The Final Chapters

Vocabulary

Conjugal: 1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of marriage: conjugal vows. 2. pertaining to the relation of husband and wife.


Summaries

Chapter 45: Daisy and Demi, Meg & John's twins, get into a variety of scrapes. Demi also accidentally exposes Mr. Bhear's intentions toward Jo.

Chapter 46: Jo and the Professor finally come to an understanding that they each love the other. Sadly, they do not have the money to set up housekeeping at the present.

Chapter 47: Aunt March leaves her home to Jo, who then is finally able to marry the Professor, after more than a year of engagement. They move into the estate and open a boarding school for boys. Mr. Laurence kindly sponsors a few very poor boys, thus helping the Professor and Professorin to keep the place open and also to be able to give them a little extra money without it being an outright handout. The book ends with everyone deliriously happy.


Ponderings

I like the Daisy & Demi chapter. Demi is such a little toad, and those boys are so much fun to have around. I thought it was clever the way that the Professor's interest was brought to Mr. March's attention. I still wish that Alcott had made the professor 10 years younger, but it's not to be. In the end, Mr. & Mrs. Bhaer are happy, and the family is happy, and that's really all that matters.

Jo's idea for a school is really a fine one, and I think that it shows the quality of the woman for that to be her dream. It's nice that it turned out as well as it did for them. I thought the image of Aunt March's reaction to the use of her "sacred precincts" was priceless! I like to think that had there really been such a person as Aunt March, arriving on the other side would have been sufficient to teach her what is really important and that she might have (grudgingly) admitted that it was not such a bad use after all.

It's been a good read, but I'm definitely ready to be done.