Little Women The Home Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #10

"That is the secret of our home happiness. He does not let business wean him from the little cares and duties that affect us all, and I try not to let domestic worries destroy my interest in his pursuits. Each do our part alone in many things, but at home we work together, always." (38.29)

Mrs. March suggests that the domestic sphere is a joint effort – husband and wife work together to create a home, instead of every aspect of it being the wife's responsibility.

Quote #11

It never was a fashionable school, and the Professor did not lay up a fortune, but it was just what Jo intended it to be – "a happy, homelike place for boys, who needed teaching, care, and kindness." Every room in the big house was soon full. Every little plot in the garden soon had its owner. A regular menagerie appeared in barn and shed, for pet animals were allowed. And three times a day, Jo smiled at her Fritz from the head of a long table lined on either side with rows of happy young faces, which all turned to her with affectionate eyes, confiding words, and grateful hearts, full of love for "Mother Bhaer." (47.31)

Unlike her sister Meg, Jo never turns a home into a domestic paradise for her husband. Instead, she creates a "homelike place," a cross between a home and a boarding school, where she is able to mingle her tomboyish personality with a more motherly spirit.