52 pages • 1 hour read
March
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Part 1, Chapters 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1
Chapter 7 Summary: “Bread and Shelter”
Mr. March thinks about how he lost his fortune. After marrying, he and Marmee soon had two children: Meg and Josephine. They lived “without ostentation,” but also “entirely without want” (113). Marmee’s father came to live with them, along with his housekeeper, Hannah. The house they bought was “large but charmless,” and they gradually replaced their “undistinguished furniture” with “items of more elegance and lineage” (114). They also made several upgrades to their home’s exterior features. As their wealth and status grew, they found it increasingly important to actively contribute to the abolitionist cause. They converted their attic to a “railway station” for escaped slaves (115). They grew closer with the Emersons and Thoreaus, who largely shared their ideals.
At dinner, Marmee expressed her support for Brown. Aunt March criticized her support and, in reply, Marmee chastised her, accusing her of being “incapable of appreciating a moral argument” (119). Marmee’s support of Brown remained resolute. She and Mr. March went to a nearby lecture hall to see him speak. For the most part, Mr. March was supportive of Brown’s actions, though he believed Brown was too willing to sacrifice the lives of women and children in his effort to abolish slavery.
Mr. March felt jealous about how Brown was regarded by Marmee, whose “black eyes were warm and approving” (120). In large part because he wanted to impress Marmee, Mr. March decided to provide financial support to Brown’s radical ambitions. Because of his commitment to human rights and environmental protection, he had recently sold off his shares in his industrial interests. Now, he had cash available to fund Brown’s projects, namely a “vast magnification of the Underground Railroad” (123).
Brown was charismatic and persistent, and Mr. March continued to give him money for projects that were supposedly on the verge of bearing fruit. Eventually, Mr. March lost his fortune to Brown’s pursuits. Though Mr. March was in some ways saddened to lose his fortune, he now “felt convinced that the greater part of a man’s duty consists in abstaining from much that he is in the habit of consuming” (127).
In response to their financial collapse, Aunt March said she was “willing to take” Meg (128), which she claimed would ease a burden for them. This enraged Marmee, who moved toward Aunt March. Mr. March ordered the children to go outside. He then physically restrained Marmee, gripping her arm and putting a hand over her mouth. Marmee was guided out of the room. To Mr. March, Aunt March made insulting comments about Marmee, and then left.
Mr. March found Marmee outside. She accused him of preaching emancipation but enslaving her. Mr. March criticized her behavior, and she responded by throwing mud at him. He then handed her a stick and told her to strike him. She hit him in the cheek, which started bleeding. She started to cry and then embraced him. The Marches had to mortgage their home and moved into a small cottage near the Emerson house. Still, they managed to make a hiding space for runaway slaves.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Learning’s Altar”
In early spring, 1862, Mr. March writes to Marmee, telling her about the cotton harvest and praising the learning potential of his students. After finishing the letter, Mr. March goes for a long walk and eventually joins a scouting party around a fire, where they dine on molasses black beans. The scouts tell him about a recent interaction with a group of guerillas, who had since taken refuge in the nearby woods. Nearby, a young black boy is screaming in pain. Mr. March gathers him in his arms and comforts him. One of the scouts reveals that he allowed the child to eat the remaining scraps from his kettle, without telling the child that the kettle was scalding hot. When the child lifted it, his fingers were severely burned.
Mr. March becomes enraged at the man. The man replies with racist remarks about the child. Mr. March takes the child, Jimse, back to the house and treats his wounds. Mr. March feeds him, sings to him, and falls asleep with Jimse in his lap. In the early morning darkness, Mr. March awakens to see Jimse’s mother, Zannah, standing next to him. Zannah makes gestures indicating her appreciation of Mr. March’s help with Jimse.
Using rudimentary supplies, Mr. March tries “to provoke (his students) to a freer expression and a deeper mode of thought” (142). The students particularly enjoy geography, a subject that was “entirely taboo” when they were slaves (143). Mr. March grows exhausted by trying to teach so many students at “so many different levels of understanding” (145). He wants assistance with his teaching duties. When he considers who might assist him, he sometimes things of Marmee, but more often thinks of Grace. Mr. March learns that Zannah does not speak because she was assaulted by two drunken white men, who cut her tongue out. The men were not punished because Zannah was unable to testify against them.
Chapter 9 Summary: “First Blossom”
In Mr. March’s next letter to Marmee, he expresses joy about their cotton crop being shipped to market. He is also excited because his New England acquaintances have sent a wealth of supplies to Oak Landing.
Despite Mr. March’s excitement, Canning is upset about the arrival of the goods. Canning believes that the workers should have to work for any reward, and that charity will discourage a strong work ethic. He had been open to the donation of basic needs, but he thinks that the workers have been given too much. In celebration of the harvest shipment, Canning gives the workers the night off, and they play music and dance. After the harvest and the shipment of goods, life improved for the former slaves. They are generally in better health and, now that they’ve seen reward for their work, they “set to their tasks with a new willingness” (151). The new cotton plants are growing with vigor.
Canning does the plantation’s books. After paying the workers and giving Mrs. Croft her share, there is virtually nothing left for himself. When Canning and Mr. March go out to the field to pay the workers, Jesse, a leader among them, comes forward to tell Canning that they have something for him. Many workers come forward with sacks of foamed cotton that they’d hidden from Confederate soldiers. Canning weeps tears of joy and tells them to take the night to celebrate as late as they want. Jesse invites Canning and Mr. March to join them for the festivities. Canning and March come to the party and watch the dancers. At some point, Canning slips away unnoticed.
Part 1, Chapters 7-9 Analysis
Upon marrying, Mr. March and Marmee were already committed abolitionists. However, as newlyweds, they purchased lavish furnishings for their home instead of spending their fortune to end slavery. With their financial security, they had more time for intellectualizing. They also became increasingly close to the Thoreaus and the Emersons. These factors set them on a path toward being more actively generous toward abolitionist causes.
When Brown came to town, he captivated Marmee. This made Mr. March feel jealous. In response, he financially committed himself to Brown’s projects. Ostensibly, he provided Brown with financial backing because they shared the goal of abolition. However, Mr. March had considered Brown to be too radical, in that he was willing to sacrifice the lives of women and children in the effort to end slavery. Mr. March continued to support Brown, in large part because he held an ulterior motive: compelling his wife to revere him more than Brown. This illustrated in Mr. March a burgeoning insecurity about his marriage.
Upon losing his fortune to Brown’s efforts, Mr. March committed himself and his family to prioritizing moral convictions above material wealth. To him, this circumstantial change presented an opportunity for greater spiritual and intellectual growth. When Aunt March offered to take Meg to help relieve Mr. March and Marmee’s “burden” (128), Marmee became incensed. Rather than jumping to Marmee’s defense, Mr. March physically restrained her and put a hand over her mouth, and then guided her out of the room. This illustrates a conservative aspect to Mr. March’s personality, in that he adhered to traditional notions of how a woman should behave, and how she can be treated like a husband’s property. When Marmee accused him of holding her captive, he felt guilty because he knew she was right; thus, he let her physically punish him.
In Chapter 8, Mr. March finally begins his tenure as an educator of escaped slaves. This has been a long-time goal, and he is excited to begin this work. As a chaplain, Mr. March’s morals led soldiers to disrespect him. Now, as an educator, it seems that his moral convictions are likely to gain him respect in his workplace.
When the scout intentionally causes Jimse to burn himself, it becomes increasingly apparent that Union fighters cannot be trusted to treat black people kindly. Mr. March’s experiences have suggested that Union fighters are likely to demonstrate behavior that is racist and violent. Still, he considers them respectable until they give him an obvious reason to regard them otherwise. Mr. March notes that many of the Union troops in the area are Irish conscripts who are “serving with ill grace and no fervor for the cause” (137). Here, he uses a stereotype to generalize a large swath of people, which makes him seem hypocritical. However, this does also highlight the complicated moral issues pertaining to mandatory military service.
Mr. March loves his work as a teacher, though he comes to feel overwhelmed by it. When he thinks about who could assist him in this endeavor, he sometimes considers Marmee but more often thinks of Grace. This highlights his complicated marriage, which initially was portrayed as love at first sight, but has now clearly lost much of its earlier passion—and commitment.
In Chapter 9, a celebratory mood enlivens Mr. March and the workers. The shipping of the cotton harvest, as well as the arrival of the donated goods, mark a turning point in the relationship between Mr. March, Canning, and the former slaves. Now, the workers are seeing that there is some measure of material reward for their labor. This builds trust on the plantation. When the workers bring the hidden cotton to Canning, he begins to weep and then tells them to celebrate all night. Though this does not excuse his harsh and racist treatment of the workers, it does show that there is some degree of humanity in his character that might further develop. This chapter’s joyous mood serves as an emotional counterweight to the horror that soon follows. Though Mr. March does not know it, this period marks the last time that he is not fully consumed by guilt.
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