Little Women, Chapters 1-9

Ok, I’ve come up with a few questions – go ahead an answer some or all in the comment box. As I was telling the lovely Marsha, if a discussion gets particularly good, I’ll probably pull it out of the comments and make a new post. And, I’m taking some feedback requests – is anyone worried about spoilers? I’m worried about how this will feed into a Blog reader for those who haven’t read it before. Please let me know before we move on if you need me to come up with some filler…

On that note, a bit about Louisa May Alcott from The Louisa May Alcott
House website.

Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1832. She and her three sisters, Anna, Elizabeth and May were educated by their father, philosopher/ teacher, Bronson Alcott and raised on the practical Christianity of their mother, Abigail May.

Louisa spent her childhood in Boston and in Concord, Massachusetts, where her days were enlightened by visits to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s library, excursions into nature with Henry David Thoreau and theatricals in the barn at Hillside (now Hawthorne’s "Wayside").

Like her character, Jo March in Little Women, young Louisa was a tomboy: "No boy could be my friend till I had beaten him in a race," she claimed, " and no girl if she refused to climb trees, leap fences...."

For Louisa, writing was an early passion. She had a rich imagination and often her stories became melodramas that she and her sisters would act out for friends. Louisa preferred to play the "lurid" parts in these plays, "the villains, ghosts, bandits, and disdainful queens."

At age 15, troubled by the poverty that plagued her family, she vowed: "I will do something by and by. Don’t care what, teach, sew, act, write, anything to help the family; and I’ll be rich and famous and happy before I die, see if I won’t!"
Confronting a society that offered little opportunity to women seeking employment, Louisa determined "...I will make a battering-ram of my head and make my way through this rough and tumble world." Whether as a teacher, seamstress, governess, or household servant, for many years Louisa did any work she could find.
Louisa’s career as an author began with poetry and short stories that appeared in popular magazines. In 1854, when she was 22, her first book Flower Fables was published. A milestone along her literary path was Hospital Sketches (1863) based on the letters she had written home from her post as a nurse in Washington, DC as a nurse during the Civil War.

When Louisa was 35 years old, her publisher Thomas Niles in Boston asked her to write "a book for girls." Little Women was written at Orchard House from May to July 1868. The novel is based on Louisa and her sisters’ coming of age and is set in Civil War New England. Jo March was the first American juvenile heroine to act from her own individuality; a living, breathing person rather than the idealized stereotype then prevalent in children’s fiction.

In all, Louisa published over 30 books and collections of stories. She died on March 6, 1888, only two days after her father, and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord.

Ok – questions:

1) The first chapter ends with a discussion between the four girls and their mother about Pilgrim’s Progress and how it applies to their lives. For those who have read Pilgrim’s Progress – how does your recollection of it match up with the way that the March family approaches their lives? For those of us who have not, how does the family approach match our impression of the book. For all – does this make a good framework for the story?

2) What is your impression of the four March girls? Which one most closely matches how you see yourself? Are the characters realistic?

3) I’m intrigued by the character of Beth. My mental impression of her has been that she was always sickly, but upon this reading, I am seeing a different character. What has struck you about the character of Beth, and does it match your previous impression of her?

4) For those who have read the book before (spoiler alerts in this question and answer) – knowing how it unfolds, are you seeing foreshadowing? If you have not read the book before – what is your impression of where the novel is going?

5)What did you think about Marmee and Jo’s discussion about anger and besetting sins? Do you think what Marmee said about the continual wrestling with a passion resonated with you and your experience? What did you think about Marmee and Mr. March’s agreement that he’d help her learn to curb her anger?

Quick. Who is Jo March?

I remember when I first read that opening line of an Anna Quindlen essay (and isn’t that a great essay title?) While I’m pretty sure my Dh did not know immediately there was no question for me. In fact, I posit that most women considered Jo their favorite, I think that we do relate to Meg, Beth, and Amy as well. And, who can forget poor Joey on Friends (that's a line we quote often in our house)?

I remember several of the adventures of the March girls (although, not quite what got Amy into trouble, thanks Alana) and have very clear flashes of reading it, but none of them are in my adulthood. Therefore, I was thinking about wanting to re-read the book. I think that I’d understand a lot more of the political interactions (especially after having read Geraldine Brooks’ March) find moments I remember with a grin, and maybe figure out why Jo made the marriage decision she did.

So, as we approach the Dormition fast (when I like to pick up a classic) and being asked to choose the August book*, I thought I’d throw down the gauntlet and propose that anyone who wants to read Little Women with me and I’ll post some discussion questions along the way. I’ll start over the weekend, come join me in the March parlor. And, did you answer the question correctly?

*this will be crossposted.

(photo credit)

Sarah: Women of Genesis. By Orson Scott Card

I finished the book this morning, and wanted to open a thread for discussion.

My first blush thought on this book was that I was left feeling like the first half was incredibly detailed and the second half was rushed. In fact, this morning I re-read Genesis to discover if Sarah died (spoiler alert) before Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac due to the fact that the book didn't address it at all other than to hint at it.

I also was curious, after reading Card's afterward, about the additional information about Abraham that is in the Pearl of Great Price, and I look forward to the LDS ladies in this discussion to expand on this topic, if you'd like.

What did you think about Card's decision to make Qira and Sarai sisters, and to make Qira Lot's wife? What did you think about his treatment of the destruction of Sodom?

All in all, what did you think about the book?

I look foward to hearing your thoughts, and to discussing it further.