March

“Jo said sadly, ‘We haven’t got father, and shall not have him for a long time.’ She didn’t say ‘perhaps never,’ but each silently added it, thinking of father far away, where the fighting was.”

In this epigraph, the author quotes a passage from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. This builds a transition from Little Women to March. In Little Women, Mr. March is largely an absent character; however, in March, he becomes the focal point.

“For the next two weeks, I felt my life more complete than during any period I had known until that time. I had my studies by day, enriching conversation in the evening, and at night, a work that I found uplifting.”

Though Mr. March had planned to continue selling his wares across the South, he feels comfortable and fulfilled and remains at Mr. Clement’s plantation. Here, his burgeoning abolitionism becomes increasingly apparent. Though he does respect Mr. Clement’s intellect, he goes behind his back to teach Prudence how to read and write. This illustrates his belief—which becomes more concrete in his later years—that morality is to be held above legality.

“To be sure, those events were several years behind me by the time we met. The guilt I felt for having let myself be seduced by Clement’s wealth and deceived by his false nobility had eased, in time, from an acute pain to a dull ache.”

This passage provides insight into Mr. March’s conscience, and how he carries guilt throughout his adult life. It is through inaction that he often feels remorseful. This guilt foreshadows how his strong conscience later compels him to take actions that put his life in danger.