With the considerable popularity of the Barbie movie, I would like to direct attention back to another of Greta Gerwig’s films, Little Women (2019). Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott, Little Women is a story about four sisters and their transition from girlhood to womanhood. It explores their relationships, growth, and search for belonging in a Civil War-era world. I would like to clarify, however, that this review is solely in reference to the story of the 2019 film, which I still believe to be a faithful adaptation of the novel.
This article contains major spoilers for Little Women.
The story follows the March family, consisting of four sisters, whose names are, in birth order, Meg (Emma Watson), Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Beth (Eliza Scanlen), and Amy (Florence Pugh), and their mother, whom they call Marmee (Laura Dern). Each sister has her own dreams and goals in life, and yet they are all valued in the movie. I love each of their stories, and I especially love how all women can feel seen in one of the sisters. For me, that’s Jo.
Meg March
Meg is the eldest daughter, and her story goes as such — growing up, she dreamt of being an actress and living in luxury, susceptible to all the sparkly, beautiful objects of the world. As she matures, she realizes that life isn’t all about money and learns to appreciate its little joys and find value in the mundane, especially after falling in love with a poor tutor named John. Jo, one of her younger sisters, tries to dissuade Meg from getting married, but Meg says that this is what she wants. She wants to create a family with John and will take on any hardships that come with it. From maturity to marriage to motherhood, Meg’s story displays the beauty of a simple life.
Just because my dreams are different than yours doesn’t make them unimportant.
– Meg March
Jo March
In my soul, I am a Jo. She is a writer — well, an aspiring one for most of the movie — who chases her ambitions instead of love. She has a sharp mind, full of too many ideas. She struggles to take criticism. She wants to pave the way for herself, and she doesn’t want marriage to stop her, although everyone is telling her she should want to be married more than anything. At first, Jo views love as a weakness, something holding women back from achieving their dreams. When her childhood best friend, Laurie (Timothee Chalamet), whom she has only ever viewed platonically, confesses his feelings for her, Jo is taken aback. She turns him down, claiming that she isn’t fit to be a wife, to him or anyone else, but Laurie says that he believes she’s wrong and that she will find someone someday.
I intend to make my own way in this world.
– Jo March
Months pass, and Jo follows her dreams, in vain and alone. I relate to Jo because, yes, she is a writer who wants to make her place in the world. But, more than that, because in her pursuit of independence, she realizes that she’s actually so incredibly lonely. In following her mind, she neglects her heart.
Jo’s growth is in how she perceives herself as a woman. She is no longer ashamed of her femininity, she accepts that being a woman does not mean forgoing her ambitions, and finally, she does not see love as a weakness anymore. In fact, Laurie was right. She finds it.
Beth March
Beth is the quiet one, as people might say. I hate this description. There is no quiet sister. That’s not how siblings work. How can she be quiet, for she is always singing? Beth is the kind, generous sister, who makes sacrifices in shadow so others can live loudly. Her dream has always been to stay with her parents and care for them. In the end, her illness turns her wish around, but she never once stops living. She makes the most of the days she has left and when she passes, it is in peace in her mother’s arms.
“There are many Beths in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence and shadow behind.”
– Louisa May Alcott
Amy March
Amy is the youngest, and like all younger siblings, she idolizes her elder sisters. In her youth, she was naive, impulsive, and just a little bit spoiled. Later, she travels to Europe with her aunt, painting her way through the parties and frills of nobility, and begins to see the truth of society. Of her sisters, she is the only one who desires to marry rich. She realizes that women don’t have power and status in their world. She wants safety and support, and marriage is the only way for her to get it.
Despite her words, Amy doesn’t end up marrying her suitor. Laurie tells her not to, while at the same time implying his feelings, but Amy won’t hear any of it, not when she has loved him this entire time. Her whole life, she has felt second to Jo, and she won’t be Laurie’s reserve when he has always been her first choice.
“I will not be the person you settle for just because you cannot have her.”
– Amy March
Still, Amy realizes that although she wants to marry for security, she ultimately wants to marry for love, and she loves Laurie.
Little Women holds such a deep place in my heart if my book-shaped locket with Jo’s quote, “I could never love anyone as I love my sisters” in it, gifted to me by my sister, wasn’t indication enough. However, I hope this article gives you a newfound appreciation for the film. The transition from girlhood to womanhood is full of strife, but I pray you can find peace and comfort in this film. To all the Megs, Jos, Beths, and Amys in the world, I’m sure your stories are valuable, each and every one of them.