Quote 1
"Don't you feel that it is pleasanter to help one another, to have daily duties which make leisure sweet when it comes, and to bear and forbear, that home may be comfortable and lovely to us all?" (11.74)
The lesson Mrs. March teaches her daughters is an old-fashioned one – that labor is better than idleness, and that people are actually happier when they have something to do than when they just sit around all day. We're a bit skeptical that a group of four people would actually come to this conclusion after only two days, but it's a nice idea.
Quote 2
"That is the secret of our home happiness. He does not let business wean him from the little cares and duties that affect us all, and I try not to let domestic worries destroy my interest in his pursuits. Each do our part alone in many things, but at home we work together, always." (38.29)
Mrs. March suggests that the domestic sphere is a joint effort – husband and wife work together to create a home, instead of every aspect of it being the wife's responsibility.
Quote 3
"We are never too old for this, my dear, because it is a play we are playing all the time in one way or another. Our burdens are here, our road is before us, and the longing for goodness and happiness is the guide that leads us through many troubles and mistakes to the peace which is a true Celestial City. Now, my little pilgrims, suppose you begin again, not in play, but in earnest, and see how far you can get before Father comes home." (1.85)
Mrs. March – and Louisa May Alcott – use the structure of John Bunyan's allegory The Pilgrim's Progress to describe the spiritual journeys of Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. For the March family, pilgrimage isn't just an allegory; it's real life that is just a stand-in for their gradual journey toward God.