My thoughts on Little Men Part 1: Jo and Frizt
I started this book with a bit of discouragement because I knew Amy wasn’t going to be in it. May had asked her sister not to write about her because of all the mail that distracted her. I’m sure she had her fans, but also there must have been tons of stupid people blaming her splitting Jo and Laurie. So, I was sad about it. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this sequel. I loved it!
I won’t go chapter by chapter, but by theme/characters this time.
The Bhaers
The image of Jo walking while reading, with little Ted following her is so sweet. And Fritz is also very affectionate to his kids. And I love how Jo treats Franz and Emil as her own.
Also, I’m developing this in another post, but I just have to say that I like Jo this time much more. She’s grown!
And it’s great that she had sons. Poor Demi, without Ted, Rob, Franz and Emil, he would have been the only boy. So I guess that is a big thanks to Friedrich.
She also knows that liberty is not doing whatever you want not minding others. Liberty is an act of responsibility and Dan needs to learn that. I love how she identifies herself to Dan and Nan and decides to help them.
She’s really in her element here. Her dream is actually coming true. She has a school full of boys, which she always felt more comfortable with. She has a chance to educate them as best as she can. Plus, she built a beautiful family with Friedrich.
The marriage is a very happy one and I just love this quote for when Jo wanted to bring Nan to the school:
Now, if you make fun of my plan I'll give you bad coffee for a week, and then where are you, sir?" cried Mrs. Jo, tweaking him by the ear just as if he was one of the boys.
He was very sweet in getting the girls kites to make up for Daisy’s ball.
Also, I think it was great that even though Ted and Rob are their kids, they are treated with the equal firmness. And that makes them great parents. When Rob didn’t pick up the nuts in time, Fritz didn’t let him skip school. Ted is still very little, but Rob was made accountable for his laziness.
Little Ted killed with his cuteness so many times:
My Danny's tummin' soon.
Clapping his hands at the end, he made another double salutation, and then ran to hide his head in his mother's lap, quite overcome by the success of his "piece," for the applause was tremendous.
Plumfield
That school is amazing! We already knew the Marches reproved corporal punishment when Amy gets whipped by her teacher. In fact, Jo tells a story about how one day she ran away and Marmee whipped her. Her mother felt absolutely ashamed and never did it again.
She never whipped me but once, and then she begged my pardon, or I don't think I ever should have forgiven her, it hurt my feelings so much.
Why did she beg your pardon?–my father don't.
Because, when she had done it, I turned round and said, 'Well, you are mad yourself, and ought to be whipped as much as me.' She looked at me a minute, then her anger all died out, and she said, as if ashamed, 'You are right, Jo, I am angry; and why should I punish you for being in a passion when I set you such a bad example? Forgive me, dear, and let us try to help one another in a better way.'
Knowing this, it is understandable why she preferred to talk to Amy rather than doing something more drastic when she burned the book. She made Amy understand her wrong and tried to make peace between the sisters:
My dear, don’t let the sun go down upon your anger. Forgive each other, help each other, and begin again tomorrow.’
But back to this book, Plumfield is quite unique. The boys are there to learn about philosophy, math, science, literature, etc. All the things a regular school would teach. But Jo and Fritz go beyond that. The kids live there, so they are also responsible of teaching them about life. They have a garden, pets (one of which is called Christopher Columbus!!!!) and thanks to Laurie, a museum. Plus they can go into business! Which teaches them responsibility for their own money rightfully earned.
They’re firm but fair.
I absolutely love the idea of a weekly pillow-fight. The Bhaers invest a lot of time making sure moral lessons stick as much as the intellectual ones. And they have learned that kids should be kids and therefore they can’t just order them around. Part of educating a child is also letting them learn the limits and make decisions for themselves.
The school must have a good reputation in town. Although the school accepts poor kids, they also have wealthy ones. Laurie and Amy already plan in sending Bess there too. I wonder if it transcended to other parts of Massachusetts, maybe Boston??? Nan’s father certainly liked it enough to sent her there, even though it only had a girl in it. The nineteenth century was opening to the idea of mixed schools, but it still something new and not everyone liked it. In 1862, Amy’s school was exclusive for girls. Boys need to learn to be kind to girls. And they all help each other be better people. More on the girls in another post.
They let each child develop its personality and help them transform their hobbies into things that can be useful for everyone.
