Little Women · Chapter
The P.C. and P.O. explained
As spring arrives, the March sisters each tend their own garden plots, reflecting their distinct personalities.
What happens
As spring arrives, the March sisters each tend their own garden plots, reflecting their distinct personalities. They also maintain their secret Pickwick Club, meeting weekly in the garret to read their homemade newspaper, The Pickwick Portfolio. Jo, as editor, contributes a tale of masked marriage, while others add poems, stories, and humorous notices. Laurie is admitted as a new member, Sam Weller, and sets up a post-office in an old martin-house in the garden, which becomes a source of fun and mischief for all.
Themes in this chapter
Family and Sisterhood
The Pickwick Club and post-office are collaborative projects that strengthen the bond between the March sisters and their friend Laurie.
Ambition and Work
Each sister takes pride in her garden and literary contributions, showing their individual ambitions and work ethic.
Characters to notice
- Jo March
As Augustus Snodgrass, Jo is the editor of The Pickwick Portfolio, revels in writing, and experiments with her garden of sunflowers.
- Meg March
As Samuel Pickwick, the president, Meg reads the club paper and tends a garden of roses, heliotrope, myrtle, and a small orange-tree.
- Beth March
As Tracy Tupman, Beth is rosy and plump, grows old-fashioned fragrant flowers, and is known for her gentle nature.
- Amy March
As Nathaniel Winkle, Amy is prim and proper, though she hates to wash her face; her garden is a bower of honeysuckles and morning-glories.
- Laurie Laurence
Admitted as Sam Weller, Laurie adds spirit to the club, contributes excellent pieces, and sets up a post-office in the garden hedge.
Key passages
“Hannah used to say, 'I'd know which each of them gardings belonged to, ef I see 'em in Chiny;' and so she might, for the girls' tastes differed as much as their characters.”
Hannah claimed she could identify each sister's garden even in China, because their tastes were as distinct as their personalities.
Highlights the individuality of the March sisters through their gardening choices.
“One of these was the 'P.C.'; for, as secret societies were the fashion, it was thought proper to have one; and, as all of the girls admired Dickens, they called themselves the Pickwick Club.”
The girls started a secret society called the Pickwick Club, inspired by the popularity of such groups and their love for Charles Dickens.
Establishes the cultural context of the club and its literary inspiration.
“I have set up a post-office in the hedge in the lower corner of the garden; a fine, spacious building, with padlocks on the doors, and every convenience for the mails—also the females, if I may be allowed the expression.”
Laurie announces he has created a post-office in the garden hedge, using an old martin-house, complete with locks and space for letters and packages.
Introduces the playful post-office that becomes a source of amusement and connection.