This semester, I re-read Louisa May Alcott’s classic, beloved, time-tested, heartwarming, [insert further adjectives] novel Little Women.
I read with purpose; I needed to know how much Meg had spent on silk, and the internet wouldn’t tell me. That’s right; I read an entire book instead of flipping to the pertinent chapter, singlehandedly taking procrastination to new heights.
But enough about me.
Do you remember the silk episode? Newly-married Meg is often bored while her husband works, so she goes shopping with her friend Sallie. Under Sallie’s affluent influence Meg buys (among other things) twenty-five yards of silk for a new dress…. … with money from the housekeeping budget. You know, the money John earns while Meg’s bored at home.
Here’s the question that kept me up at night:
How much did Meg pay for those 25 yards of silk?
ANSWER: $50.
That’s in 1869* dollars, mind you. According to this inflation calculator, ”What cost $50 in 1869 would cost $799.28 in 2008. Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2008 and 1869, they would cost you $50 and $3.25 respectively.”
For Meg’s sake, I sincerely hope those numbers are wrong. Either way, 140 years have passed, and I’ve never spent fifty clams on a dress. Besides, Meg didn’t buy a dress; she bought raw material;
“‘It isn’t made or trimmed’ Meg sighed faintly, for a sudden recollection of the cost still to be incurred quite overwhelmed her.”
Ooh. That’s a problem.
Worse still— during her sad attempt to defend the extravagant purchase, Meg utters those five little words no breadwinner wants to hear:
“I’m tired of being poor.
“She could have bitten her tongue out the minute she had said it, for John pushed the books away, and got up, saying, with a little quiver in his voice, ‘I was afraid of this; I do my best, Meg.’”
~sniffle~
Damn, I love that book.
This story comes from the chapter called “Domestic Experiences”. If you too wish to elevate procrastination to an art form, swing by Google Books and read the whole thing. If Meg had, she could have avoided this whole incident.
This was always Meg’s little attachment – the need to be like the rich kids. Obviously all that transcendentalism didn’t take with her. John should’ve sent out to Walden Pond to live in a shack and poop in the woods!
Rebekah: I’ve always been a sucker for pretty things myself, but my city has more thrift stores than hers.
Re-reading the book has me thinking that Meg married too young. We’re all petty and make mistakes sometimes, but she seemed like such a little girl in ‘Good Wives’— a good-natured kid, but a kid nonetheless.
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Google books is such an underutilized resource! But I have to vote for libraries still. I was thinking of you this weekend, I went to a second hand bookstore and while the books were 5% off the marked price, they can’t beat the library. I was thinking, “Rebekah would totally agree.”
Rebekah: Totally agree… Not only do I enjoy holding a long-loved book, but my elderly Mac makes it mighty hard to scroll through pages at Google Books. Furthermore, I’m a near-compulsive purger; there aren’t many books I’m willing to haul with me from state to state. Graduation approaches, so I need to start paring down, not stocking up.
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I sympathize with Meg wanting to “be like the rich kids”. Bless her heart, she worked hard all her life and had unmaterialistic parents who really didn’t care about the whole money thing…but who had a lot of wealthy and influential friends.
If you want your kids to be happy being poor, you’ve got to do like my grandparents did back in the depression–raise them among equally poor people.
For the record, we ALL marry too young. There’s no such thing as being “ready” for marriage, haha. Some things in life there’s just no way to really prepare for.
So if you were a March girl, which one would you be?
Rebekah: Note to self: Make poorer friends.
Though I hadn’t noticed the parallel until now, a rich friend took me shopping last Christmas and persuaded me to spend $50 on a winter coat. That was/is a lot of money for me, but I’m happy to own a warm coat. No regrets. She encouraged some less practical purchases, as well. Wonderful girl, but a bird and a fish can’t go shopping together.
I wouldn’t be any March girl, overall, but we have some common traits;
I love pretty things and resent cocky suitors, like Meg
I enjoy writing, slang, and straightforward people, as did Jo
Ian declared me “the sweetest girl in the world” yesterday, which suggests he doesn’t get out enough. I relate much more to Beth’s shyness.
I fretted about my nose for years, like Amy. Unlike Amy, I didn’t marry a family friend and live out my days in luxury. Not an option, as we failed to make wealthy friends. Loogootee had a shortage of handsome millionaires.
A bit tenuous, you say? Well, we can’t all be heroine material.
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You’re the sweetest girl in Ian’s world.
Plenty Good enough!
Rebekah: People started telling me how “sweet” I am more than ten years ago, and it’s always puzzled me. I don’t feel sweet, and I don’t see how I act that way… … but the ballots are in.
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My pattern for a plain ankle length long sleeved dress takes 5 yards. Meg must have been making a mighty big dress…..
Rebekah: I’m sure it had an outrageously full skirt, but still!
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That’s weird, i just read Little Women AND Little Men last week, and this incident was not in my book. Do I have an abriged edition?! Curses!
It did have the part where Meg goes to visit a friend and they get her all tarted up and tipsy.
Rebekah: Something about that incident puzzled me— Meg stooped to wearing lipstick, but not rouge. Does that seem like Extremely Arbitrary Cosmetic Morality to anyone but me?
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Ming Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 4:42 AM
I’ve noticed that even in modern days, there is no lipstick that can turn a lady to an insta-ho quite the way a bad blush job can.
The last Charles Dickens movie I saw on PBS was “Little Dorrit.” Little Dorrit’s trampy/conniving sister didn’t make a MOVE without those bright pink spots on her cheeks. Clearly that’s the hallmark of ill repute.
Rebekah: China dolls; secretly slutty?
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LOVE (and own) that book. Haha! Meg needed to learn that beggars can’t be choosers. Haha!
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