Little Women, a novel by a famous American writer, Louisa May Alcott, tells the story of four sisters: Meg, Joe, Beth and Amy and follows their transition from adolescence to adulthood. The two volumes of Little Women were first published in 1868-1869. The novel is based on the author’s and her sisters’ life, so it is often classified as an autobiographical or semi-autobiographical piece. The book gained immediate success and became a beloved story for girls of every generation.
Greta Gerwig’s 2019 movie is the sixth and the best adaptation of the novel. In today’s article we will discuss a movie that grossed a worldwide total of 219 million dollars, received numerous nominations and got incredible reviews from the critics as well as from the audience.
The following article contains many spoilers, so if you haven’t already watched the movie, go and do so, and then continue reading the article!
The unique chronological development of the events makes the 2019 adaptation stand out from the rest. The movie starts with the adulthood of the March sisters and portrays their childhood as a happy memory. The two periods differ by lighting and color palette - the present is depicted in cold tones while the past in warm shades. At the same time, the director adds details from Louisa May Alcott’s own life to the storyline of Jo March, which we do not encounter in any other adaptation. A great example of this novelty is the opening scene where 21-year-old Joe, an impoverished writer and a teacher in New York, takes her work to the publisher and after a small argument persuades him to print her story. However, when she is about to leave, the publisher gives her a critical suggestion - “Make it short and spicy. And if the main character is a girl, make sure she's married by the end. Or dead, either way.”
This moment is essential to the storyline as it touches upon the backstory of the book’s creation. It is a well known fact that Louisa May Alcott didn’t want her protagonist to be married in the end. However, she had to compromise due to the outlook of the society of her time. Besides, the publisher’s words serve the function of Chekhov’s gun, according to which every detail in the script has to have a definite role and the promises it gives to the audience has to be fulfilled - “If there is a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, it must fire in the last.”
After the conversation with the publisher, the movie takes us back to Jo’s childhood - warm and carefree time as Meg enkindles her relationship with a kind teacher, and as their wealthy neighbor Laurie falls in love with Joe. Beth plays piano, while the youngest sister Amy dreams of becoming a famous painter and envies her sisters. At the time, Jo often visits Aunt March, trying to convince the wealthy widow to take her to France. However, the story doesn’t continue so blissfully as Jo and her sisters have to overcome many obstacles. First of all, Aunt March fails to fulfil Jo’s expectations and takes Amy to France instead of Jo. Meg gets married but her wedding vow turns out to be the vow of poverty. Beth becomes ill while helping those in need and dies tragically.
However, Jo’s rejection of Laurie’s love is decisive in the development of the story and stands out from the rest of the crucial moments. After the heartbreaking rejection the storyline progresses rapidly - Laurie meets Amy in France and marries her, while Jo who has avoided love and marriage throughout the whole film starts a relationship with Mr. Friedrich.
Fans of “Little Women” can argue about the ending of the book for hours. On the one hand, Jo and Laurie are a perfect match for each other. Both possess qualities that aren’t characteristic to their sexes. This similarity is felt even in their names - “Jo” is a more masculine name, while “Laurie” is more delicate and tender. One can claim that Jo and Laurie are soulmates, kindred spirits made for each other, which is exquisitely expressed by Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet. However, on the other hand, Jo breaks up with Laurie consciously. According to her, in the long run the two would make each other miserable and we can’t blame Jo for thinking so, considering that childhood sweethearts rarely stay together till the end. Besides, throughout the whole film the concept of marriage was unacceptable for Jo - she wanted to devote her whole life to writing. And she knew that if she married Laurie, she’d eventually have to put her passion aside.
Even though we can justify their breakup with this explanation, the aftermath of Jo's and Friedrich's engagement contradicts the previous statements. Why does Jo even get married? Some think that Louisa May Alcott never intended to end “Little Women'' by marrying off the protagonist - but she had to compromise because as we mentioned above “happy ending sells better” and the happy ending (at least according to the publisher) meant marriage for a woman.
However, according to other interpretations, Jo did not want to marry because she wanted to be different and free from the standards of her time. In order to prove the chosen identity to her society, Jo often acted like a boy by cutting her hair short, tearing her dress on purpose, or rejecting suitors… Jo thought somehow this would make her free and even superior to other girls. However, in reality, the attempt to free herself from these norms put her inside a new box, because of which she made mistakes and failed to make her dreams reality.
After some time, Jo realized that such stubbornness wouldn’t serve her in life. As a woman in her time she wouldn't be able to earn enough to support her family, and at the same time if she spent her whole time on career she would feel extremely lonely watching her sisters’ big happy families.
After Jo figured out all this, she admitted her feelings for Laurie and tried to send him a letter. But it was too late. Viewers often judge Laurie and Amy for marrying - on the one hand, we don’t believe that Laurie truly loves Amy and there’s no excuse for marrying another sister after being rejected by the first. But from the point of view of Amy, marrying Laurie is no way a betrayal of Jo and I don’t think it’s right to blame her.
Before the release of the 2019 adaptation, many didn’t sympathize with the character of Amy March. Part of the audience regarded Amy as a spoiled kid who got gifts from life that were intended for Jo: going to France, marrying Laurie, money, fame and so on… However, thanks to Greta Gerwig’s vision, we got to know adult Amy more deeply and saw these events from her perspective.
Jo and Amy have many common qualities: both are confident, quick-tempered, ambitious and talented artists. Louisa May Alcott writes that her sister’s paintings were exhibited even in Paris and London on several occasions. However, Jo goes against the conventions of her society and tries to reach her goals by disobeying them. While Amy does the opposite - she acknowledges that she can’t change the rules of the game, so she tries to achieve her purpose by fitting into the existing paradigm.
At the time of the creation of “Little Women” women didn’t have any political rights. They could work but couldn’t make the same amount as their male counterparts. Besides, marriage for a woman meant giving up rights on her property to her husband. Thus, marriage for a woman was an economic proposition and a well-suited future, according to the propaganda of the marriage institution. Amy grasped this from an early age, so she put the romance aside and took the more pragmatic road. She knew if she wanted to pursue her art, live comfortably and support her family, she had to marry a rich man and she reached her goal. And what is more, she didn’t marry just any rich guy, she married the man she loved her whole childhood. Which one turned out to be smarter, Jo or Amy? Of course, Amy. But considering that Jo found herself in a moderately equal and healthy relationship with Friedrich, Jo also ended up with a nice guy.
Finally, Meg taught us that everyone has a different dream and if in the case of a woman this means a traditionally happy ending, no one has the right to judge her. Beth made us all cry and rewarded us with an example of a humble, selfless and noble woman.
This is why Greta Gerwig’s adaptation is considered a postmodern masterpiece - unlike other adaptations Gerwig’s vision lets us examine every detail more critically and nevertheless enjoy the film. We got to know each sister more closely and learned more about the author’s life. If you haven’t watched the movie and you’re still reading this article, you’d better go and watch it right away! Trust us, you won’t regret it.
Author: Mariam Melikishvili
Translator and Editor: Mariam Beshidze
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