Quotes Galore

In lieu of a discussion, I have chosen a long list of important quotations from this section of Chapters.  Please enjoy the following...

• "Jo disgraced herself by nearly fainting away, and had to be doctored by Laurie in the china closet.  Mr. Brooke kissed Meg entirely by mistake, as he somewhat incoherently explained."
• "I hate estimable young men with brown eyes!"
• "I remember a time when this hand was white and smooth, and your first care was to keep it so.  It was very pretty then, but to me it is much prettier now, for in this seeming blemisshes I read a little history."
• "Laurie's mischief has spoiled you for me. I see it, and so does Mother.  You are not like your old self a bit, and seem so far away from me."
• "This was the moment for the calm, proper speech, but Meg didn't make it."
• "'Don't think of me at all. I'd rather you wouldn't,' said Meg, taking a naughty satisfaction in trying her lover's patience and her own power."
• "Tell me, do you mean to marry this Cook? If you do, not one penny of my money ever goes to you.  Remember that, and be a sensible girl."
• "Here was another fine chance to make the crushing speech and stately exit, but Meg never thought of doing either, and disgraced herself forever in Jo's eyes by meekly whispering, 'Yes, John,' and hiding her face on Mr. Brook's waistcoat."
• "'You've got me, anyhow.  I'm not good for much, I know, but I'll stand by you, Jo, all the days of my life.  Upon my word I will!' and Laurie meant what he said.
• "I can only say with Mrs. March, 'What can you expect when I have four gay girls in the house, and a dashing young neighbor over the way?'"
• "To outsiders the five energetic young women seemed to rule the house, and so they did in many things, but the quiet scholar, sitting among his books, was still the head of the family, the household conscience, anchor, and comforter, for to him the busy, anxious women always turned in troublous times, finding him, in the truest sense of those sacred words, husband and father." 
• "Jo felt herself a woman of means, and spun her little romances diligently."
• "'I don't want a fashionable wedding, but only those about me whom I love, and to them I wish to look and by my familiar self.""
• "Beth has grown slender, pale, and more quiet than ever.  The beautiful, kind eyes are larger, and in them lies an expression that saddens one, although it is not sad itself.  It is the shadow of pain which touches the young face with such pathetic patience, but Beth seldom complains and always speaks hopefully of 'being better soon'."
• "'My lady,' as her friends called her, sincerely desired to be a genuine lady, and was so at heart, but had yet to learn that money cannot buy refinement of nature, that rank does not always confer nobility, and that true breeding makes itself felt in spite of external drawbacks."
• "In stumbling to the door, she upset the basket, and -- oh horror! -- the lobster, in all its vulgar size and brilliancy, revealed to the highborn eyes of a Tudor!"
• "She did not think herself a genius by any means, but when the writing fit came on, she gave herself up to it with entire abandon, and led a blissful life, unconscious of want, care, or bad weather, while she sat safe and happy in an imaginary world, full of friends almost as real and dear to her as any in the flesh."
• "Six weeks is a long time to wait, and a still longer time for a girl to keep a secret, but Jo did both, and was just beginning to give up all hope of ever seeing her manuscript again, when a letter arrived which almost took her breath away, for on opening it, a check for a hundred dollars fell into her lap."
• "... for Jo valued the letter more than the money, because it was encouraging, and after years of effort it was so pleasant to find that she had learned to do something, though it was only to write a sensation story."
• "She did earn several that year, and began to feel herself a power in the house, for by the magic of pen, her 'rubbish' turned into comforts for them all."
• "'Do as he tells you.  He knows what will sell, and we don't.  Make a good, popular book, and get as much money as you can.  By-and-by, when you've got a name, you can afford to digress, and have philosophical and metaphysical people in your novels..."
• "'I should like to see it printed soon,' was all Beth said, and smiled in saying it.  But there was an unconscious emphasis on the last word, and a wistful look in the eyes that never lost their childlike candor, which chilled Jo's heart for a minute with a forboding fear, and decided her to make her little vanture 'soon'."
• "They were very happy even when they discovered that they couldn't live on love alone."
• "Watch yourself, be the first to ask pardon if you both err, and guard against the little piques, misunderstandings, and hasty words that often pave the way for bitter sorrow and regret."
• "He was very kind, forgave her readily, and did not utter one reproach, but Meg knew that she had done and said a thing which would not be forgotten soon, although he might never allude to it again."
• "'How's the little mamma? Where is everybody? Why didn't you tell me before I came home?' began Laurie in a loud whisper."
• "Jo rescued his babies, and marched up and down, with one in each arm, as if already initiated into the mysteries of babytending."
• "'If it was fair, that was in the bond, and I stand to the letter of my bond, Shylock.'"