From LW150 blog — wow, I had no idea Laurie was so complex! Fascinating read.
p.s. Check out Cathlin Davis’ comments about this chapter here — she brings it into the present day.
By Jan Alberghene
I was nine when I first read Little Women, but I still remember pausing over Hannah’s calling Laurie the “‘interferingest chap,’” not because I disagreed with her opinion, but because it took me a few minutes to decode the unfamiliar word “interferingest.” I had to agree with Hannah. Laurie popped up in places where he had no business being: at a meeting of the Pickwick Club (where Jo was, to be fair, a co-conspirator), and later when the sisters climbed a nearby hill on a pleasant afternoon to “play pilgrims” in private as they sewed and talked. “Yes,” I thought, “Laurie was the ‘interferingest,’” and I hadn’t even reached the chapter titled “Laurie Makes Mischief, and Jo Makes Peace.”
After I finished reading chapter 21, the Laurie I liked no longer existed. Although Laurie is barely sixteen, he feels superior to his tutor Mr. Brooke, a…
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Louisa May Alcott is My Passion 
Everytime when I read this chapter I felt that Jo was so much more mature than Laurie even at 16. I don´t like Jo Laurie pairing since it really should not be a heroine´s job to raise their lovers or mother them and even in this chapter I feel that Jo is in away protecting him not to get hurt. It is the same in the sequal. Jo knows she can´t marry him but she is afraid of the confrontation and Laurie needs to hear it. Amy was ace because she wasn´t afraid of it and as well told him what he needed to hear. I wrote another LW article you might be interested. It´s about translation errors (among other things) https://www.fairychamber.com/blog/little-women-equal-marriage-lost-in-translation
Jo had to grow up more quickly than Laurie even though she did not want to become a grown woman. But you’re right, in many ways she was more mature than Laurie.
Yes indeed. Teenager Jo wanted to take care of her family by selling her stories. She didn´t want to grow up but she didn´t either realize how mature she was herself taking all adult responsibilities.
Great insight!
I always thouht both Louisa and Jo had bit of a Peter Pan complex.
That’s great! Jo for sure because Louisa was thrust so early into supporting her family.