| Jo March, of Little Women fame, returns for the third and last time as the owner of an orphanage and charity school. She and her husband, the German Professor Bhaer, illustrate the educational theories of Louisa's real father, Bronson Alcott, who believed that children should not be beaten in school (a liberal idea for the time), and who once took in a black student and lost the rest of his class in protest. The most striking example from the novel is when Nat, who expects to be beaten for bad behavior, is told to strike Professor Bhaer for his failure to teach Nat the right way to do things. This, of course, hurts Nat more than his own pain would have.
There is also romance and sorrow, as Jo helps raise her nieces and nephew. Amy's beautiful daughter Beth, a very rich and well brought up young lady, is pursued by Dan, a bad boy. His love for his foster mother Jo helps him give up his dreams of love, and, after serving time in prison, he dies. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - upbeat Time/era of story - 1600-1899 Life of a profession: Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Job/Profession/Status story Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Main Adversary Identity: - none Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 () Farm/Ranch? Yes Misc setting Writing Style Weird Victorian/Shakespearean English? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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