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Little Women Summary (Part 2)
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Here
we meet the March family three years later. Mrs. March as aged a bit, Mr.
March has come home to teach, and the entire family is awaiting Meg's wedding
to Mr. Brooke. Beth, although no longer sick, does not retain her energy
as she used to. Jo is pursuing her writing career, Amy has become quite
the young lady, and Laurie is off at college. Meg and Mr. Brooke have
just
bought a house and are trying to furnish it. Laurie tells Jo that she will
be the next to marry, Jo says she will never marry.
The
wedding guests arrive and Meg has her simple wedding. Not needing all
the
fancy trimmings but preferring a small quiet wedding, Mr. March acts as minister
and the family gathers round to see young Meg married. All have a
wonderful
time, even Aunt March.
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Amy
spends much time trying out different mediums for her art. As a member
of
an art class she wishes to have her class over to the house for lunch. Realizing
that the family cannot support a lunch for 14 girls, Amy agrees to make
arrangements and pay for the affair herself. The lunch is rained out
the
first day and on the second, only one friend is present. Although Amy's
day
is a disaster, her family consoles her.
Jo
attends a lecture where she gets the idea of writing stories for
publication.
She sends one of her manuscripts to a publisher and receives $100.00.
She decides to send Beth and Marmee to the beach. Her other stories provide
for the family as well, "The Duke's Daughter paid the butchers bill,
A
Phantom Hand put down a new carpet, and the Curse of the Coventrys proved the
blessing of the Marches in the way of groceries and gowns". With this new
found talent, Jo decides to wear her "scribbling suit", a black woolen
pinafore
and matching cap with a red bow, and write a book of some sort for money.
Meg
learns that married life is not as peaceful and easy as she might have imagined.
She tries desperately to keep a good house and make jelly but these
matters seem to get away from her from time to time. One night John brings
home an unexpected dinner guest and Meg spends the evening sobbing. She
spends too much money on a silk dress and a patient husband forgives her
but
she only insults him by declaring that she does not wish to be poor anymore.
But, the couple works through their problems and 2 beautiful twins are
born at the end of the chapter. John Laurence and Margaret "Daisy" are
introduced
into the world.
Amy
and Jo make the social scene and visit several families. The reader gets a
first hand glance at the differences in Jo and Amy's personalities. Amy, who
has been looking forward to this outing has to convince her sister Jo to come
with her. Eventually, an unhappy Jo agrees. The two visit from house to
house
where Amy is quick to guard her manners and behaves like a perfect lady.
On the other hand, Jo enjoys telling stories and chatting with the boys
more than talks about gossip with the ladies.
Mrs.
Chester decides to throw a fair to show off the girls artistic ability. May
Chester shares with her mother her jealousy of Amy and her talent. Therefore,
Mrs. Chester sees to it that Amy's table is moved away to a farther
corner so that her girls can enjoy the spotlight. Amy tries to make the
best of it and Jo convinces Laurie to bring his friends to buy all of Amy's
floral arrangements. Even Jo attends and tries her best to fit in and make
Amy happy. Aunt Carrol decides to take Amy to Europe instead of Jo and Jo
is disappointed but Beth is happy that her favorite sister will remain home.
Amy
writes several letters to her family and sisters. She is enjoying herself
in Europe and traveling to many places. While abroad she runs into Fred
Vaughn, whom she met the summer of Camp Laurence. In a private letter to
Marmee, Amy says that if Fred should offer his love, she would not
hesitate
to take it so that the family could have a good marriage. She says that
she does not love him, but would in time. In addition, she is quite impressed
by his monetary worth since Meg made such a "poor" marriage, Amy does
not wish to do the same.
Beth
seems upset and Marmee wonders why, so she asks Jo to see if she can use
her influence to find out. Although Beth does not tell Jo exactly what is
vexing her, Jo believes that Beth has fallen in love with Laurie. Fearing that
Laurie may like her instead, Jo asks her mother if she may move to New
York
for the winter. She thinks that the time away would be good for her writing
and allow Laurie ample time to forget her. Marmee agrees and Jo tells
Laurie that she will be leaving. He tells her that he shall not forget her
so easily.
Jo
recounts her adventures in New York by writing several letters to her
family.
She is having a wonderful time living with Mrs. Kirke. She also meets
for the first time, Professor Friedrich Bhaer and begins to learn German.
Jo
is enjoying her life in New York as a writer. She decides to take a story she
has written to the Weekly Volcano. She explains to Mr. Dashwood that her "friend"
has written a story and hopes that it will be suitable for publishing.
He tells her that her will look at it and get back to her. Jo hears
from him later and sees that her story has been completely changed but they
are offering $25.00 for it so she accepts. She continues to write sensational
stories for the paper but refuses to have any name attached to them.
Jo and Professor Bhaer continue their friendly relationship. He is still
teaching her German and one night comes to teach her wearing a paper hat
which the children made for him but that he forgot to remove. Jo lets him
discover the hat himself and when he does, they begin a discussion of the
sensational story in the paper. Jo is thankful that it was not one of her
stories and she decides to never write those kinds of stories again. Jo returns
home for the summer.
Jo
returns and hopes that Laurie has gotten over her. She discovers in a walk
through the woods that he has not and she feels that she has to tell him
that she does not love him and will never marry him. Laurie is crushed and
returns home to his grandfather. Wishing to have taken Jo on a trip to Europe,
Laurie now finds comfort in the fact that his grandfather will accompany
him. Laurie tries to recover from a broken heart.
Jo
takes Beth to the beach in the hopes that it will lift her spirits. Beth tells
Jo "her secret", namely, that Beth is very sick and fragile and believes
that she will die soon. Beth explains that she believes she was never
meant to live long and that at 19 she is ready and willing to go. Beth hopes
that Jo will tell their parents of Beth's secret so that they can prepare.
Upon arriving home, Jo realizes that she will not have to tell her parents
because it is clear from looking at Beth that her time is nearing.
Laurie
catches up with Amy in Nice on Christmas Day. The two spend time getting
to know each other all over again. Laurie has grown into quite a young
man and Amy has become a refined young lady. The two attend a Christmas
part together and Laurie fills up Amy's book with his name for
dances
all night. The two are discovering new impressions in one another.
Meg
and John fall out of sorts as Meg spends more and more time with the children
and less with John. He begins to spend a great deal of time at the neighbors
because he feels himself to be a burden. At first, Meg enjoys his time
away from the house because it allows her the opportunity to care for the
children more. Eventually however, she feels neglected and speaks with Marmee
about her situation. Marmee tells Meg that she needs to pay more attention
to John and allow him to help in the raising of the children. Meg agrees
and lets John help to discipline Demi who has gotten out of control.
Meg
is soon satisfied that John is capable of taking care of the children as well
and the marriage returns to its even keel.
Laurie
and Amy spend more time together in France. On day at a park Amy has had
enough of Laurie's "lazy" behavior and severely reprimands him for it.
She
tells him that he needs to go back to his grandfather and get on with his
life. Amy suspects that Jo is the cause of his troubles as she sees him playing
with a ring which Jo had given him long ago. Realizing that Laurie suffers
from heartache, Amy tries to be more understanding but insists that Laurie
needs to be less lazy. By the end of the chapter Laurie sends word that
he is leaving for his grandfather and Amy is pleased.
A
special room is prepared for Beth so that she may spend her last days surrounded
by beautiful things and wonderful people. She spends her days making
small gifts for the children. Jo keeps a constant watch over her sister
and writes a special poem about her entitled, "Beth". One night as Jo
drifts
off to sleep, Beth reads the poem and is touched by her sisters caring
words. She realizes that her short life has made a real difference in people's
lives and now Beth is ready to leave. Beth dies in her mother's arms.
In
an effort to cure his broken heart, Laurie tries to write music like Mozart
but finds this task tedious and gives it up. Amy receives word from home
that Beth has passed. She wishes to return home but her family urges her
to stay, saying that she should spend her time mourning in Europe. Amy calls
for Laurie and he packs his things and leaves from Germany to be at Amy's
side. The two grow very fond of one another and love blossoms between them.
While rowing in a river boat the two share their love for one another.
Jo
has a hard time dealing with Beth's death. She is deeply saddened and feels
very much alone. Marmee and her father try to comfort her but Jo is still
heartbroken. The family hears the news of Amy and Laurie's engagement. Marmee
is worried that Jo will be upset at the news, but Jo confesses that
she
is not at all angry or upset. Marmee suggests that Jo write to help ease her
pain and so Jo does. One evening she retires and looks through her old chest,
she begins to reminisce about her winter stay with Mrs. Kirke's and her
friendship with Professor Bhaer. Jo begins to realize how much she
misses
him.
Jo
is saddened at the prospect of being an old maid, yet her sadness turns
to
joy when Laurie and Amy return from Europe and announce that the have married.
The family is overjoyed, including Jo who is now more than happy to welcome
Laurie as a true brother to the family. Yet this is not the only
surprise
of the evening for Jo soon discovers Professor Bhaer at the front
door
and invites him in to enjoy the festivities. He tells Jo that he will be
in town for a few days on business.
Laurie
and Amy discuss their plans for the future. Laurie says that he means to
get a good job and stop being so lazy. The two agree that they wish to use
their wealth to help others who are less fortunate than themselves.
In
this chapter the reader learns more about Meg and John's young twins. Daisy
is the picture of beauty and bounces about playing house and confessing
her love for everyone. Demi is likewise active and pursues the alphabet
with his grandfather. He is very inquisitive and protects his sister
from any harm. Both children praise and love their Aunt Jo and are jealous
when their playtimes with her are cut short because of visits from Professor
Bhaer.
Jo
goes on long walks in the hope of running into Professor Bhaer, she has not
seen him for several days and wonders where he has gone. She runs into him
one rainy day in town and learns that his business is finished and that he
will be leaving soon. The Professor has been offered a job in the west
teaching
and he means to take it and earn some money for himself and Franz and
Emil. Jo is crushed by this news and Professor Bhaer seems to take notice.
He spends the rest of the day shopping with Jo and eventually the two
disclose their true feelings for one another. They agree to be married and
Jo feels that she has finally found happiness in her life.
Aunt
March dies suddenly and leaves Plumfield, her home, to Jo. Overjoyed by the
generosity of the old woman, Jo searches for a way to make the home useful.
Finally, she decides that she would like to open a boys home with her
and the Professor as teachers. The home would provide a place for both
rich
and poor boys so that each could learn and grow up in a giving environment.
Eventually Jo and the Professor have two little boys of their own,
Rob and Teddy. Amy has a sickly young daughter, Beth, who she is constantly
worrying over. At the annual apple-picking at Plumfield, the family
celebrates the sixtieth birthday of Mrs. March The boys all climb trees
and sing to her which makes her very happy. The family gives thanks for
having one another and the novel closes.
Click here for part 1
of the summary of Little Women
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