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Little Women
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Meg plans a calm refusal, sends John away when his smile looks too sure, and says yes only after Aunt March forbids it, so how much of Meg's choice is her own, and what does it take for her to find out what she wants?
The tension The chapter shows a decision arriving by the wrong doors. The rehearsed speech is forgotten at the first tender word; the refusal comes from a love of power the narrator says sleeps in the best of little women; the acceptance follows an order not to like him, which the narrator credits to perversity as well as inclination. Meg says she did not know how much she cared until John was abused. Around her, Jo sees strong-mindedness in refusing and abject submission in accepting, Aunt March calls a rich match a duty, and John says Meg has only to wait while he does the work, though Meg has just told her aunt that we are willing to work.
Follow the doors Meg's decision comes through, and ask which of them is really hers.
The day after Father's return, the household waits for something. Meg tells Jo her planned speech, and Mr. Brooke comes for his umbrella. She sends him away in a fit of pique, then Aunt March arrives and forbids the match. Meg defends John, he overhears, and she says yes. Jo is shocked, the family is happy, and the chapter ends with a picture of the four sisters and a closing curtain.
Start with Meg's planned speech and ask the student what makes a plan hard to keep.
Retell The student tells the afternoon back in order: the speech, the visit, the refusal, Aunt March, the yes, Jo's shock, and the evening.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern about something they decided because they were told not to.
Debate Take sides on the big question: how much of Meg's choice is her own? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why Alcott lets Meg find out what she wants by wrong doors.
Easier Talk through discussion questions 2 and 3 only, with the speech and the smile as the two pictures to hold.
On level Talk through all six discussion questions, then have the student write one critical-thinking answer with two pieces of evidence.
Harder Ask the student to decide whether Aunt March helped or hindered Meg, and to add that to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Meg tells Jo exactly what she will say to Mr. Brooke and how she will walk out with dignity. What does her plan tell us about her?Character
What it asks It asks what a person shows by planning a scene in advance, and how the plan sits beside the girl who makes it.
She is careful and wants to be in control, and does not want to be taken by surprise.
I know just what I should say, for I’ve planned it all, so I needn’t be taken unawares
I shall tell him I’ve made up my mind, and shall walk out of the room with dignity.
She is also curious and half hoping, and a little sure of herself.
with a queer little smile, which suggested that she did not quite agree with her father on that point
glanced out at the lane, where she had often seen lovers walking together in the summer twilight
A strong answer Meg has a neat speech ready and is about to rehearse her dignified exit when a step makes her fly to her seat and begin sewing. She says she has planned it all so she needn't be taken unawares. But she smiles a queer little smile as if she did not quite agree with her father that she is too young. A strong answer says what the planning shows about her, and what it leaves out.
2. When Mr. Brooke asks if she cares, Meg forgets her speech and says, “I don’t know.” What do you think she means?Inference
What it asks It asks what a soft, honest answer tells us that the rehearsed speech would have hidden.
She means it: she has not yet sorted out her feelings, and the question takes her by surprise.
I’m too young
wondering why she was so fluttered, yet rather enjoying it
She half knows the answer and is afraid of it, which is why she says it so softly.
she forgot every word of it, hung her head, and answered, “I don’t know,” so softly, that John had to stoop down to catch the foolish little reply
she both longed to run away and to stop and listen
A strong answer Meg had planned a calm, proper speech, and she forgets every word. She hangs her head and says “I don't know” so softly that John has to stoop. The narrator says she longed both to run away and to stop and listen. A strong answer says what the honest answer might mean, such as not knowing, or knowing and hiding it, and uses the narrator's description.
3. John smiles as if he has no doubt of success, and Meg snaps, “I don’t choose.” The narrator says the love of power woke up in her. Does that sound right to you?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks whether the narrator's explanation of Meg's sudden refusal is fair, and how well it fits the scene.
It is fair: she takes a naughty satisfaction in trying his patience, and says so.
the love of power, which sleeps in the bosoms of the best of little women, woke up all of a sudden and took possession of her
taking a naughty satisfaction in trying her lover’s patience and her own power
It is only part of it: she is flustered, not cruel, and her heart relents as she watches him.
She felt excited and strange, and, not knowing what else to do, followed a capricious impulse
she found her heart relenting in spite of her
A strong answer Meg sees that John's eyes are merry as well as tender and that he wears the smile of one who has no doubt, and this nettles her. The narrator says the love of power woke up in her, and that she took a naughty satisfaction in trying his patience. But she also follows a capricious impulse because she doesn't know what else to do, and her heart relents as she watches him. A strong answer says whether the narrator's explanation is fair and what else is going on.
4. Aunt March forbids Meg to like John, and Meg at once decides that she will. What do you make of that?Theme
What it asks It asks the student to work out what Aunt March's order does to Meg, using the narrator's two words and Meg's own defense of John.
A good deal is her own. Inclination made the decision easy, and she speaks of John warmly and in detail.
Inclination as well as perversity made the decision easy
John is good and wise; he’s got heaps of talent; he’s willing to work, and sure to get on
Aunt March's order pushed her, and her own words show she had not decided before.
as she was peremptorily ordered not to like him, she immediately made up her mind that she would
Meg stopped there, remembering all of a sudden that she hadn’t made up her mind
A strong answer The narrator says that if Aunt March had begged Meg to accept John she would probably have declared she couldn't think of it, but as she was ordered not to, she made up her mind that she would. She adds that inclination as well as perversity made it easy. Meg says she didn't know how much she cared until Aunt March abused him. A strong answer separates what the order did from what Meg already felt, and says how much is hers.
5. In the middle of defending John, Meg stops short, remembering she had sent him away. What do you think has just happened to her?Inference
What it asks It asks what Meg's sudden stop shows about what she has just learned, and what pushed her to say it aloud.
She has just heard herself say she loves him, and it surprises her as much as anyone.
because he loves me, and I—
Meg stopped there, remembering all of a sudden that she hadn’t made up her mind
She has been pushed into her answer by Aunt March, and now sees that her own words go further than her plan did.
as she was peremptorily ordered not to like him, she immediately made up her mind that she would
Meg hardly knew herself, she felt so brave and independent
A strong answer Meg defends John hotly, saying he wouldn't marry for money any more than she would and that she knows she will be happy with him because he loves her and she, and then stops, remembering that she had told her John to go away. The narrator says Meg hardly knew herself, so brave and independent. Afterward she tells John she didn't know how much she cared until Aunt March abused him. A strong answer says what she has found out and what brought her to find it out.
6. Why might Alcott step out of the story at the end and say that the curtain falls on the four sisters?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the narrator's closing remark adds, and why she speaks to the reader at the very end.
It frames the story as a stage play, in keeping with the girls' own love of theatricals.
So grouped, the curtain falls upon Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy.
Whether it ever rises again, depends upon the reception given to the first act of the domestic drama called “ Little Women .”
It leaves the reader looking at a happy picture of everyone together, which is a fitting place to stop.
Jo lounged in her favorite low seat, with the grave, quiet look which best became her
the prospect was a pleasant one
A strong answer The narrator groups the family like a stage picture: father and mother together, Amy drawing the lovers, Beth with her old friend, and Jo and Laurie at the glass. Then she says the curtain falls and that whether it rises again depends on the reception given to the first act. A strong answer says what stepping out of the story adds, such as a joke, a bow to the reader, or a signal that this is a stopping place.
1. Jo hears Meg's plan and does not believe she will carry it out. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Jo thinks Meg will do, and why.
What it asks It asks what Jo predicts about Meg and what she has seen that leads her there, using two pieces of evidence.
Jo thinks Meg will give in rather than hurt a suitor's feelings, the way girls do in books.
If he goes on like the rejected lovers in books, you’ll give in, rather than hurt his feelings.
If he did speak, you wouldn’t know what to say, but would cry or blush, or let him have his own way
Jo thinks the speech is stiff and cool, which is not like Meg.
Hum! that’s stiff and cool enough. I don’t believe you’ll ever say it
and I know he won’t be satisfied if you do
A strong answer Jo says Meg will give in if Brooke goes on like a rejected lover in books, and that she would cry or blush or let him have his own way. She also calls the speech stiff and cool and says she does not believe Meg will ever say it. A strong answer uses one piece on each and says what Jo knows about her sister.
2. Aunt March lays out her case against John. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how Meg answers it.
What it asks It asks what Aunt March argues and what Meg says back, using two pieces of evidence.
Meg answers with John's character and his friends.
John is 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.
No; but he has many warm friends.
Meg answers with her own values about money and work.
It can’t be a worse one than some people find in big houses
We are willing to work, and we mean to wait.
A strong answer Aunt March says John has no money, position, or business, and that Meg ought to make a rich match. Meg answers that he is good, wise, and willing to work, and has many warm friends, and that love in a big house can fail too. She ends with “We are willing to work, and we mean to wait.” A strong answer uses two of these and says how they answer the charge.
3. Jo and Laurie talk in the corner after the engagement. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Jo is afraid of and what Laurie offers.
What it asks It asks what Jo says she has lost and what Laurie promises, using two pieces of evidence.
Jo is afraid of losing Meg, and says so.
You can’t know how hard it is for me to give up Meg
It never can be the same again. I’ve lost my dearest friend
Laurie offers himself, and looks ahead to cheerful plans.
You’ve got me, anyhow. I’m not good for much, I know; but I’ll stand by you, Jo, all the days of my life
We’ll have capital times after she is gone, for I shall be through college before long, and then we’ll go abroad
A strong answer Jo says it is hard to give up Meg and that she has lost her dearest friend. Laurie says she does not give her up but only goes halves, and promises to stand by her all the days of his life. Jo thanks him and calls him a comfort. A strong answer uses one piece on each side and says what Laurie's promise is, staying close to the chapter's words.