Amy have married Laurie if he weren’t both handsome and rich? What if Fred Vaughn had Laurie’s looks as well as the forty thousand pounds? What if after Amy had given him that speech at Baden-Baden he’d shown himself to straighten up, like Laurie did?

“That was always one of my dreams, to have the power of giving freely.” Until this moment I don’t think Amy’s ever said anything along this line. Other than her Christmas gift for Marmee, the only things we’ve seen Amy put money into are: limes, art supplies, and tulle (plus other dress accessories). Maybe this denotes growing maturity and change of heart? It would be lovely to see this growth in a movie…

This is a beautiful thing that Laurie says about helping struggling students and apprentices, “If they’ve got genius, it’s an honor to be allowed to serve them, and not let it be lost or delayed for want of fuel to keep the pot boiling; and if they haven’t, it’s a pleasure to comfort the poor souls, and keep them from despair, when they find it out.” (I really enjoyed expanding on this in the Courtship of Jo March, what this might have looked like in someone’s life!)

Very cute that Laurie and Amy shake hands on doing good with their money, “Their hearts were more closely knit together by a love which could tenderly remember those less blest than they.”

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Daisy and Demi (Chapter 22)

Such a cute chapter now that I’ve lived through my children being this age! I love this one!

Why does Demi get to learn letters and not Daisy? (The distance of a hundred a fifty years?)

I like what Mr March says here about young Demi, “If he is old enough to ask the questions he is old enough to receive true answers.”

LOL Professor Bhaer conversing with Mr March – who enjoys his society thinking he’s the attraction until Demi asks the question that enlightens him!

Under the umbrella (Chapter 23)

I quite like Professor Bhaer’s style of courtship in this chapter. He visit Jo’s father, meets Jo for walks, talks and plays with her young nephew and niece and always has gifts for them.

LOL! “Everyone knew perfectly well what was going on, yet everyone tried to look as if they were stone blind.” Jo is afraid of being laughed at for falling in love and I like how Laurie plans to “give Jo a piece of plate, with a bear and a ragged staff on it as an appropriate coat of arms.”

I find this episode really strange…Jo chasing the Professor. After not having seen him for a few days she wanders in town in her best clothes hoping to run into him. When she does, she plays coy, won’t betray that she’s glad to see him, and plans to impress him with her “shopping capabilities.” This astounds me: Jo has stopped writing, dressed well, and wants to parade shopping as a skill to impress a man. I have to remind myself it’s really her. What a contrast to when she didn’t care about such things with Laurie, who loved her for who she was – her writing, her comfortable outfits, her preference for reading over shopping…

Yay, finally Jo is herself and tells the truth that she’s sad he’s going away!

This is an interesting choice of words and I think this was very deliberate by Louisa: the Professor “looked as if he had conquered a kingdom” while “Jo trudged beside him.” The next phrase is ambiguous also – neither positive nor negative, “feeling as if her place had always been here, and wondering how she ever could have chosen any other lot.”

“Be worthy love, and love will come.” Oh, but it is not so always! How often the worthy are not loved well, and the unworthy adored!

Not sure what this means about Jo…

“Dreams of a future never found,

Memories of a past still sweet.”

It feels so sad…Does she mean of Beth’s future? Memories of Beth? Is she talking about writing, how she loved it, how it seems no longer in her future yet she can still recall the sweetness of having written? Is this about her friendship with Laurie? (Speaking of Laurie, just noticed he’s in this poem – he’s “the gallant knight” in the verse about Amy; what a compliment!)

Why does Jo rip up her poem, it’s lovely!

Little Women Reading Journal: Good Wives (Part 2, Chapters 10-19)

By Trix Wilkins

These are perhaps the chapters that have elicited the strongest feelings…Grief, disappointment, confusion, and – yes, I’m one of those readers – a bit of outrage. Written for the Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge.

 

Jo’s journal (Chapter 10)

Jo’s room sounds wonderful, a “sky parlor” with “a fine view, and a church tower opposite.”

What an introduction! Jo sees Professor Bhaer take a load off a servant girl, saying, “The little back is too young to haf such a heaviness.” It’s not surprising she warms to him instantly, for she has been feeling this exact sentiment. There’s also his charming story that reminds me of John Brooke – he’s teaching to support himself and his orphan nephews he’s caring for as though they were his own sons. Still, Jo writes, “He’s most forty, so it’s no harm, Marmee.”

Interesting that upon her first look at him, she describes “the kindest eyes I ever saw, and a splendid big voice that does one’s ears good.”

I was shocked by Jo saying, “I hate ordinary people!” Amy’s snobbery is based on wealth and class, Jo’s on “sense” and intellect. “She has fine books and pictures, knows interesting persons, and seems friendly; so I shall make myself agreeable, for I do want to get into good society, only it isn’t the same sort that Amy likes.”

I like Miss Norton, who is kind to Jo and takes her out “to lectures and concerts as her escort.” I’m glad to see this growth in Jo’s willingness to accept friendship and favour as well as bestow it, “such favors from such people don’t burden me.”

Such a fun picture of the Professor, who plays tag and soldiers with the kids and sings and dances with them