March

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.