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Louisa May AlcottA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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Summer brings Meg and Jo relief from their responsibilities as the Kings and Aunt March leave for vacation. With ample time, the girls decide to depart from their daily strenuous routines; Meg desires to “rest and revel” while Jo desires to “improve [her] shining hours reading” (115). Hearing this, their younger sisters also implore their mother to take a break as well. Marmee agrees to their “experiment,” but with the warning that “by Saturday night you will find that all play and no work is as bad as all work and no play” (115).
Although the experiment begins with excitement as the girls indulge in their fantasies, during the course of the week, they discover that only following one’s bliss causes bedlam: It was astonishing what a peculiar and uncomfortable state of things was produced by the ‘resting and reveling’ process” (116).
By Friday night, the girls are quarrelsome and irritable, and their hobbies, such as drawing and reading, become difficult to do. At this point, Marmee decides to “impress the lesson [of the value of hard work] more deeply” (117) by giving Hannah a holiday and feigning to be tired and desiring a vacation herself.
Ultimately, the neglect of duties has its consequences: Beth forgets to feed Pip, the canary, who dies; Jo leads a disastrous cooking experience, which results in an inedible dinner; and, by the end, everyone is exhausted from cleaning up and dealing with the mishaps.
Marmee asks the girls if having “daily duties which make leisure sweet” is needed so “that home may be comfortable and lovely to [them] all” (124). The sisters agree and promise to uphold their work ethic.
Beth takes upon her the duty of postmistress, as she is often home, and after giving Marmee a posy from Laurie, she gives Meg her mail: a German song translated by Laurie’s tutor, Mr. Brooke, along with one glove. Meg appears confused, as she is certain that she left both gloves at the Laurences, but proceeds with her sewing. Meanwhile, Marmee observes the growing beauty and womanhood in her still innocent daughter.
Marmee also sends Jo a note of encouragement, stating she is proud of Jo for keeping her cool and following her guidebook. This causes Jo to become emotional: “[She] had thought that no one saw and appreciated her efforts to be good, and this assurance was doubly precious, doubly encouraging” (127).
Jo also receives an invitation from Laurie for a picnic with him and some friends from England who are coming to visit him. He requests all the girls to come. After Marmee agrees, the girls prepare for their outdoor party, which includes the Vaughns: Kate Vaughn, twins Fred and Frank Vaughn, Grace Vaughn, Mr. Brooke, Ned Moffat, and Sallie Gardiner.
Jo and Laurie row one boat toward the picnic spot while Ned and Mr. Brooke row the other. They begin the festivities with a game of croquet, while those too young or too frail sit to watch. Jo catches Fred cheating and manages to control her temper as an argument ensues over whether the British or Americans are better.
Laurie and Meg congratulate Jo for her self-discipline, and they all sit for lunch. Afterwards, they play more games, including a storytelling game suggested by Kate called “Rig-marole” (134) and another called “Truth” (138), during which Jo corners Fred into admitting that he cheated.
In the meantime, the elders of the group—Mr. Brooke, Kate and Meg—sit together. When Kate realizes that Meg is a governess, she turns cold and disdainful toward her, perceiving the position as too lowly for a young woman of sophistication. Mr. Brooke intervenes to put Meg at ease, explaining, “Young ladies in America love independence as much as their ancestors did, and are admired and respected for supporting themselves” (141).
At the same time, Beth forgets her shyness by forging conversation with Frank, who uses a crutch due to a lame leg. Amy and Grace speak of horses, dolls, Europe, and their respective siblings. As the girls return home, Kate remarks, “In spite of their demonstrative manners, American girls are very nice when one knows them” (146).
During a lazy afternoon, Laurie is in “one of his moods, for the day had been both unprofitable and unsatisfactory” (147). Before he can decide what to do next, he catches the March girls walking up to the hill and, out of curiosity, follows them.
He is caught watching them work by Beth, who beckons him to join. Jo wishes she had asked him before, but she thought that he would not be interested in ladies’ activities such as knitting, sewing, drawing, and reading. Meg allows him to sit with them under the condition that he does something, as “it’s against the rules to be idle here” in the “‘Busy Bee Society’” (149).
In response, Jo hands him a book to read to the girls, as they explain their inside game of Pilgrim’s Progress, which helps them spend their time with intention: “[E]ach has had a task and worked at it with a will” (150). Upon hearing this, Laurie feels guilty at his own idleness. They engage in a discussion of heaven and a beautiful afterlife that awaits them, before discussing their hopes for the future.
Each describes their “castles in the air” (151): Laurie dreams to settle in Germany as a renowned musician, Meg wishes for an opulent life surrounded by loving people, Jo desires to be a famed author with fortune, Beth wants only for the family to be happy and safe together, and Amy hopes to be a talented artist and go to Rome.
Laurie confesses that his grandfather wants him to be a merchant and take over the family business, yet he has no aspirations to do so. While Jo suggests that he follow his dreams by running away, Meg advises that he should do as his grandfather wants because he loves Laurie deeply. Eventually, she adds, Laurie would feel horribly if he breaks his grandfather’s heart by acting unjustly toward him.
Later that night, while watching his grandfather and listening to Beth play, Laurie thinks over the conversation and accepts his circumstances: “I’ll let my castle go, and stay with the dear old gentleman while he needs me, for I am all he has” (156).
Laurie watches Jo acting in a clandestine manner and decides to corner her in front of the dentist office, where he assumes she is going for a visit. In reality, Jo has been putting the finishing touches on her story manuscripts, which she has prepared for submission to a newspaper.
As Laurie tries to get the truth out of her, they discuss his presence in this area. Jo hopes he was not playing billiards or doing anything immoral, or else Marmee will not let them mix, just as she does not allow Ned Moffat into their home. Jo addresses Laurie on the importance of being “a simple, honest, respectable boy” and admits her worry for him, as “money being such a temptation” would take him down an unprincipled path, and getting off that path would be difficult for Laurie, because he has “such a strong will” (160).
Laurie becomes miffed at Jo’s “lectures” and tells her that if she continues, he will take a bus home; otherwise, he will walk with her and tell her a secret. Jo relents, and before Laurie continues, she confides in him that she has written two stories and will hear from the newspaperman next week if they have been accepted for publication.
Laurie is proud of Jo and praises her talents. He tells his secret; he knows where Meg’s glove belongs—Mr. Brooke’s pocket. Jo becomes vexed, as she disapproves of Mr. Brooke’s actions. To place her in a better mood, Laurie challenges Jo to race him up the hill. There, they unexpectedly run into Meg, who states that she disapproves of Jo’s behavior but secretly wishes to join them.
Meg is coming from meeting the Gardiners and listening to the story of Belle Moffat’s wedding and subsequent honeymoon to Paris. As Meg admits her envy, Jo says, “[I}f you care much about riches, you will never go and marry a poor man” (164). For a week and more, Jo acts unlike herself, which confuses her sisters.
One day, Jo brings in the newspapers and begins reading her published story, which causes excitement in her sisters and Marmee. Although Jo has not been paid for her pieces, this has encouraged her ambition. She has faith that she shall make money from her writing in the future: “I am so happy, for in time I may be able to support myself and help the girls” (166).
November is dreary and dull. Meg complains “nothing pleasant ever does happen in this family,” while Amy announces to her eldest sister, “Jo and I are going to make fortunes for you all; just wait ten years, and see if we don’t” (167).
A telegram arrives for an alarmed Mrs. March that reads, “Your husband is very ill. Come at once” (169). The ladies are overwhelmed with hysteria until Hannah asserts “waste no time a-cryin’, but git your things ready right away, mum” (169). Marmee soon collects herself and calls on each person to assist her in the journey to Washington, DC, where an ailing Mr. March must be nursed back to health. The elderly Mr. Laurence promises to watch over the girls in Mrs. March’s absence, while Mr. Brooke offers to escort her to her husband.
Jo walks in from a long absence and reveals that she has sold her hair for $25 to assist in her mother’s travels. Although Jo appears brave in front of her family for her sacrifice, later that night, she wails for her hair. Meg comforts her before they join the other girls to sleep.
As they come into their adulthood, the girls begin to have more desires than can be satisfied within childhood and learn important lessons about the importance of inheriting a love for work.
In the experiment that the girls play and Marmee influences, they discover that living without a purpose is not a life of value; throughout the novel, there is disapproval if one is lazy. The Protestant work ethic is placed highly here, and Marmee mentions multiple times that she had been glad for her poverty because it allowed her to work and gain knowledge. With knowledge, life is sure to be “a beautiful success” (125), despite one’s poverty.
During the encounter between the British and American parties at Laurie’s picnic, Kate’s apparent disdain that Meg works causes John to intervene and explain that working is an American institution carried forth through generations: “Young ladies in America love independence as much as their ancestors” (141). By comparing the nations, the novel tries to portray how work has set Americans free while the British have old-fashioned notions about it.
Later, when Laurie tries to join the girls for their outing in which they discuss their “castles in the air” (151), Meg reminds him “it’s against the rules to be idle here” (149). Also, Laurie worriedly admits he’s “a lazy dog” (152) to the girls. Wealth and indolence are often related in the novel; Laurie has a tendency to be slothful, and the rich are shown in a negative light, as money has either led them astray or left them with an empty heart. However, even while they are having fun, it is with a purpose as each of the girls is doing something, whether that be drawing or knitting. In regard to their dreams, these principles of work, modesty, and spiritualism are not always in line with their fantasies: Meg dreams of luxuries, Jo dreams of fame, Amy dreams of genius, and Laurie dreams of going against his father’s wishes by becoming a musician. Only Beth desires safety and happiness for others. While Meg’s dreams of marrying a rich man are in line with societal expectations of women, Jo, Amy, and Laurie are constrained by traditional gender roles, depriving them of opportunities to pursue their “castles in the air.”
By Louisa May Alcott