Changes and Developments

Chapter 39
Laurie stops his aimless wandering to spend time with Amy; hoping to enjoy the familiarity that a friendly face provides, he sticks around for a while. However, Amy, upon seeing the lazy state he is in, gives Laurie a piece of her mind, but then feels bad when she realizes that this change in Laurie was caused by Jo turning him down. However, Laurie takes her reproaches to heart and he begins to transform himself, little by little.

Chapter 40
In this chapter, our dear Beth passes away. This had been some time coming, so she and the family were ready for this. I thought it was a shame that they didn't tell Amy.. yes, distance is a factor, and time in Europe is a wonderful and rare opportunity, but so is saying good bye to a loved one.

I read this chapter while at work.. hehe. I knew it was coming, but I still had to blink back tears as I read Jo's poem to Beth; it was so sweet and heartfelt. Happily, I was successful in not crying over my keyboard and I didn't have to explain to anyone why it was I was suddenly all weepy :)

Chapter 41
I admit I had to roll my eyes a little at the opening sentence of this chapter.

"Amy's lecture did Laurie good, though, of course, he did not own it till long afterward. Men seldom do, for when women are the advisers, the lords of creation don't take the advice till they have persuaded themselves that it is just what they intended to do. Then they act upon it, and, if it succeeds, they give the weaker vessel half the credit of it. If it fails, they generously give her the whole."

These sorts of sayings, or schools of thought strike me as very silly; things women say (when they feel men get all the credit) so they will feel like they are important too. It's like that silly saying "Men are the head of the house, but the woman is the neck and she can turn the head anyway she wants." Bah.

But anyway, enough of my rantings, in this chapter we see the effects of Amy's strong words. Laurie feels that he must make something of himself, so he goes about it in various ways. He tries to use Jo as a focus, but finds himself inspired by golden haired heroines instead.

I kind of liked the sweet, subtle way that the romance between Amy and Laurie is developing. I agree with Ritsumei in that I think they will be very happy, though I too am curious to see what the reactions back home will be.