Little Women
Chapter 47 — Teaching Companion
Louisa May Alcott · Trailblazers 4th–6th
Coaching, not a script — and not an answer key: every question here has more than one defensible answer.
This chapter's big question
Jo names the gathered family her mother's harvest and thanks her for the patient sowing, yet the chapter also shows Aunt March's legacy, Mr. Laurence's sly charity, and a shadow over Amy's sunshine, so what does this last chapter count as a good harvest, and how much of it did anyone sow?
The tension The chapter measures the castles in the air against what stands in the orchard. Jo's crop is boys, raised in a house that came by inheritance and filled partly by an old man's touching cases; the school is never fashionable and the Professor lays up no fortune, and Jo calls herself happier than she deserves while keeping the hope of a good book. Meg's castle came nearest her plan. Amy would not alter hers, keeps her art, and holds a frail daughter whose loss she dreads. The narrator admits that beauty, youth, fortune, and love cannot keep out rain. Then Jo hands the harvest to Marmee, who can only open her arms.
Today's focus
Notice what the chapter counts as a good harvest, what helped produce it, and what sits beside the happiness.
Two core ideas
- Jo's Plumfield is a crop of boys, raised on a legacy, an old man's quiet help and a great deal of patience, and it is neither fashionable nor rich.
- The October gathering shows each sister's castle against her old plan, with a shadow over Amy's, and ends on Marmee's open arms.
The shape at a glance
Aunt March dies and leaves Plumfield to Jo, who plans a school for boys. Five years after her wedding the family gathers at Plumfield for the apple-picking, with toasts to Aunt March and to Mrs. March on her sixtieth birthday. The sisters talk of their castles in the air, and Jo gives the harvest to her mother.
A way in
Start with Jo's answer to Laurie: "Boys." Ask what she sees in a house full of them.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the legacy, the plan, the school, the apple-picking, the toasts, the castles and Marmee's closing words.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: what a daughter thanks her mother for, and what a sister hopes for the family.
Debate Take sides: did Jo's harvest come from what she sowed, or from what was given her? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why the book ends on a mother's open arms.
Easier Read the talk under the festival tree 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 someone's good fortune came from another person's quiet help, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- Jo tells Laurie her crop is “Boys.” Why might she want that more than an ordinary life at Plumfield?Character
What it asks It asks what Jo wants from a houseful of boys, and how it connects to what she has known.
One reading
She wants to give what she knows boys need: patience and notice at a clumsy age.
the best have to get through the hobbledehoy age, and that’s the very time they need most patience and kindness
I’ve been through something of it, and I know all about it.
Another reading
She has long wanted a house full of boys to mother and to enjoy.
I’ve always longed for lots of boys, and never had enough
oh, I should so like to be a mother to them!
Listen for
- Uses Jo's own words about boys.
- Says what this wish has to do with her own past.
If stuck
- What does Jo say she used to think about, before Fritz came?
- What does she say boys need at a certain age?
- Whom does she say she has already brought up?
A strong answer Jo says it is a long-cherished plan: before Fritz came she thought of hiring a big house for forlorn lads and making life jolly for them. She says she knows the clumsy years herself and likes to show boys she sees their warm, honest hearts, and she has always longed for lots of boys. A strong answer uses her words and says what her own past adds to the wish.
- The narrator says “the sly old gentleman got round proud Jo.” What do you make of Mr. Laurence's way of giving?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks whether giving in a hidden way respects a proud person or manages her.
One reading
It is kind: he finds a way to help that her pride will allow.
Mr. Laurence was continually finding some touching case of destitution, and begging the Bhaers to take pity on the child, and he would gladly pay a trifle for its support
had been longing to lend the lovers a hand, but knew that they would refuse his help
Another reading
It is a little sly: he works around what Jo would say if asked.
In this way the sly old gentleman got round proud Jo
and furnished her with the style of boy in which she most delighted
Listen for
- Uses the narrator's words, not only a verdict.
- Says what the boys get from it.
If stuck
- What does Mr. Laurence ask of the Bhaers?
- Why does the narrator say he could not help them openly?
- What kind of boys does Jo most delight in?
A strong answer Mr. Laurence finds touching cases and begs the Bhaers to take pity on a poor little one, offering a trifle for its support, because he knew they would refuse his help. The narrator calls him sly and says he furnished Jo with the boys she most delighted in. A strong answer says whether giving by a side door respects Jo's pride or goes around it, and what the boys gain.
- Jo says, “The life I wanted then seems selfish, lonely, and cold to me now,” yet “I haven’t given up the hope that I may write a good book yet.” How do those two fit?Theme
What it asks It asks how Jo can put down her old life and keep one old hope, and what she says about her writing.
One reading
They fit: she gave up the lonely way of wanting it, not the wanting.
the life I wanted then seems selfish, lonely, and cold to me now
I can wait, and I’m sure it will be all the better for such experiences and illustrations as these
Another reading
They pull a little apart: she says she has no hurry, but the hope is still there.
I haven’t given up the hope that I may write a good book yet
now she told no stories except to her flock of enthusiastic believers and admirers
Listen for
- Says what Jo gave up and what she kept.
- Uses her own words about waiting.
If stuck
- What words does Jo use for her old life?
- What does she say about writing a good book?
- What does she point to as experiences and illustrations?
A strong answer Jo calls her old life selfish, lonely and cold, and keeps the hope of a good book that she says will be better for what she is living now. So she gave up a way of wanting it and not the wish. The narrator also says she now tells no stories except to her flock of believers. A strong answer says how the two fit and does not claim she will or will not write the book.
- Amy says “my castle is very different from what I planned, but I would not alter it.” A moment later a tear falls on her daughter's hair. How do you hold those two together?Inference
What it asks It asks how a person can be content and afraid at once, and what Amy's sculpture plan shows.
One reading
She is truly content, and the fear is a shadow, not the whole.
I would not alter it
Thank God, I’m a happy woman.
Another reading
The contentment and the dread are both real, and each shapes the other.
the dread of losing her was the shadow over Amy’s sunshine
mean to do it in marble, so that, whatever happens, I may at least keep the image of my little angel
Listen for
- Does not claim to know what happens to the baby, since the chapter does not say.
- Uses the narrator's phrase about rain.
If stuck
- What does Amy say she will make of her baby?
- What does the narrator call the dread?
- What does Amy say about Laurie?
A strong answer Amy says she would not alter her castle and calls herself a happy woman. A tear falls on her daughter's hair, and the narrator calls the dread of losing her the shadow over Amy's sunshine; she plans to model her little angel in marble so that whatever happens she may keep the image. A strong answer keeps both the contentment and the dread and does not say how the dread turns out.
- Jo says, “Here it is, and we never can thank you enough for the patient sowing and reaping.” How well does the harvest image fit this chapter?Author's choice
What it asks It asks the student to test Alcott's closing picture against what the chapter shows about how Jo's Plumfield and her family came to be.
One reading
It fits: the family gathered at Plumfield is the fruit of a mother's patient care.
for then the Marches, Laurences, Brookes, and Bhaers turned out in full force
as if all found help and happiness in the face which never could grow old to them
Another reading
It is not the whole story: a legacy and a neighbor's sly gift helped, and the young ones' own choices too.
she had left Plumfield to Jo, which made all sorts of joyful things possible
the sly old gentleman got round proud Jo
Listen for
- Names one thing that was sown and one that was given.
- Weighs the image, and does not only accept it.
If stuck
- Who left Plumfield to Jo?
- Who helped fill it with boys?
- What does Marmee do when Jo says it?
A strong answer The harvest image fits the picture of the family around Marmee at the end, where everyone finds help in her face. But the chapter also shows that Plumfield came from Aunt March's legacy and that Mr. Laurence quietly helped fill it, and that the school was never fashionable and made no fortune. A strong answer weighs the image against those facts and says what it does and does not cover.
Critical thinking
- Jo describes Plumfield as “a happy, homelike place for boys.” Using two pieces of evidence, explain what the school is like.
What it asks It asks the student to gather what the narrator shows of the school, and to say what kind of place it is.
One reading
It is a place of freedom and fun: boys, animals and garden plots.
every little plot in the garden soon had its owner; a regular menagerie appeared in barn and shed, for pet animals were allowed
It became a sort of boys’ paradise
Another reading
It is a place of care, with patience for the naughty and room for the different.
no mortal boy could hold out long with Father Bhaer shining on him as benevolently as the sun, and Mother Bhaer forgiving him seventy times seven
There were slow boys and bashful boys; feeble boys and riotous boys
Listen for
- Two different pieces of evidence.
- Says what the narrator says it was not.
If stuck
- What is allowed in the barn and shed?
- What does Jo do for the naughtiest boys?
- What does the narrator say about fashion and fortune?
A strong answer The school is full of freedom: each boy has a plot in the garden and pets are allowed in barn and shed. It is also full of care, with Father Bhaer shining on the boys and Mother Bhaer forgiving them seventy times seven. The narrator says it was never a fashionable school and the Professor laid up no fortune. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence for fun and one for care and says what the school did not become.
- The grandchildren's gifts to Mrs. March are funny and flawed. Using two pieces of evidence, explain why she prizes them.
What it asks It asks why a grandmother treasures gifts others might call defective, and what the narrator says she sees in them.
One reading
She prizes them because they are the grandchildren's own work.
what would have been defects to other eyes were ornaments to grandma’s—for the children’s gifts were all their own
Every stitch Daisy’s patient little fingers had put into the handkerchiefs she hemmed was better than embroidery to Mrs. March
Another reading
She prizes them for what they carry: care and a name.
Rob’s footstool had a wiggle in its uneven legs, that she declared was very soothing
To dear Grandma, from her little Beth.
Listen for
- Two different gifts, not one told twice.
- Says what Mrs. March does when she tries to thank them.
If stuck
- What does the narrator say about defects and ornaments?
- What is wrong with Demi's shoebox?
- What words are written in the costly book?
A strong answer The narrator says what would be defects to other eyes were ornaments to grandma's, because the gifts were all their own. Daisy's stitches are better than embroidery, Rob's uneven footstool is soothing, and the page signed "from her little Beth" is fairer than any in the costly book. A strong answer uses two different gifts and says what Mrs. March is prizing.
- Meg, Jo and Amy each say what has become of their castles in the air. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how they compare.
What it asks It asks the student to set two sisters' accounts side by side and to see how each measures her life against her old plan.
One reading
Meg's castle came nearest to the plan: she wanted a little home, John and a family, and has them.
My castle was the most nearly realized of all.
I’ve got them all, thank God, and am the happiest woman in the world
Another reading
Amy's is very different and she would not alter it, though she keeps a hope of her own.
My castle is very different from what I planned, but I would not alter it
I don’t relinquish all my artistic hopes
Listen for
- Two different sisters, not one told twice.
- Says how each one measures her life.
If stuck
- What did Meg say she asked for in her heart?
- What does Amy say she still does?
- What does Jo say about her old life?
A strong answer Meg says hers was the most nearly realized: she wanted a little home, John and a family of her own, and has them all. Amy says hers is very different from what she planned, but she would not alter it and keeps her artistic hopes. A strong answer uses one line from each sister and says how each measures her life against the old plan.