Little Women: Part 2, Chapter 37 Summary & Analysis

It’s Christmas Day, in Nice, France. While strolling up the Promenade des Anglais, Laurie unexpectedly runs into Amy, who’s driving a little carriage. She’s overjoyed to see him, and Laurie climbs into the carriage. They drive out into the country. As they talk Amy realizes that something is different about Laurie, though she can’t quite figure out what it is. Laurie agrees to return that night for the Christmas dance.

Amy primps for the ball. She wears her cousin’s old white silk dress and freshens it up with swaths of tulle “illusion,” which is inexpensive in Nice. She adorns the dress simply with vines and azalea. “If I only had a classical nose and mouth I should be perfectly happy,” she thinks as she gazes at her reflection.

Amy sweeps into the ball and greets Laurie, who has brought her flowers. The ball is filled with minor aristocrats (including a Russian prince), and Amy is pleased to with the knowledge that she looks attractive and that she dances well.

Laurie and Amy flirt – they dance together, and then Amy coquettishly pushes him away in lieu of dancing with a Polish count. Laurie decides that Amy is growing into a charming young woman. When she stops dancing, he asks her where she learned to act this way. Amy is puzzled. “Well – the general air, the style, the self-possession, the – the- illusion – you know,” he explains. Amy reveals that foreign life “polishes one in spite of one’s self” and that she’s learned to make the most of her inexpensive luxuries. Laurie finds himself with newfound admiration for Amy.