well I have to say that I think this is a very important episode. again, I'm not sure if there is already a discussion topic on this epsiode. Laura and Almanzo get married in this one! I almost cried when watching this one, it was sad but it was good. I felt really bad for Eliza Jane when she found out that Harv was getting married to another lady. I haven't seen season 8 yet. does Eliza Jane come back in any episodes? at the end of this one, I was happy to see that Laura and Almanzo got married and were able to live happily together

I enjoyed the end of this episode when Laura and Almanzo finally got married! it made me sad to think that they might not get married, but it was nice to see it finally happen!

A great episode, but I felt bad for Eliza Jane -- making up the story about marrying Harve Miller. At the end of the episode, Eliza Jane says she'll write to Almanzo and Laura later to explain the whole thing, but I don't think it's ever mentioned again. We see Eliza Jane again in the episode where she and Laura go to a summer seminar in Arizona, but as I recall there's no mention of the Harve Miller story.

I think we're supposed to assume that EJ told them and that it wasn't brought up in "A Wiser Heart" when Laura and EJ go to that summer seminar. But it would help to explain Eliza Jane's horrible jealousy toward Laura in that episode when Laura's trying to tell EJ what a horrible guy the professor is and that he's not interested in her, and EJ lashes out at her saying Laura has everything.

I think this was a good way to send off Eliza Jane, by letting her do this for Laura and Almanzo. But I kind of wish the episode did not focus quite so much on her and more on Laura and Almanzo.

Jamie Cromwell was such a cool actor that it seems they had no place casting him as that nerd father in "Revenge of the Nerds". He was cool in "Little House" and had a great heroic role in a "Father Murphy" episode a few years later.

It may seem very chauvanistic to us now, but you need to remember that back then, taking care of a home and cooking did not include the kind of conveniences we have today. To cook everything from scratch, sew all the clothes, clean everything without electric appliances, etc. is an extremely time-consuming thing. So even if you had no children, just living probably required much more than a "40-hour work week" - if someone was trying to be a full-time teacher on thop of that, it was very likely that she would have to neglect some of the household work.

So just from a practical standpoint, I can see why married women would be expected to work only at their homes and not try to hold down a job outside of the home, too. But there are also just social conventions of the time and culture that we do not have now which also made this, I think, the "norm" back then.

I agree with you, Amy. It was the way of the world back then. Just think of the sunup to sundown effort of house chores back then. Can you imagine what it would be like if we had to wash laundry in a creek, wring it out by hand, hang it, then heat up an iron in the fire and then press the clothes? Ugh, my arms ache thinking about it. Not to mention how long everything took to cook and the uneven heat of the fireplace or cook stove.

I don't see why any woman back then would even want to work outside of the home. I would be exhausted just by the time breakfast would be finished, probably! I'm so glad that I did not live back then, too, although I guess in 100 years, maybe people will say the same about us.

Yeah, I guess so. It's just get's me thinking. What's the point of women even going to college or school if they get married they have to quit cause they have house work and take care of theire men.I don't think ppl had a reason to complain they were bored back then.

Education has benefits outside of just earning a degree to get a job, though. A lot of people end up working in fields that they did not even earn their degree in. But I don't necessarily think all people need to go to college if they never intend to use what they learn. However, a good well-rounded college education can help you to become a more enlightened person and well-rounded yourself, so I don't think it is necessarily a waste of resources to go to college even if you end up not using the particulars of your education in a future job.

Yup.I thats true.Just funny how times have really changed.

I loved this episode......

I watched this yesterday.....it was very honorable for Almanzo wanting to support Laura.
You know what has always bothered me......? In the series Eliza Jane was an ugly spinster. But if you look at photos from real life she was actually quite attractive.
I loved how and where they were married. Laura's dress was very pretty.
I felt sad for Eliza Jane but agreed with what she did. I could only be so fortunate to have a sibling be that unselfish.

I'm happy Eliza Jane did what she did for Laura and Almanzo.