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Little Women
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Amy writes that she will accept Fred if he asks though she is not madly in love, calls herself both mercenary and prudent, and asks Marmee for advice, so what is she really weighing, and is prudence the right name for it?
The tension The letters make Amy an honest witness against herself. In London and Paris she reports her own blunders (a brewery for Kenilworth, geese for lambs), refuses Fred's gifts, admits she knows nothing and is mortified, and ranks Fred below Laurie for manners. At Heidelberg she lays out the estate, the plate, the jewels, and a rule that one of the sisters must marry well, then insists she would never marry a man she despised and could grow fond enough if he let her do as she liked. She waits on the terrace like a storybook girl, quite cool. The chapter ends with the question handed to Marmee and no answer.
Listen to Amy's own voice in three letters, and notice what she tells her family and what she asks of her mother.
Amy writes from London, Paris and Heidelberg. The first letters are full of sights, jokes and the arrival of Fred and Frank Vaughn. The last letter tells her mother about the serenade, Fred's farewell at the castle, and her own thoughts, and ends by asking for advice.
Start with the brewery and the geese. Ask why Amy would tell her family a story in which she is the one who gets it wrong.
Retell The student tells the three letters back in order: London, Paris and Heidelberg, with Fred and the Vaughns.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: what they may be, then what they will not put up with.
Debate Take sides: is Amy being prudent, or is prudence the wrong word for what she is doing? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why the author lets Amy speak for herself in letters and ends on a question.
Easier Read the Heidelberg letter aloud together and talk through discussion questions 3 and 5 only.
On level Talk through all five discussion questions, then have the student write one critical-thinking answer with two pieces of evidence from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student to find one more place where Amy's words and her actions in a letter pull in different directions, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. On the train Amy takes a brewery for Kenilworth and lambs for geese, and then writes it all home. Why might she tell those stories against herself?Character
What it asks It asks why a girl who cares how she looks tells her family the moments she looked foolish, and what that says about her and the people she writes to.
She is at ease with her family and can laugh at herself in front of them.
Oh, that must be Kenilworth, that gray place among the trees!
Doesn’t that sound sort of elegant and rich?
She is telling a good story, and the joke is shared: Uncle gets the best lines.
No, my dear, not unless you want beer; that’s a brewery.
Geese, young ladies
A strong answer Amy writes the scene as a little play: she cries out that Kenilworth is in the trees, and her uncle calmly says it is a brewery, then a colliery, then geese. Telling it against herself suggests she trusts the people at home to laugh with her, and her uncle's twinkle makes it a joke they all share. A strong answer says what kind of letter writer this is and who she thinks she is writing to.
2. The letters open "Dearest People," then "Dear Girls," then "My dear Mamma." Why might Alcott change who Amy is writing to?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the author gains by sending Amy's letters to different readers, and how Amy's voice changes with each one.
Each reader gets a different Amy: showy to everyone, teasing to the sisters, serious to her mother.
I really feel like a dissipated London fine lady
Jo would turn up her naughty nose at some of the finest, because she has no soul for art
The change follows the news: something has happened that Amy wants to put to her mother.
I’ll try to tell you what has happened, for some of it is very important, as you will see.
I wish I could see you for a good talk, Marmee.
A strong answer In London and Paris Amy writes as an entertainer, all sights and jokes, with teasing for Jo. In the last letter she says some of it is very important, and she closes by wishing for a good talk with Marmee. The shift in readers lets us hear her voice change from a traveller's notebook to a private account, and a strong answer says what that change suggests about what matters to her now.
3. After the serenade Fred shows Amy a crumpled flower and looks "very sentimental." She laughs and says Flo threw it, and he tosses it out the window. What was each of them after?Character
What it asks It asks what Fred was hoping to hear, what Amy's laugh was meant to do, and how each of them took the other's answer.
Fred was hoping she would tell him the flower meant something to her.
Next morning Fred showed me one of the crumpled flowers in his vest-pocket, and looked very sentimental.
which seemed to disgust him, for he tossed it out of the window, and turned sensible again
Amy was keeping things light and did not want to be drawn in yet.
I laughed at him, and said I didn’t throw it, but Flo
I’m afraid I’m going to have trouble with that boy, it begins to look like it.
A strong answer Fred shows her a crumpled flower from the serenade and looks sentimental, which reads as a hope that she threw it and cares. Amy laughs and says Flo threw it, and he tosses it out and turns sensible again. Her laugh keeps the moment light, but she afterward writes that she fears trouble with him. A strong answer says what each of them hoped the other would say.
4. In Paris Amy does not allow Fred to buy her things, but at Heidelberg she counts up his family's plate, jewels and old servants. What might separate the two?Inference
What it asks It asks what Amy will take and what she will not, and what a small gift and a large fortune might each mean to her.
A gift from Fred would put her in his debt now; a fortune is a matter she can think over.
Fred wanted to get me some, but of course I didn’t allow it.
So I’ve been turning the matter over in my mind the last week
She wants things that last, not bits of finery, though she longs for the finery too.
full of solid luxury, such as English people believe in. I like it, for it’s genuine.
so full of bijouterie and lovely things that I’m nearly distracted because I can’t buy them
A strong answer In Paris she is nearly distracted by pretty things and still will not let Fred buy them. At Heidelberg she lists the plate, the family jewels and the old servants and likes the house for being genuine and full of solid luxury. One reading is that a gift is something she would owe now and the house is something she can weigh; another is that she is drawn to lasting things over trinkets. A strong answer names what differs and picks a reason.
5. At the castle Amy says of Fred's goodbye, "I didn’t promise, but I looked at him, and he seemed satisfied." Was that fair to Fred?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks whether a look can be as good as a promise, and whether Amy is honest with Fred while she is still making up her mind.
It was fair: she promised nothing, and she tells her mother she may change her mind.
I didn’t promise, but I looked at him
if I don’t change my mind
It was not quite fair: she let him go away hopeful, which is an answer of a kind.
I shall soon come back; you won’t forget me, Amy?
he seemed satisfied
A strong answer Fred asks whether she will forget him, and Amy answers with a look and no promise. Fair: she said nothing false, and she tells her mother she may still change her mind. Not quite fair: a look is a reply, and Fred goes away satisfied. A strong answer separates what she said from what she let him think, and says how much a look is worth.
1. Amy praises Fred and also says, "I wish Fred was dark." Using two pieces of evidence, explain what she likes in him and what she holds back from.
What it asks It asks the student to sort Amy's praise of Fred from her reservations about him, and to see that both are in the same letter.
She values his usefulness and his company.
he speaks French like a native, and I don’t know what we should do without him
is altogether the most agreeable young man I ever knew
She holds back on his looks and his manners, measuring him against someone else.
I wish Fred was dark, for I don’t fancy light men
except Laurie, whose manners are more charming
A strong answer What Amy likes in Fred is his French, his company and the ease of his manner: she says she does not know what they would do without him and calls him the most agreeable young man she ever knew. What she holds back is that she wishes he were dark, and she says Laurie's manners are more charming. A strong answer uses one line from each side and says what they show about what Amy looks for.
2. At Frankfort Amy did not ask about the story of "Ariadne." Using two pieces of evidence, explain how she handles not knowing something.
What it asks It asks how Amy behaves when she meets something she does not know: in company, and then in a letter to her family.
She is honest about it with her family and means to do something about it.
I ought to have read more, for I find I don’t know anything, and it mortifies me.
I wish Jo would tell me all about it.
She guards her pride in company and keeps the gap to herself.
I didn’t like to ask, as everyone knew it, or pretended they did.
I should have enjoyed it more if I had known the story better.
A strong answer In company Amy stays quiet, because everyone knew the story or pretended they did. In her letter she says she ought to have read more and that it mortifies her, and she wishes Jo would tell her all about it. So she hides the gap in public and admits it at home. A strong answer uses one quote from each and says what this shows about her pride.
3. Amy is sure Fred likes her, though he "said nothing." Using two pieces of evidence, explain what she has noticed.
What it asks It asks the student to gather what Amy has seen Fred do, and to ask whether it is enough for her to be sure.
She has noticed where he puts himself: always by her side and ready to be fierce for her.
he never goes with Flo, always gets on my side of the carriage, table, or promenade
Fred looked as fierce as a lion, and cut his meat so savagely, it nearly flew off his plate
She has noticed what he holds back, and explains it herself.
He said nothing, but little things showed it
I know he wanted to speak, but I think, from something he once hinted, that he had promised his father not to do anything of the sort yet awhile
A strong answer Amy has noticed that Fred always takes her side of the carriage or table and never Flo's, and that he looked as fierce as a lion when an officer stared at her. She also reads his silence, guessing he promised his father to say nothing yet. A strong answer gives two different things she has noticed and says which is what Fred did and which is what Amy supposes.