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Little Women
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Jo dreads being laughed at for surrendering after so many declarations of independence, and under the umbrella her cool words push Friedrich away while her face calls him back, so what lets her say the plain sentence at last, and does accepting him cost her that independence?
The tension The chapter sets pride against feeling and lets the body tell the truth the tongue will not. Jo dresses in her best to loiter among warehouses and scolds herself for it; she says she is always glad to see him, sir, and chills him; she upsets the needles and asks for ribbon at the calico counter, and he learns that women go by contraries. The plain sentence comes only when she thinks he is leaving and cannot hide a tear. Then the terms: he waited until he could offer a home, she insists on carrying her share and earning it, both keep their duties and agree to wait. The narrator gives it all in mud, ruined ribbons, and an old blue umbrella.
Notice the gap between what Jo says and what her face and actions show, and what finally lets her say it plainly.
Jo and Mr. Bhaer meet on their walks for a fortnight, and then he stays away. Jo walks into town and he finds her in the rain under his umbrella. She answers coolly, blunders at the shop, and then weeps when she thinks he is leaving. They talk of the poem, the waiting and the work, and come home to the door.
Start with "It's nothing to me, of course." Ask what Jo's actions say about that, and what she might be afraid of.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the walks, the three days, the town, the umbrella, the shop, the tears and the door.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences: a turn from three things left behind to three things welcoming someone, then a plain act that brings the person inside.
Debate Take sides: does accepting Friedrich cost Jo her independence? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why the narrator puts such a tender moment in mud and ruined ribbons.
Easier Read the walk home under the umbrella aloud together and talk through discussion questions 2 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 someone's words and face disagree, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Jo says to herself, “It’s nothing to me, of course.” Then she puts on her new bonnet and walks toward the warehouses. What are we meant to see?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to put Jo's words beside what she does, and to say what the gap shows about her.
Her words are pride, and her actions give her away.
It’s nothing to me, of course; but I should think he would have come and bid us goodbye, like a gentleman
observing that she had on her new bonnet, but not alluding to the fact
She half knows it, and scolds herself for it, which is part of the fun.
What business had I to put on all my best things and come philandering down here, hoping to see the Professor?
Jo, I’m ashamed of you!
A strong answer Jo says it is nothing to her, yet she puts on her new bonnet and finds herself among the warehouses before she has done a single errand. Her mother sees the bonnet and does not say so. Jo later scolds herself for philandering, which shows she knows what she is doing. A strong answer puts her words beside her actions and says what the gap is for in the story.
2. Jo says, “I’m always glad to see you, sir,” and the Professor's smile vanishes. What went wrong between what she felt and what she said?Tone
What it asks It asks how a warm sentence can sound cold, and what Jo was trying to protect.
She tried so hard to sound calm that she sounded cool.
In her anxiety to keep her voice quite calm, Jo made it rather cool
the frosty little monosyllable at the end seemed to chill the Professor
She was guarding herself against a rejection she expected.
She was mortally afraid of being laughed at for surrendering
he only cared for her as a friend; it was all a mistake
A strong answer Jo wants to keep her voice calm, and the narrator says she made it rather cool and that the frosty little "sir" chilled the Professor. She guards her feeling because she fears being laughed at after so many declarations of independence. A strong answer names what made the sentence cold and says what Jo was protecting.
3. Mr. Bhaer has read Jo's face and her voice and found them saying opposite things. How does he make sense of it?Character
What it asks It asks how the Professor reads a person whose words and face disagree, and what he concludes by the calico counter.
He is confused, and swings between hope and despair.
much amazed by the contradictions of voice, face, and manner
despair fell upon him
He learns to read her: he lets the blunders tell him what the words do not.
he was beginning to see that on some occasions women, like dreams, go by contraries
Mr. Bhaer could read several languages, but he had not learned to read women yet.
A strong answer The Professor is amazed by Jo's contradictions: she looks surprised, takes his arm happily, answers coolly, and almost claps her hands. At the shop he watches her blush and blunder, and begins to see that women, like dreams, go by contraries. A strong answer says what he does with the contradictions and how the shop changes him.
4. Jo insists on carrying her share and earning the home, and he says, “We shall see.” Who has the better idea of what a marriage needs?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh Jo's wish to carry her share against Friedrich's wish to provide, and what each is protecting.
Jo has the better idea: a home is shared work, and she would not be a burden.
I’m to carry my share, Friedrich, and help to earn the home.
I’ve known it long enough to lose my dread, and be happy working for those I love
Friedrich has a point: he wants a home to offer her, and not to take her from one she loves.
I could not find the heart to take you from that so happy home until I could haf a prospect of one to give you
How could I ask you to gif up so much for a poor old fellow, who has no fortune but a little learning?
A strong answer Jo says she will carry her share and help to earn the home, and that poverty does not frighten her. Friedrich says he waited until he had a prospect of a home to give her and could not ask her to give up so much. He answers "We shall see" and does not refuse. A strong answer gives each a reason and says what a marriage might need from both.
5. The proposal happens in mud, with bundles in both hands and a ruined bonnet. Why might Alcott choose that setting?Author's choice
What it asks It asks why the author sets the plain sentence in the least romantic place, and what the setting says about these two.
The mud makes the love plainer: it does not need a pretty stage.
It was certainly proposing under difficulties
they were enjoying the happy hour that seldom comes but once in any life
The mud is a joke, and the chapter has fun with romance as well as with Jo.
Passersby probably thought them a pair of harmless lunatics
Mr. Bhaer could not go down upon his knees, on account of the mud
A strong answer Mr. Bhaer cannot go down on his knees because of the mud, and cannot offer Jo his hand because both of his are full, while Jo's skirts are in a deplorable state and her bonnet is a ruin. The narrator jokes about it and also calls it a magical moment, which bestows youth on the old and beauty on the plain. A strong answer says what the unromantic setting lets the love look like, and uses one detail of the mess.
1. Everyone at home knows what is going on but acts as if they did not. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how the family behaves.
What it asks It asks how the family handles a thing they all see and Jo will not say.
They keep quiet on purpose, to give her room.
everyone tried to look as if they were stone-blind to the changes in Jo’s face
They never asked why she sang about her work, did up her hair three times a day
A few small gestures show their care, without saying it.
You’d better take the little umbrella, dear; it looks like rain,” said her mother, observing that she had on her new bonnet, but not alluding to the fact
If you happen to meet Mr. Bhaer, bring him home to tea. I quite long to see the dear man
A strong answer The family pretend to be stone-blind and never ask why Jo sings at her work or does up her hair three times a day. Her mother notices the new bonnet and does not mention it, but sends her with an umbrella and an invitation for Mr. Bhaer. A strong answer uses one line for the silence and one for the care, and says what the quiet gives Jo.
2. Mr. Bhaer sees the drops on Jo's cheeks and stoops to ask why she cries. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how Jo and Mr. Bhaer each act in that moment.
What it asks It asks what breaks down Jo's pride at that moment: fear of losing him, or how he asks.
She cannot bear to lose him, and her tears are already falling.
Mr. Bhaer saw the drops on her cheeks, though she turned her head away
Because you are going away.
He asks so plainly that she has no room for a fib.
he asked in a tone that meant a great deal
if Jo had not been new to this sort of thing she would have said she wasn’t crying, had a cold in her head, or told any other feminine fib
A strong answer Jo's eyes are wet and she turns her head away, and Mr. Bhaer sees the drops. He asks in a tone that means a great deal, and the narrator says that, being new to this, she did not tell the feminine fib she might have. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence for her tears and one for his asking and says what she gives up by answering.
3. Mr. Bhaer says the poem “has done its duty,” and Jo tears it up. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how each of them feels about it.
What it asks It asks what the poem means to each of them: she thinks it bad, he treasured it.
Jo is embarrassed by it: it is bad poetry that told tales.
It’s very bad poetry, but I felt it when I wrote it
I never thought it would go where it could tell tales
Friedrich values it for what it did, not for how it reads.
Let it go, it has done its duty
I read that, and I think to myself, She has a sorrow, she is lonely, she would find comfort in true love.
A strong answer Jo calls it very bad poetry but says she felt it when she wrote it, and she tears it up because it told tales. Friedrich says it has done its duty, and that reading it he thought she was lonely and might find comfort in true love. A strong answer uses one line for each and says what a poem can do apart from whether it is good.