Plot Summary
Chapter 33 of Little Women takes the form of journal-letters that Jo March writes home to her mother and Beth while living in New York City. Jo has taken a position as a governess and seamstress in the boardinghouse of Mrs. Kirke, caring for the children Kitty and Minnie. She describes settling into her cozy "sky parlor" and adjusting to a busy household full of strangers.
Jo quickly becomes fascinated by Professor Friedrich Bhaer, a German scholar who rents rooms in the same house. She observes his kindness when he carries a heavy coal hod up the stairs for a small servant girl, his gentleness with little Tina (the daughter of a French laundress), and his patience with his rather difficult students. Jo also befriends Miss Norton, a cultivated maiden lady who invites her to lectures and concerts.
As the weeks pass, Jo secretly begins mending Professor Bhaer's socks and clothing. When he discovers her charitable work, he offers her free German lessons in return. Their early lessons using a grammar book prove painful, but the Professor pivots to reading Hans Andersen's fairy tales together, and Jo's progress improves dramatically. By January, Professor Bhaer gives Jo a treasured volume of Shakespeare for New Year's, and Jo participates in a lively masquerade at the boardinghouse, disguised as Mrs. Malaprop. The chapter closes with Jo reflecting that she is growing as a person—more cheerful, more industrious, and more interested in others.
Character Development
Jo's voice dominates this chapter, and through her witty, self-deprecating letters we see her maturing beyond the impulsive girl of earlier chapters. She is learning to navigate adult social life with humility—eating with the children rather than at the main table, accepting Miss Norton's kindness gracefully despite her pride, and dismissing the rude young men who call her a "governess" with no style. Her growing affection for Professor Bhaer is evident even to herself, though she deflects it with humor, noting in a postscript that her letter is "rather Bhaery."
Professor Bhaer emerges as a warm, generous, and intellectually vibrant man. Despite his poverty and rumpled appearance, he is unfailingly kind to children, servants, and Jo alike. His willingness to abandon a frustrating grammar lesson and try fairy tales instead reveals both his patience and his understanding of how people learn best.
Themes and Motifs
Independence and self-discovery: Jo's move to New York represents her first sustained experience away from the March family. Her journal chronicles not just external events but an inner transformation—she becomes "cheerful all the time," works "with a will," and takes "more interest in other people." The boardinghouse becomes a space where Jo can define herself on her own terms.
Kindness as character: Jo repeatedly notices and values small acts of generosity—Bhaer carrying coal for a servant, giving gifts to every person in the house at Christmas, playing "menagerie" with the children. As she quotes her father, "trifles show character," and this principle guides her growing admiration for the Professor.
Education and intellectual partnership: The German lessons symbolize a deepening connection between Jo and Bhaer built on mutual respect and shared learning. Their shift from dry grammar to fairy tales mirrors the chapter's broader message that real education is joyful and personal, not rigid or formal.
Literary Devices
Epistolary form: The entire chapter is told through Jo's letters, giving readers unfiltered access to her thoughts and feelings while preserving her characteristic humor and directness. This format also creates dramatic irony, as readers can perceive Jo's romantic feelings developing before she fully acknowledges them herself.
Foreshadowing: Jo's repeated focus on Professor Bhaer—his kindness, his intellect, his gift of Shakespeare—signals the romantic relationship that will develop in later chapters. Her postscript admission that the letter is "rather Bhaery" is a self-aware acknowledgment that hints at deeper feelings beneath her protests.
Contrast and juxtaposition: Alcott contrasts Bhaer's humble goodness with the superficiality of the young boarders who judge Jo for lacking "style." Similarly, Jo's modest New York life is implicitly contrasted with Amy's glamorous European travels, reinforcing the novel's theme that inner worth matters more than outward appearance.