Trix Wilkins's Blog: Much ado about Little Women, page 3

Little Women Reading Journal: Good Wives (Part 2, Chapters 1-9)

By Trix Wilkins

I still prefer Little Women Part 1, but there are some real gems in Good Wives Part 2: Jo’s book, the fete, sisterly moments, philanthropy, and that fiery conversation during Calls…Written for the Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge.

 

Gossip (Chapter 1)

This description of Mr March reminds me of Marmee and Louisa, in which Eve LaPlante makes a case for Louisa’s uncle Samuel Joseph May being the model for Mr March. How wonderful to have a father who is “the household conscience, anchor and comforter.”

I only just noticed that Mrs March is very explicitly described here as a “motherly missionary.” In Mr and Mrs March we have a minister whose wife shares his work.

I feel a bit sad for Jo here – Aunt March is said to have replaced her with Amy (implying that Amy was preferred to her). It’s convenient for Jo, as it frees her to write and care for Beth (two of the things dearest to her heart) but it still reads like a rejection. The text doesn’t really say why Aunt March took such a fancy to Amy and why she never offered the advantages to Jo to develop her writing the way she does to Amy to develop her art. I wonder if this reflects any real life Louisa history.

Laurie is very unimpressive in college, “getting through it in the easiest possible manner to please himself.”

“People who hire all these things done for them never know what they lose, for the homeliest tasks get beautified if loving hands do them.”

I have mixed feelings about this statement. On the one hand, it is lovely to receive handcrafted gifts; acts of service are a great way to communicate love. On the other hand, there is also something noble in contributing to the livelihood of another, particularly if it’s one they enjoy (assuming one pays fairly, if not generously).

Ahhh I do love Laurie’s purchasing of gadgets and his “mania for patronizing Yankee ingenuity” (which I think might offer a good point of compromise with his grandfather, were he to invest in such gadgets of genius?).

This section about Meg and housekeeping…Meg is advised to go without servants so that she will have things to do and not get bored or go off and gossip with friends (Marmee tells her she got bored of tending her handkerchief because she started out with servants). Am I the only one wondering, “Were the only options for rich women a) housework b) gossip c) fancy needlepoint?”

I am really surprised by Marmee’s talking as though the only options open to a married woman are either housework or idle gossip and frivolity (especially since that’s not how she herself lives; she gets involved in community service). I like Marmee’s advice that it is helpful for Meg to know how to do housework well because it’s a valuable skill – but not because if she doesn’t she’ll degenerate. That’s not inevitable.

When one has plenty of time on one’s hands because one doesn’t have to do housework – think of all the things one could do! Read, write, invent, volunteer in causes and organizations, learn new languages, learn a musical instrument, form book clubs, create artworks, start a business, start a foundation…or since Meg enjoyed acting, what about a dramatic society?

Wealthy women had the potential to set the tone for society, to lead their children in their example of social concern and entrepreneurship. They had both time and money to do so (unless their husbands prevented them, and didn’t allow them to develop beyond certain societal expectations or as a measure of control, ie: domestic violence situations).

Greatly enjoy this visit by Laurie and his teasing Jo about wearing an apron. I also love that he helps fellow student Henshaw out – he may be frivolous, but he’s also a philanthropist, and I wholeheartedly agree with Jo, “If you always spent money in that way, no one would blame you.”[image error]

The first wedding (Chapter 2)

“The sweetest chapter in the romance of womanhood.” Wedding day is lovely yes, but how much sweeter are the days that follow when the promises are lived out!

Laughing at Laurie haunting Aunt March because the latter doesn’t want him near her.

I love what Meg does here for Laurie, having him promise to keep from drinking, and that “the pledge made, and loyally kept.”

Where are Jo and Beth during the dances of the couples in a ring? (And I kind of love that Aunt March rejects Mr Laurence’s overtures to dance. That just tickles for some reason.)

I really would have liked to have seen more interaction between John and Meg, Beth and Jo, Jo and Laurie, at the wedding…

Artistic attempts (Chapter 3)

What a beautifully written phrase, “to learn that money cannot buy refinement of nature, that rank does not always confer nobility, and that true breeding makes itself felt in spite of external drawbacks.”

“With the decision which opposition was apt to change into obstinacy.” Amy and Jo strike me as quite alike in stubbornness and temperament.

Amy’s dinner party isn’t as much fun as Jo’s dinner party from Part 1 because:

She is trying to live outside her means
She expects others to bear the price of her endeavor as well as herself (of time and effort, even if not financially)
It’s only for her rich friends (does she not have any poor friends…? If not, one wonders why?)
Only one of the twelve shows up (poor Amy, being treated this way after attributing “great deal of kindness and sense” to them!).

Literary lessons (Chapter 4)

Enjoyed reading the description of Jo’s writing process (even if her writing process seems very emotionally driven – but what piece of communication we desire to express isn’t?).

Confused by Marmee, “the disquiet of her mother, who always looked a little anxious when genius took to burning.” Is this because Marmee doesn’t like Jo writing, or because Jo forgets to eat and sleep when these writing fits happen?

What a wonderful thing Jo does here with her money! Her first thought is for the care and holiday of her precious sister and mother, and she has already learned that “I never get on when I think of myself alone.”

“Poverty has its sunny side.” I think it’s when we’re not impoverished, when we have the freedom, head space, energy, and security to be creative, having rest from toil, that innovation happens. I’m not sure what is being referred to in the “half the wise, beautiful and useful blessings of the world” whose creation were inspired by poverty…?

It breaks my heart, Beth’s saying about Jo’s book, “I should like to see it printed soon.” It’s what rushes Jo to print and I know how this feels. My book was rushed to raise money for my son’s surgery – I have no regrets for his sake, but neither is the feeling of “foreboding fear” pleasant and even now is difficult to remember.

I do love that Jo laughs and learns from the feedback on her book!

Domestic experiences (Chapter 5)

Aww…I remember a similar resolve my first days of marriage, that he “should find home a paradise, he should always see a smiling face, should fare sumptuously every day…so much love, energy and cheerfulness to the work.” (I think bringing love and energy to housework is easier than bringing cheerfulness…!)

“John and she had agreed that they would never annoy anyone with their private worries, experiments or quarrels.” I think one needs wise counsel for important undertakings, and advice from an external, more experienced and trustworthy person is often helpful. Also, the prospect of accountability to others (ie: there is no “it stays in the family no matter what” policy) helps to check and maybe even prevent abuse.

“She loved to feel that he trusted her, not only with his happiness, but what some men seem to value more, his money.” (It really is a lovely feeling :))

What to do when one is in a similarly tricky situation? Meg is right to tell John what she’s feeling; John is right to feel like he’s failed to provide for her, when she tells him, “I try to be contented, but it is hard, and I’m tired of being poor.” I wish the conversation “they had a long talk that night” in which they sorted things out had been recorded, that would be potentially exemplary!

I love that Jo hands Laurie the babies and that he nicknames them

Little Women Reading Journal: Little Women (Part 1, Chapters 15-23)

By Trix Wilkins

I felt so much affinity with the March sisters this reading of Little Women Part 1…fear of losing loved ones, surprise gifts, delightful times with friends and family. Written for the Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge.

A telegram (Chapter 15)

“Don’t I wish I could manage things for you as I do for my heroines!” says Jo to Meg, and how I feel the same way, especially for people I love!

I have been thinking about my uncle lately, who died unexpectedly recently. He was the kind of person who was a joy to see even for five minutes. I esteemed and loved him more than I ever let him know. He was generous with his kindness, with the loftiest ambition possible of loving others as well as he was able and doing so in a gentle and unassuming way. He loved his mother dearly and made her widowed days joyful by his devotion and company. All the arduous tasks she had undertaken for her family of eleven for decades – the cleaning, cooking, washing, etc – she no longer needed to, because to his thoughtful diligence. My heart breaks for my grandmother – how awful to bury a child, to have to bury such a son!

I am in the mood to put him into a story, and share Jo’s wish. He would be one of those characters who you know just can’t die because they’re too beloved and too cherished by readers. I feel wretched and wish I could arrange things as I do in my books (at the same time, the idea fills me with trepidation, like what if I inadvertently – perhaps inevitably! – make a disaster of things?).

After having written the Courtship of Jo March and arranged things for the March sisters as I wanted – while yes, it felt wonderful to create an alternate world, even that world was constrained by the fact of people: Me. The Marches. Nineteenth century society. Death. It was still necessarily imperfect and still disatisfactory.

“I’d have some rich relation leave you a fortune unexpectedly.” It’s interesting here that Jo sees money as a fix for Meg’s woes – and that in a story this is how she would solve the issue of the fact lack of money constrains choice. (It’s also a foreshadowing…if money is not to be procured by the work of one’s own hands, it must be at the expense of another’s, bequeathed in some fashion.)

It is always a shock and a heart-wrench to read this: “Very ill. Come at once.”

How beautifully this is written – they all cry together, work together, and the Laurences rally to offer every assistance in their power, including Mr Brooke as escort because incidentally “Mr Laurence has commissions for me in Washington.”

LOL love this description of Jo, “No one ever knew what freak Jo might take into her head.”

Oh, this time I’m crying at the part where Jo sells her hair! Not because Jo no longer has hair or because I feel she should not have had to do it (though I feel both), but because of what the barber’s wife says – that she would do the same for her son “if I had a spire of hair worth selling” and the thought of all these sons dying in war…

Beth, what a sweet presence she is in this book and a comfort! (And yet I still feel sad she had lived without music for so long!) “Beth went to the piano and played the father’s favorite hymn…singing with all her heart, for to her music was always a sweet consoler.” What Beth might have played, given the opportunity for more!

Such a beautiful thing, Marmee going to each of her daughters with a kiss “and to pray the fervent prayers which only mothers utter.”

Letters (Chapter 16)

Helpful advice from Marmee not to “fret when I am gone, or think that you can comfort yourselves by being idle and trying to forget…hope and keep busy.”

I do find I’m not comforted by idleness or trying to forget trouble. Still, this advice by Marmee only goes so far – even when I do “keep busy” (a thing that has characterized my responses to things I’d rather forget happened) at best this merely results in feeling productive and pride in thinking that despite my feelings I can still “do things.” But comfort? There’s no comfort…

Louisa writes this with such a lovely rhythm, the grief is tempered with joy, the bitter with sweet, and I love that Mr Brooke is christened “Mr Greatheart.”

I really like Hannah, and now wish I had written more of her…her making coffee for the girls is lovely (except for the fact that they actually shouldn’t be drinking coffee as children, caffeine not being healthy developmentally!).

I very much relate to Amy here, “the young lady who could find consolation in a sugar bowl.” Currently drinking coffee and having best apple tart ever, both full of sugar, and feeling some sort of consolation if not comfort.

“Laurie is very kind and neighborly. He and Jo keep us merry,” Meg writes to her mother. They are a great team! Even in grief and trouble they work together and are a comfort to others just by being themselves, together.

I love Jo’s confessing that as she rushed up to thank God for her father’s being safe, the words didn’t quite come out. Sometimes the feelings don’t have words.

Jo and Laurie have a fight and then both head over to each other to “beg pardon.” I love that they put their pride and stubbornness aside and both take steps to restore the precious friendship that’s dearer than pride (or even “being right”). Wish Jo said what the fight was about though!

I don’t like that Amy rushes Beth to finish her part of the letter to Marmee L And so I have to laugh that Laurie teased her with rapid French!

Little faithful (Chapter 17)

I know I have been irked with Amy a lot, but this is what I’m feeling and can’t seem to help it. For instance I got cross at this, “Amy found that housework and art did not go well together, and returned to her mud pies.”

It’s not just Amy who behaves badly, but all Beth’s sisters. “Their mistake was in ceasing to do well.”

This reminds me of the 2017 Superbowl between the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots. I spent the first half happy about my team – what a start! So amazing in fact that for most of the game the commentary was about how never in NFL history had such a gap been overcome, and yet…

The sisters drop their vigilant care for each other and oh the consequences!

Beth says to Meg about the Hummels’ baby, “it gets sicker and sicker and I think you or Hannah ought to go.” Why does Hannah not go? Why does Meg not go? Why does Jo not go? I feel appalled but also uncomfortable because I have made a similarly selfish excuse, “I’d go, but I want to finish my writing.”

I am infuriated by this exchange between Amy and Laurie, when Amy has to be persuaded to go to Aunt March’s to avoid catching scarlet fever. Is it such a chore to live in a luxurious home full of books, food and servants, no matter how cross or dull its mistress? (I don’t believe Aunt March is truly cross or dull anyway.) Laurie pacifies her to relieve Meg and Jo, but he shouldn’t have had to.

“’I have great hopes of my boy,’ observed Jo with an approving smile.” So do I!

This parrot is hilarious, I love it! It had to make a cameo.

Dark days (Chapter 18)

How Beth reminds me of my own dear uncle, “to acknowledge the worth of Beth’s unselfish ambition to live for others, and make home happy by the exercise of those simple virtues which all may possess, and which all should love and value more than talent, wealth or beauty.”

[image error]

How openly Jo shares her grief with Laurie here. “God seems so far away I can’t find Him.” It is in Laurie’s company that “the friendly human hand comforted her sore heart, and seemed to lead her nearer to the Divine arm which alone could uphold her.” She’s closer to God alongside him, and “in the silence learned the sweet solace which affection administers to sorrow.”

Oh how I feel how true this is! “The good and dear people always do die.”

I love that Laurie took the initiative to contact Marmee, that Jo is so grateful, and that Marmee is coming!

Very poetic, on what it feels to be on the cusp of losing a beloved, “No sleep came to them, as they kept their watch with that dreadful sense of powerlessness which comes to us in hours like these.”

This is the bargain Jo strikes: “If God spares Beth I’ll try to love and serve Him all my life.” How will she honor it? I’m pro-being honest with God, but it’s an extremely serious thing to make such a pledge – this sits uncomfortably with me because I feel like Jo is bargaining with something that already belongs to God.

What a beautiful close to the chapter: “Girls, she’s come!”

Amy’s will (Chapter 19)

I used to not care about all the things in Aunt March’s house Amy rummaged through, but reading this now – oh, the history! Aunt March had been a “belle,” there were “the baby bracelets her one little daughter had worn” (makes me so sad, that she had lost her daughter somehow), and Uncle March’s big watch “so many childish hands had played with” (such a precious detail and makes Aunt March sweeter).

It’s a bit shocking and crass, what Amy confides to Estelle about her discoveries, “I wish I knew where all these pretty things would go when Aunt March dies.”

Also not a fan of the whole will part, which still bores me.

I do love that Amy prays for Beth though! Especially the final paragraph in the chapter, when Amy prayed and cried for Beth…

Confidential (Chapter 20)

Love this description of Meg and Jo resting after they discover that Beth’s recovered, “like storm beaten boats, safe at anchor in a quiet harbor.”

I really like that Amy resolves not to be selfish, that she recognizes Beth’s beauty, and wants to “try and be like Beth all I can.”

Love this dialogue between Jo and Marmee – Jo wanting to keep her family together, Marmee wanting wealth by way of love and character for her daughters.

I find this statement by Jo weird, “I’d planned to have her (as in Meg) marry Teddy by and by.” Earlier, Jo thought it ridiculous that the Moffats thought her mother had such a scheme…so it strikes me as strange that she would have the ambition she condemned in others (I still think she’s in denial of having feelings for him).

Laurie makes mischief, Jo makes peace (Chapter 21)

Laurie is really immature here, which is disappointing. He can’t seem to accept no for an answer. Jo doesn’t want to tell him about Meg and John, and it’s a horrible, thoughtless, selfish and insensitive thing that he does here to Meg in response. L

Oh, I would have loved to have read how Mrs March lectured Laurie! Half an hour in the parlor with Marmee, what did she say? (Why do we get all the speeches reprimanding the girls but not the ones reprimanding the boys?)

Wow, I am so impressed with how Jo handles the quarrel between James Laurence and Laurie – it’s perfect diplomacy. It took tact, sensitivity, honesty, kindness, understanding, to bring peace to a situation that could have gone down so horribly. She restores a broken relationship not just between herself and Laurie, but between Laurie and his grandfather (which is a great service to the latter in particular, who had suffered estrangement from his son). It’s a moment where Jo proves her deep understanding of people, timing, and the heart.

It’s also not just that Jo restored the relationship – she in fact improves it, and serves as an advocate for both, “You are rather too kind sometimes, and just a trifle hasty when he tries your patience. Don’t you think you are?”

If Laurie and Jo had run off to Washington: Jo wouldn’t have proved herself a peacemaker (to herself, as well as to the Laurences). Mr Laurence and Laurie wouldn’t have practiced forgiveness. And the mutual respect between Jo and Laurie wouldn’t have developed in the same way had Laurie discovered he was capable of talking Jo out of her moral convictions. I think part of Laurie’s esteem for Jo is that she doesn’t give in to all his ideas. Sure, it annoys him when she resists – that immature, selfish, instant-gratification part of him – but ultimately, it’s part of what makes their friendship dynamic and engaging.

Pleasant meadows (Chapter 22)

I like that Amy returns home eager to give away her treasures (I have warmer feelings towards Amy this reading!).

Jo and Laurie here are delightful, and their nickname spot on, “The Unquenchables.” They concoct “utterly impossible,” “magnificently absurd,” “equally impracticable” Christmas celebrations, marked by “explosions of laughter.”

Beth is dressed in a “crimson merino wrapper” and now that I know what merino is and have been recently gifted by my own mother with a crimson merino turtleneck, I feel a bit of giddy affinity with Beth here and like Christmas in July…

What a beautiful surprise for Beth by Jo and Laurie who “like elves…had worked by night” on the snow-maiden. That would’ve been fun to read, the behind-the-scenes work – the process of their scheming and putting it together, and how on earth did they manage to sneak out of home at night without being noticed?!

Christmas dinner with Mr March praising his daughters, is moving. I am sad though that he didn’t say much about Beth – her playing, being more bold in her interactions with people (like the Laurences), selflessness, how precious the little home comforts he’s now enjoying are the work of her hands, the sacrifice she made in caring for the Hummels…wish he had said all that and more!

Never noticed that the performance here by Beth is music she wrote, “sung to her own accompaniment the quaint hymn…” Yes, someone ought to have mentioned her music! (Please let Beth be a stunningly talented piano player with her own compositions in a movie sometime…!)

Aunt March settles the question (Chapter 23)

I think this is one of the best proposals in literature. It’s hilarious. Jo bows out awkwardly, John Brooke seizes the moment, Meg has an unusual fit, and Aunt March cuts in on the whole thing Lady Catherine de Bourgh-style. It is so entertaining, not at all idealistic, and yet so disarmingly charming. (And unlike Mr Darcy’s proud stomping about, on the cusp of rejection John “just stood looking at her so wistfully, so tenderly,” to his great credit.)

I love the way Meg praises John to Aunt March – and what she praises him for (I was not so cluey at seventeen!): “Good and wise; he’s got heaps of talent; he’s willing to work, and sure to get on, he’s so energetic and brave.”

Still utterly convinced that this is a set up for Jo and Laurie, these last two pages…

Laurie saying, “I’ll stand by you Jo, all the days of my life.”
Jo accepting Laurie’s idea that after he gets through college, “we’ll go abroad, on some nice trip or other” would console her for the loss of Meg.
The closing line to the novel, “smiled with his friendliest aspect, and nodded at her in the long glass which reflected them both.”

(Yay, finished book 1 of 4 for the Reading Challenge…!)

Little Women Reading Journal: Little Women (Part 1, Chapters 11-14)

By Trix Wilkins

Reading journal on some of my favorite chapters in Little Women…Boating, games, castles, and getting published. Written for the Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge.

Experiments (Chapter 11)

I’m not sure luxury or “all play” was the girls’ problem. I think the issues were:

Lack of money, so that when they left the housework undone, things were unpleasant (also, it meant lack of ability to travel, and limited amusements)
Lack of collaboration, so they all effectively spent their leisure time alone instead of together (except for Jo, who hung out with Laurie)
Lack of variety, as they all seemed to try to do the same leisure activities every day (no wonder they felt bored, and their leisure excessive!)

After the chapter in which the sisters had jolly times producing a newspaper for their secret society, I expected the same creative industry to be applied to their leisure. Free time they can do whatever they want! In actuality though they can’t really do whatever they want – they don’t have the money. So they regard their discontentment with their limited options as discontentment with leisure per se (it’s also what Marmee tells them).

Even with the restriction of no money, wondering why did Jo not write, or organize a theatre production, or a dance, or a walk, or games…?

LOL the dinner disaster always makes me laugh! I love Jo’s ambition and that she’s bold enough to invite Laurie. This tells me:

She doesn’t care about his opinion on her cooking
She feels safe in her friendship regardless of his opinion on her cooking OR
She thinks she’ll do it well

I love that Laurie saves Jo face by talking and laughing “with all his might, to give a cheerful tone to the festive scene.” The dinner is an unmitigated disaster, yet he tries for her sake to make it a fun occasion and offers not a word of reproach – and it’s he who unwittingly comforts her when she’s about to cry: “She met Laurie’s eyes, which would look merry in spite of his heroic efforts…and she laughed till the tears ran down her cheeks.”

Even though I think the girls might have had a better time of their “lounging and larking” with more money and options, I still agree with Marmee that it is good “to live a little for others.” I also like her emphasis, “I would show you what happens when everyone thinks only of herself,” and “make each day both useful and pleasant and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well.”

Why does Amy get to drive with Laurie while everyone else cleans and tidies up at home? (Twelve is not too young to be doing some chores.) I don’t know what Amy was supposed to learn when she was allowed to go out driving with Laurie as a consequence of all this…was the lesson “pout about your sister’s inept cooking and the nice boy next door will take you out”?

I wish someone had corrected Beth’s declaration, “I am a stupid thing” and reassured her of the facts – she is by no means stupid, she’s already proven her aptitude for music, and when her sisters have made inconsistent claims she’s shown wisdom and analytical skills beyond her years…

Camp Laurence (Chapter 12)

Laurie shows yet another amiable side of his nature, and tells Jo, “Why mind the fashion? Wear a big hat and be comfortable!” What 16 year old boy would say that? But why shouldn’t every 16 year old boy say things like that? I hope my son says such a thing to a girl one day should the occasion arise…

I adore this letter from Marmee to Jo, and think letter writing to one’s children one of the most precious uses of one’s time and writing ability…As Jo says, “that’s worth millions of money.”

I really really love this hat. I can’t let it go. It shows up in the Courtship of Jo March “for it’s capital.”

[image error]

Beth is such a sweetheart. She resolves to be kind to Frank Vaughn because he is “gentle and feeble.” The strong, vivacious, and charming would not win an audience with Beth – but Frank does! (She is as subversive as Jo, in her own way – she pays attention and gives time to those who are neglected by others.)

I usually get so caught up in being excited that Laurie and Jo share a boat on the lake, that I hadn’t noticed John Brooke and Ned Moffat share a boat too. I wonder what the conversation was like in that boat! (Ned’s shown his interest in Meg at this point…!) Was there showmanship? Did John display superior intellect, being “a walking encyclopedia of useful knowledge”? (Hard to compete with that…)

If Laurie weren’t rich the tent wouldn’t already have been pitched when they got there…! (I think the EOFY sales are getting to me…)

Go Jo! I love the croquet game (this scene always makes me want to play croquet with my husband dressed in a suit), and how Jo conquers:

Her temper
Fred’s cheating
Coffee (she makes good coffee!)

LOL the joke between Jo and Laurie about the dinner party disaster, and sharing a plate…They are such comfortable friends and just enjoy each other so much!

Reminiscing about how this line Jo says to Laurie about Kate Vaughn opened up a storyline for the Courtship of Jo March…“She’s company, and you ought to stay with her more.”

I don’t think I’ve ever noticed this before. When it’s Laurie’s turn, he continues the story with the knight “[peeping] over the hedge” (remember how Jo and Laurie had chatted over the hedge between their two houses – or was it a fence?) and “he saw the queen of his affections picking flowers in her garden.” Sad though that the hedge becomes increasingly impenetrable, and the desired princess “left him to fight his way in.” (Clearly, Laurie maintains his optimism, smiling to himself as he surmises that she “opened the gate after a while.”)

Laughing at the Game of Truth – Fred asking Laurie which lady he liked best (I do find it interesting that Jo, whose turn immediately follows, doesn’t get asked which man she likes best…I don’t think Louisa wanted to go there ;)), and I love when Jo says the virtues she admires most in a man are “courage and honesty.”

Beth shines in this chapter. She makes Frank laugh in a way he hasn’t “for ever so long.” I love that this is so innocent and selfless on her part. She’s not trying to catch his eye, impress him, or even have him like her as a friend – she simply forgets herself “in her eagerness to amuse another.” I love that she is shown here not only to be caring, but also entertaining and engaging to a stranger – a boy she doesn’t seem to have much in common with, or so we are led to surmise…

Castles in the air (Chapter 13)

“He was in one of his moods.” What moods? Why does Laurie get in moods that seem so uncharacteristic when compared to what we’ve seen of him? (Perhaps to do with that history we still haven’t been told…His parents? His grandparents? Where, now that I’m thinking about it, is James Laurence’s wife?)

“The hemlock nearby.” Umm…! I only recently found out about the…interesting…potential properties of hemlock, and wondering why it is just growing here and why the girls are sitting near it.

Fun exchange – Laurie: Don’t be afraid. Jo: The idea of being afraid of you!

What a beautiful description of sunset…

“When we are good enough.” I disagree with this – going to “a lovelier country…where we shall go by and by” isn’t a matter of being “good” or that “if people really want to go, and really try all their lives, I think they will get in.” How much despair, insecurity and uncertainty we would feel every day were this true – moreover, how futile would have been the death and resurrection of Jesus were this true, for the idea takes Christ out of Christianity.

I used to love the idea of Jo’s castle, but now, having a family of my own, I really love the idea of Meg’s! Not having to work, but getting to choose the work I’d like because I wasn’t financially dependent on it, and there is always more to give…

I love John Brooke’s story, especially since we hear it from Meg. Now that is an honorable back story! Laurie promises, “If ever I do get my wish, you see what I’ll do for Brooke,” which baffles me…Does he mean when he’s a rich and famous musician? (And isn’t he rich now…couldn’t he do something with existing riches?)

This chapter closes with such a lovely scene. Beth’s going over to play music at the Laurences’ is now a running thread, but how beautiful it is to read this, “when Beth played to Mr Laurence in the twilight,” while he was “thinking tender thoughts of the dead child he had loved so much.” I wonder about his granddaughter…how exactly was she related to Laurie, who is his grandson? Laurie’s sister? His cousin? Did Laurie ever know her?

Secrets (Chapter 14)

Laughing that Jo’s pet rat Scrabble is also “of a literary turn”!

Laurie promises to teach Jo fencing – this would be tremendous in a movie, like that Westley-Inigo exchange in The Princess Bride.

This conversation between Jo and Laurie after Jo drops off her story at the newspaper – I really like the frankness, fun, and tension, and I especially love that this is where he shows his unequivocal support for her writing, “Shan’t we feel proud of our authoress?”

“I never feel easy in my mind till I’ve told you any plummy bit of news I get,” Laurie tells Jo. I feel like this about my husband. I just want to share life with him. Ideas. Knowledge. Feelings. Just time. (Hence bias towards Jo and Laurie…)

This race is absolutely brilliant. Who does this? (More should…) It’s just fun. It’s the perfect cure for Jo’s feeling “rumpled up” after the John-Meg-glove revelation.

Now this is discernment and tact, and we see Laurie has Jo’s back, “He saw the trouble in her face, and drew Meg’s attention from it.”

Even Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe aren’t shown to have a friendship quite like this, “laughing, whispering, skipping stones” (yet another scene I’d forgotten about and now also want to see in a movie), and when she gets published, “chasing Jo all over the garden” where “shrieks of laughter were heard.”

It’s so beautiful how much joy Jo’s family has over her accomplishment! “A jubilee,” and Jo cries happily to have the two “dearest wishes of her heart met” – independence and the praise of those she loved.

Little Women Reading Journal: Little Women (Part 1, Chapters 6-10)

By Trix Wilkins

And so the Little Women Reading Journal for the Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge continues – with Beth enjoying the piano at the “mansion of bliss,” Amy and Jo having a tussle over going to the theater with Laurie, and that wonderful secret writing society…

Beth finds the Palace Beautiful (Chapter 6)

I really like Mr Laurence’s diplomacy in this chapter – how gently and artfully (in a good way) he deals with Beth’s shyness, letting her know she is not only welcome to play the piano in his house but that it would be a service to him (two things Beth loves – music, and being helpful to and appreciated by others!).

Oh, who was the little girl Mr Laurence lost? There is sadness as well as sweetness here, for the benefit Beth enjoys have come as a consequence of such a loss…

I absolutely love the way Laurie and his grandfather pave the way for Beth, taking care she isn’t disturbed and freeing her to simply take joy in playing: one of the most moving and beautiful passages in the novel, these of Beth coming and going from the Laurences, playing the piano…

I’ve read this so many times, but crying again to read Mr Laurence’s letter of thanks to Beth! And how Beth learns to cease to fear him and tells him so! She isn’t talked out of her fear, or lectured, manipulated, counselled – he simply offers her a loving gesture and freely receives hers in return, “for love casts out fear, and gratitude can conquer pride.” What a precious, beautiful moment.

Amy’s valley of humiliation (Chapter 7)

I feel sorry for Amy here – even though she did do wrong, I agree with Marmee “I should not have chosen that way of mending a fault.” (I like the rest of Marmee’s speech too, though I admit I’m kind of shocked she delivers it in Laurie’s hearing.)

This is a chapter I used to skim as it bored and irritated me. Amy’s attempt to do what other girls do, trying to fall in with fashions, then being punished disproportionately for it…I sympathize with Amy more now, as I’m reminded that the reason all this is such a shock to her is that she has been loved all her life (even by Jo, who jumps to Amy’s defence demanding the arrest of her teacher Mr Davis – for all their quarrels, Jo loves her).

Shouldn’t have skipped and skimmed this so regularly though, especially for the jewel at the end! Jo and Laurie are playing chess, Laurie compliments Beth for her musical compositions (Beth composing music! And one can’t help wondering if a romantic thought didn’t cross Jo’s mind at this point, even for a fleeting moment), Laurie then plays the piano. (Again, still waiting for this scene to show up in a movie. Maybe we need a five hour series, like BBC Pride and Prejudice…)

I also like the reminder from Marmee that modesty with accomplishment is attractive, while showing off is not (a very appropriate thing for people to learn in general, not simply young girls – I like that Laurie’s modesty is the example here. With every opportunity to show off, he doesn’t).

Jo meets Apollyon (Chapter 8)

The theatre episode confuses me, as a mother. Why didn’t Meg and Jo simply go to Marmee to have her answer Amy about whether she can go to the theatre in this particular instance? Surely Marmee would be the go-to decision maker about a 12 year old’s coming and goings. (Or maybe Jo anticipated that Marmee would say yes if appealed to, and so didn’t want to give that option? Which is unfair to Amy, even if I do sympathize with wanting to hang out with friends without babysitting younger siblings.)

I don’t understand where the common conception of the apparent calm of Amy versus temper of Jo comes from, for we’re clearly told here that “both had quick tempers, and were apt to be violent when fairly roused” (even though Jo is admitted to be the one with “the least self-control” it seems they’re of similar temperament if not personality – perhaps hence their tendency to clash).

“Amy’s bonfire had consumed the loving work of several years.” It still hurts to read this. I cannot imagine the horrible thing it must have been to have lost such work to such malice. Amy regrets it because “she felt that no one would love her till she had asked for pardon for the act which she now regretted more than any of them” – but her regret is for herself, her losing her family’s love, her losing her sisters’ favor, not regret for Jo’s loss. Jo’s tremendous, irreplaceable loss.

Here is the thing that indicates to me that Amy isn’t repentant of the actual deed but merely sad over the consequences of it: she’s “much offended that her overtures of peace had been repulsed,” like she has a right to be forgiven. Which isn’t true – she has no inherent right to be forgiven; to forgive her would be an act of grace on Jo’s part.

Trust needs rebuilding, and with real repentance comes restitution. Something should have been offered by Amy other than words. Words are cheap. Amy might have offered something valuable to Jo by way of attempting restitution – maybe give up her money for art supplies to supply Jo with paper and ink. Why is Jo simply instructed to forgive and forget, and Amy to offer a few “meek” words of apology? Then Amy goes passive-aggressive on Jo, “making remarks about people who were always talking about being good, and yet wouldn’t try, when other people set them a virtuous example.”

I’ve often wondered what would have happened between Amy and Jo had Amy not fallen through the ice…How would their relationship have been repaired?

[image error]

Jo recognizes the truth in her heart that she was so angry she would risk Amy’s life – not just a temper, a flaring of anger, but “I could hurt anyone, and enjoy it.” She cries to her mother, and we have one of the most moving mother-daughter exchanges in literature…I love this speech, especially how she tried for the sake of her children, how affectionately and respectfully she speaks of her husband, how she speaks to Jo about turning to God, whose “love and care can never tire or change, can never be taken from you.”

Such a beautiful tender moment when Jo does draw near to God and prays the “sincerest prayer she had ever prayed left her heart without words,” and then initiates reconciliation with Amy – Jo has just known forgiveness from God, and is now ready and eager to extend it to her sister.

Meg goes to Vanity Fair (Chapter 9)

Such a lovely scene, Meg surrounded by her sisters who all adore her, so that they flutter around helping her pack and prepare for a holiday :). Brings back memories of my mother and sister and I!

“It does seem as if the more one gets the more wants, doesn’t it?” Very true, Meg…I very much relate to this right now, thinking about a skirt I’d like even though I have plenty…

I don’t like this snobbery – it’s not based on wealth or status, but it’s still looking down on people all the same, “they were not particularly cultivated or intelligent people and that all their gilding could not quite conceal the ordinary material of which they were made.” I admire intelligence, but these words are so cutting!

Oooh, what did Marmee write on Meg’s note that accompanied Laurie’s flowers? “The few loving words had done her good.”

I love that Meg generously makes bouquets for her friends first!

Little Women Reading Journal: Little Women (Part 1, Chapters 1-5)

By Trix Wilkins

I’m reading the Little Women series for the Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge hosted by Tarissa of In the Bookcase (it’s not too late to join and be in the running to win some beautiful Little Women memorabilia :)).

This is a re-read for me – though this time, I’m keeping a journal. To my surprise, a lot of my impressions are quite different from previous readings…

Playing Pilgrims (Chapter 1)

I love that one gets a lot of worldview packed even in the first couple of pages – making sacrifices for the sake of others (and the tension that comes with wondering whether to look after oneself first or another…), hard work deserving a reward, money not being able to fix all problems, and this line about Aunt March never struck me so much before (it feels like a new tid-bit about Jo I didn’t know about – or some insight into her ‘real’ family…hmm…): “…who keeps you trotting, is never satisfied, and worries you till you’re ready to fly out of the window or cry.” (I wonder, do we all know someone in our family like that? Or is it just me sympathizing with Jo…)

Hehe, Meg preaching at her sisters to behave themselves – as an elder sister, I really relate to this!

How gently Louisa writes of Beth! This is a masterly turn of phrase, “a hand that all the dishwashing and dusting in the world could not make ungentle in its touch,” (would I have such a hand!) which is such a contrast to Amy, who is described as “a most important person – in her own opinion at least.”

[image error]

Just realized – this book for girls starts with a fight! They peck at each other and the unfairness of war and poverty and the conflict between Jo and Amy is quickly apparent:

“I detest rude, un-ladylike girls!”

“I hate affected, niminy-piminy chits!”

(Hard to know who to side with at this point. I dislike both rudeness and affectation…)

Can I just say why do Little Women movies not make more of this – that Beth is the one who suggests they get Marmee presents with their meagre pocket money.

OK, the book really wants the reader to dislike Amy I think – she is the only sister to say she will buy a cheap gift (for her mother) so that she can still buy the pencils she wants for herself! Plus she sits on her mother’s lap while her sisters fly around the house setting things up and doing chores, while she “gave directions to everyone, as she sat with her hands folded” (is it bad that I feel like I want to be the one being cuddled, and not having to do any work? And yet reading this I feel how despicable it is to actually do so, when others are working for my benefit).

There is however this, that after her father’s letter is read, Amy cries and says, “I am a selfish girl! But I’ll truly try to be better.” Feeling softer towards Amy.

I really enjoy the allusions to Pilgrim’s Progress, now that I’ve read it

Reading the Little Women series for the Louisa May Alcott reading challenge

By Trix Wilkins

In the Bookcase is hosting the Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge this June – and offering Little Women giveaways

Of the best and least loved: a review of Little Women

By Trix Wilkins

The trouble with writing a review about a novel you’ve been reading for over twenty years is how often and how quickly your thoughts and feelings about it can change – so much so that each time you get around to capturing said thoughts and feelings they seem to contradict the ones you had an hour before. Hence my initial reluctance to post any sort of “review” of one of the best and least loved books in my life (see what I mean about contradictions?). At some point however one must simply commit…

Things I love about Little Women
The heart of Louisa May Alcott, author

Little Women isn’t a strict autobiography of Louisa’s life, but she did put her real life into it. I think that’s at the heart of the power and appeal of this novel. Louisa’s real life sisters. Real life mother. Real life aspirations. Real life doubts, failures, and triumphs.

Sisterly camaraderie

Jo and Beth’s deep regard and affection for each other is one of the things I love most about Little Women (as is the confidence between Jo and Meg as the eldest sisters). I also love the way all four sisters enjoy each other’s company and actually play together!

Jo and Laurie’s friendship breaking conventions

It’s fun, turbulent, sparkling, passionate, and utterly outside the social norms of their time. It’s not the poor girl working hard for her family mooning over the rich handsome boy next door who doesn’t notice her. (Avoiding spoilers, it’s just not that.)

[image error]Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures (1994)

Wise motherly speeches without hypocrisy

I’m not a fan of all of Marmee’s advice and speeches, but I love the fact that she took the time to teach her daughters, that she worked hard to be an example to them, to actually be the sort of person and live the sort of life she would have them live.

The central problem of the story is the central problem of society

The novel is unashamedly not just about how to keep a family together, but the question that every society must answer: what makes families – and ultimately the people within those families – not only stay together but thrive and enjoy life together?

There’s writing wrapped up in writing

One of the things I love most about Little Women is the story of Louisa wrapped up in the story of Jo who is writing books within the book. Book-in-a-book thrills me in the way quantum theory does – I don’t quite get why, I just know I find it fascinating.

[image error]Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures (1994)

The whinging about money rings true…

Generally whinging in a book is not a selling point for me – but the way financial struggle and its consequences is portrayed is so real, so relevant, so personal, that I find this aspect to be one of the most compelling elements of Little Women.

…and still all the fun to be had despite lack of money

Who wouldn’t want to be friends with the March sisters? They write and perform their own plays, write articles books and songs, knit gifts, look after sick neighbors…They take joy in each other and in helping others and bring others along in that joy.

…at the same time, discipline is valued

It’s a counter-cultural novel in any age where luxury and leisure are associated with high status and sought after. It doesn’t disapprove of leisure as bad – but it does provide a helpful balance by showing how discipline and perseverance are also worth possessing.

[image error]Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures (1994)

Giving things away is just the done thing

The novel is replete with characters giving things away in the most beautiful of ways. They all give gifts, make sacrifices, dream up surprises – every single major character is involved in giving generously out of either affection or ethics at some point in the novel.

Nobody pretends to want to save the world

I still like a lot of children’s novels where the characters are clever and save the world. But I also like that Little Women is honest about the fact some children don’t have the most novel or noble of ambitions and want to be rich and famous like some adults do.

The tribute to Elizabeth, Louisa’s sister

While I have been angry and sad about this powerful plot point (not with Louisa, because it was a beautiful and brave gesture to have included this tribute to her real sister, just angry at tragedy), it is what tests everyone and forces character to the surface.

[image error]Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures (1994)

It’s not easy to put in a box

I think ultimately the thing I love about Little Women is that it’s a blend of fiction and reality, imagination and reflection, aspiration and insight. It’s not just a novel, a story, a figment of fantasy – it’s part history. It’s not just a biography, wish list, money spinner – it’s part alternate reality. It’s both what is and what could have been.

Things that bother me about Little Women
It was too realistic

I like idealism in my books. It’s not a surprise to find that sacrifice results in unexpected personal cost, misspoken words are a cause of regret, apparent loyalty is transferred to another, firmly held plans are abandoned – these are all things that happen in life. Still, having seen such things firsthand, they’re not things I read with excitement.

Missing character development

Beth’s story arc felt incomplete. Perhaps Louisa didn’t want to expose that much of what was so personal regarding her relationship with her sister Elizabeth, but the novel did feel poorer for the lack of details about Beth. I felt a sense of despondency clouded her, and found myself continually wondering about the woman she could have been.

Thwarted character growth

One of the things that unsettled me most was how Laurie’s character seemed to be heading in a particular direction then took a dive for reasons that weren’t apparent. Why did Laurie become a dandy? For someone who seemed to have so much potential, Laurie’s stunted character growth in the second half of the novel was dissatisfying.

[image error]Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures (1994)

Missing potential socio-political commentary

One of my favorite parts was when Jo chastised Amy about her approach to cousins of lords versus sons of grocers, and I expected this exchange to be a foreshadowing of things to come. Did Amy ever let go of her class-based snobbery? I was disappointed not to find any other plot development related to the subject.

Missing theological resolutions

There were undercurrents of bargaining with God, “being good,” and a lot of anxiety over whether one was “good enough,” with no resolutions within the story to the theological questions raised. One reached the end of the novel left with the uncertainty that Jo poignantly wrestled with – were her heroic daily efforts at self-control and literary excellence enough? The grace and gift of the gospel was missed, which saddened me.

Missing hero backstory/backstories

Marmee might be the hero to Jo’s heroine. They share common struggles, similar personality and temperament, frequent exchanges of confidences – and she plays a “rescuing” role throughout the novel. But if Marmee’s the hero, where’s her backstory? How did she come to be the Marmee of today? What were her dreams when she was Jo’s age? How did she change from when she shared Jo’s life stage to present day?

Suppose we were to take Professor Bhaer as the hero – who I find to be one of the most under-developed yet potentially fascinating characters I’ve ever read (I think I would have liked him better had a deep back story been presented for him). What was he doing before he came to New York? How did he become a Professor? Compared to the development of Jo, Professor Bhaer doesn’t have much history or page time.

[image error]

Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures (1994)

Laurie has the romantic background one might expect in a hero (or at least we are told so by Meg early on), but again, his story is not fleshed out in much detail. There were more questions than answers about his life. Were Laurie’s ancestors in any way involved in the East India Company and its demise? Was his mother’s family caught up in the turmoil surrounding the unification of the Italian states? Why is he in Concord?

(Do I just want to know way too much information about my book characters and nobody else cares…? Maybe…!)

And yet…

For all of that, Little Women is still a favorite. Sure, there are missing pieces (consistent with the fact we never have perfect information). There are characters doing inconsistent things (consistent with people just being people). There are tragedies that cannot be undone or even adequately explained (consistent with the trials of life). These things may bother me, but at the end of the day it remains a personally valuable novel.

Little Women is a book about the possible lives of women written by a woman who didn’t get a chance to live them. It speaks for the Beths whose voices are stifled, the Megs who diligently and quietly care for their families, the Amys who have talents beyond their looks and charms, and the Jos who dare feats beyond convention. It’s a book where un-lived possibilities become real – and for that it is beloved.

10 reasons why Little Women still matters

By Trix Wilkins

A hundred and fifty years later, Little Women still matters. Here are some reasons why…

It’s personal to Louisa May Alcott

It’s partially an expression of things Louisa had wished for out of life, some of which came true, some came partially true, some of which remained wishes…

We still struggle with God and faith

We have unanswered questions. Who is God? What does life mean? Can I bargain with God? What about when I’m angry? Little Women wrestles with these.

We still get rejected and we still have disappointed dreams

…And when these inevitable things happen what do we do (or what do we not do…)? Are we alone or does this happen to anyone else? (Yes. The March sisters.)

We will all face death…and illness…and loss of loved ones

Is it a treatise on “how to face these things well”? No – but it is a companion, or I should say the March sisters are companions, and do face these things as will we.

Money still isn’t the end-all and it’s nice to be reminded

Yes we’re reminded that money matters, because we need it for food and medicine and education. But we’re also reminded that there is wealth that cannot be measured.

We still suffer, and see suffering, and see needs

There are still those small, every day seemingly inconsequential acts of kindness that are available to us for us to do, and Little Women reminds us how they matter.

Writing is still hard work

Little Women is partly for all the Jo Marches who have ever dreamed of writing and who enjoy wallowing with others in all the frustration and heartache, passion and delight.

It’s controversial, thus inspires debate and creativity

Not just Jo and Laurie (though that is a favorite controversy of mine), but about women, family, career, faith, money… Little Women generates angst as well as admiration!

We are still annoyed by (and desperately care for) our siblings

How do the March sisters deal with this? Some examples are to be emulated; others not; all are to be laughed and cried at and inspire reflection upon our own sibling relations.

We still love

We still love our family. And we still notice we love someone and long for them to love us. Sometimes we see them love someone else. We fall out of love. We fall in love.

 

How do I love thee: 14 novel declarations of love

For all who are beloved. Hope these are helpful this coming Valentine’s Day as you plan surprises for loved ones!  (For those who haven’t yet read Little Women or the Courtship of Jo March, I haven’t made a note of who said these lines to whom so as not to spoil the stories :)) 

All the days of my life[image error]
An encouraging word[image error]
A note of thanks[image error]
A passionate plea[image error]
For one who makes life beautiful

[image error]

For richer or poorer[image error]
Waiting for you[image error]
An inspiring friendship[image error]
Why I love him

[image error]

The inevitability of love[image error]
Esteem and gratitude[image error]
Cannot be bought, cannot be forced
[image error]
All in my being

[image error]

Incomparable[image error]

Little Women is available to read for free via Project Gutenberg, and the Courtship of Jo March is available as an eBook (Scribd offers readers a free 30 day trial) and paperback. 

 

What I’d love to see in a Little Women anthology

By Trix Wilkins

If I were a lady of leisure I’d be spending my days in our state library poring through a pile of books on Little Women within sandstone walls, but alas it is not to be…

So I’m putting ideas out there in the hope that a passionate reader might think: “Hmm, that’s interesting, I’d like to look into that one and write about it,” and write a stunning submission which all will have the pleasure of reading in the Little Women anthology