March

Mr. March reflects on the time when he was first getting to know Marmee. She was constantly on his mind and he knew he needed to be with her. Because they lived in different towns, he used a personal connection to arrange a business meeting in Concord, where she lived.

Through the pretext that he was interested in investing in pencil-making, Mr. March went to the Thoreau house, where Henry David Thoreau was packing pencils for shipment. Henry was reserved and remained focused on his work. Henry’s father, John, was gregarious and shared his enthusiasm for Henry’s innovative pencil-making process. To Mr. March’s own surprise, he actually wanted to invest, but in an effort to buy himself more time to see Marmee, he acted unconvinced by the product.

Henry coldly walked past them, leaving to spend time alone in the nearby woods. John explained that Henry had been withdrawn since his brother recently died. Henry was now much more interested in the natural world than business pursuits.  

Mr. March went alone into the woods and was enchanted by the flora. Henry approached him and suggested they go fishing together. They took a skiff onto the pond and Henry expressed his disgust with humankind’s desire to dominate nature. In these woods, their lasting friendship first took root.

The next day, Mrs. Thoreau invited the Emersons over to dinner, as well as Marmee. At this news, Mr. March blushed. During dinner, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Marmee argued about his commitment (or lack thereof) to liberating slaves. She accused him of not sufficiently using his power to advance the cause of abolition. Marmee became extremely angry and then locked eyes with Mr. March, before starting to cry. Henry’s sister, Sophia, escorted Marmee outside to calm her down. Sophia returned without Marmee, who went home.

That night, Mr. March took a moonlit walk through the woods and to the pond. In the distance, he could hear Henry playing the flute. Then, Marmee appeared. She explained to Mr. March that she had snuck out, and that she had often visited this pond. She again expressed frustration that the townspeople didn’t do more to abolish slavery. Mr. March reached over and tilted her chin. They had sex next to the pond and “married each other that night, there on a bed of fallen pine needles” (87). The following day, Mr. March asked Marmee’s father for her hand in marriage. They soon held a simple ceremony. Nine months later, they had their first child.

In March 1862, Mr. March writes to Marmee, telling her about his new journey to a liberated plantation, where he will educate former slaves who, for the first time, are working for money. At Oak Landing, he will work for Ethan Canning, an Illinois lawyer. Canning has leased the property from the widow of a Confederate colonel. Because the woman took the loyalty oath, her property is now supposedly under Union protection.

Mr. March arrives by boat and is met at the dock by a young boy, Josiah, who is a freed slave. Josiah is in poor health; his eyes have a pussy discharge, he continuously coughs, and he becomes fatigued. Mr. March tells him to get up on the mule so he can be carried along. Josiah is afraid that if he accepts the ride, Canning will put him in “dat hole” (93). Though Mr. March gently presses him to elaborate, Josiah will not further discuss the hole.

They arrive at the house and Mr. March meets Canning, who greets him with “the overzealous handshake of a boy playing at being a man” (94). Canning appears to be in his mid-twenties and walks with a limp. They walk through the house and Mr. March sees that the house has been emptied of its finer furnishings. For dinner, Canning offers him greasy pork, which he declines. Instead, he makes do with a small portion of sweet potato.

Canning believes that much of the house’s wares have been stolen by former slaves who ran off. Because the house has been stripped of most of its valuables, he believes they are slightly safer from guerilla gangs that roam the area. Canning explains that the local Union soldiers are indifferent to providing them with protection. During the rest of the “cheerless dinner” (96), Canning discusses how the cotton crop is behind schedule and they must make everyone work long hours, even if they are young, old, or ill. This upsets Mr. March, but he keeps his anger to himself.  

They stay in outbuildings on the property for fear that guerillas will return and raid the house. Mr. March enters his sleeping quarters, a building that stores hundreds of bushels of cotton seed. He sleeps deeply before awakening to the slave’s waking bell. It is still dark outside, and he walks outside, searching for a toilet. He finds a well house; inside, it is cold and dark. He slips and falls. From under the floor, a voice calls out to him. The man identifies himself as Zeke. Mr. March peers into the dark well and makes out “two frightened eyes” (100). He offers to help Zeke get out of the hole, but Zeke is reluctant to accept because he fears greater punishment. Mr. March lifts him out of the well and gives him some corn bread, which he eats desperately. Zeke explains that he was put in the hole because he butchered one of Canning’s pigs and fed it to his children.

Mr. March goes out to the fields and sees the backbreaking labor being performed by the workers, including young children and the elderly. Canning arrives and speaks insultingly of the laborers’ efforts, even though many of them are showing signs of serious illness. Mr. March criticizes Canning for his treatment of the workers, particularly Zeke. Canning excoriates Mr. March for assuming he knows how the plantation should be run and insists that the workers are taking advantage of him. They part ways and Mr. March roams the property, familiarizing himself with its buildings and inhabitants. He enters a makeshift infirmary and sees several workers who are gravely ill. A woman tells him that the slaveholders had taken better care of sick people.

Later, Mr. March and Canning meet in the house. Mr. March expresses his disgust with the destitute conditions in the infirmary. Canning says he tried to get a Union doctor to help the workers, but the doctor replied with racist remarks and refused to provide them with care. Canning expresses a desire to better care for the workers, but says he is overwhelmed by all the challenges of trying to turn a profit.

Mr. March again brings up the punishment of Zeke. Canning says that Zeke did indeed kill the hog to feed his children, but that those children now serve the Confederate side because they’d been given privileges by Oak Landing’s slaveowners. He goes on to insist that everyone on the property must make sacrifices if they are to successfully harvest a cotton crop that can be used for the Union cause. Canning doesn’t know how to improve the workers’ lives and asks Mr. March to help. Canning is broke and cannot afford to invest in clothing and food for the workers. Mr. March thinks about how he has lost his fortune but could turn to wealthy associates for assistance with improving the workers’ quality of life.