PART ONE: CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Castles in the Air Practice Quiz — Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: PART ONE: CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Castles in the Air
Where does Laurie find the March sisters at the beginning of Chapter 13?
He follows them to a shady pine grove on a hilltop they call the Delectable Mountain, where each sister is busy with a different activity.
What rule does Meg set for Laurie to join the group?
Meg says he must stay busy because it is against the rules to be idle in their Busy Bee Society.
What summer project have the March sisters been working on?
They have each taken on self-imposed tasks during their vacation and play pilgrims, modeling their activities on Pilgrim's Progress as a form of moral self-improvement.
What does Laurie reveal about his grandfather's plans for him?
His grandfather wants him to become an India merchant, but Laurie hates the idea and would rather become a musician. He resents being forced into the family business.
How do Jo and Meg give Laurie conflicting advice?
Jo encourages Laurie to rebel and sail away on one of his ships, while Meg counsels him to obey his grandfather, do his duty, and trust that patience will be rewarded.
What embarrassing information does Meg accidentally reveal about Mr. Brooke?
She admits she watches Brooke's face each day to judge whether Laurie behaved well during lessons, revealing she pays close attention to Brooke's moods.
What resolution does Laurie make at the end of Chapter 13?
While watching Beth play piano for his grandfather, Laurie decides to give up his own dreams and stay with the old gentleman who needs him, saying he is all his grandfather has.
What is Laurie's castle in the air?
He wants to travel the world and then settle in Germany to become a famous musician, living only for music and never being bothered about money or business.
What is Jo's castle in the air?
Jo wants a stable full of Arabian horses, rooms piled with books, and a magic inkstand to write famous works. She dreams of doing something heroic or wonderful before she dies.
What is Meg's castle in the air?
Meg wishes for a lovely house full of luxurious things, nice food, pretty clothes, handsome furniture, plenty of servants, and heaps of money so she never needs to work.
What is Beth's castle in the air?
Beth simply wants to stay home safe with her parents and help take care of the family. Since getting her little piano, she says she is perfectly satisfied.
What is Amy's castle in the air?
Amy dreams of going to Rome, painting fine pictures, and becoming the best artist in the whole world.
How does the chapter explore the theme of ambition versus duty?
Each character shares ambitious dreams, but the chapter resolves with Laurie sacrificing his own castle in the air to stay with his lonely grandfather, showing that duty and selflessness outweigh personal ambition.
What does the chapter reveal about gender and aspiration in the 1860s?
Jo and Amy have ambitions as grand as Laurie's, but the novel hints at societal barriers. Meg's dream centers on domesticity, and Beth's modesty suggests limited expectations for women, while Jo resists conformity.
What role does the Pilgrim's Progress allegory play in this chapter?
The sisters play pilgrims climbing the Delectable Mountain toward a metaphorical Celestial City, framing their everyday self-improvement as a spiritual journey with moral purpose.
How does the chapter contrast productive and idle leisure?
Laurie begins the chapter lazily in his hammock after a wasted day, while the March sisters are busy with purposeful activities. The Busy Bee Society's rule against idleness highlights that leisure should be industrious.
What extended metaphor structures the entire chapter?
The "castles in the air" metaphor, in which each character's dream is imagined as a fantastical castle they hope to inhabit, structures the chapter's central conversation about aspiration.
Identify the foreshadowing in Beth's dialogue about the Celestial City.
Beth says she wants to "fly away at once" to the Celestial City, and Jo assures her she'll get there "sooner or later." This foreshadows Beth's early death later in the novel.
How does Alcott use dramatic irony in Meg's scenes?
Meg denies romantic interest in anyone, but her blushing, careful shoe-tying, and close attention to Mr. Brooke's moods make her feelings obvious to readers even as she tries to hide them.
What does "indolent" mean as used in this chapter?
Indolent means lazy or avoiding activity. Laurie is described as indolent when the hot weather makes him shirk his studies and lie in his hammock.
What does "Delectable Mountain" refer to in this chapter?
The Delectable Mountain is an allusion to Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. The sisters name the hilltop after it because from there they can see a beautiful landscape they liken to the Celestial City.
What is a "castle in the air"?
A castle in the air is an idiom meaning a fanciful, unrealistic dream or plan. In this chapter, each character's castle represents their deepest hopes for the future.
Who says: "I'll let my castle go, and stay with the dear old gentleman while he needs me, for I am all he has"?
Laurie says this to himself at the end of the chapter, resolving to sacrifice his dream of becoming a musician in order to remain with his lonely grandfather.
Who says: "I want to do something splendid before I go into my castle, something heroic or wonderful that won't be forgotten after I'm dead"?
Jo says this while describing her castle in the air, revealing her fierce ambition to achieve literary fame and leave a lasting mark on the world.
Who says: "If people really want to go, and really try all their lives, I think they will get in, for I don't believe there are any locks on that door"?
Beth says this about the Celestial City, expressing her gentle faith that sincere effort and goodness are enough to reach spiritual fulfillment.