Abrielle Christopher

Final Essay

FILM 3440J

Little Women

Little Women was written by Louisa May Alcott in 1868. There have been 5

adaptations of Little Women, the adaptation I will be discussing is directed by

Greta Gerwig, a 2019 film, starring Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Timothee

Chalamet, Emma Watson, and Eliza Scanlen. This story follows the lives of 4

sisters, Jo, Amy, Beth, and Meg, and their lives. Little Women allows you to see

four different ways women dealt with 19th-century societal standards.

Meg March is the oldest sister out of the four sisters. She is the

responsible sister, the kind sister, but Meg longs for wealth and luxury. Meg is

the only daughter who remembers their family's short-lived wealth. Because

of these memories, Meg craves having nice things and the validation of others

knowing she can have nice things. In the film, Meg March says to her husband

John, “I don't mean to waste your money, but I can't resist when I see Sally buying

all she wants and pitying me because I don't,” following that quote with “I'm tired

of being poor.” In this scene, you can see how Meg’s character feels about the

life she has fallen into, versus the life she wants to have. Because Meg obeys

her family's and society's wishes for her to be married, there is a disconnect

between Meg and her younger sister Jo. Jo never believed that a woman would
be happy marrying, on Meg's wedding day Jo told her she could leave and be an

actress. Meg told Jo “Just because my dreams are different from yours doesn't

make them unimportant.” Meg's character shows the choice of falling into

standards, marrying, having children, and being a housewife.

Jo March is the second oldest sister of the March girls. Jo is fearless, free,

and challenges norms, the opposite of Meg. Jo’s biggest struggle in this film is

not being shown the same respect as a man in any part of her life. At the

beginning of the film, there's a scene of a party that both Jo and Laurie attend.

Both not knowing many people they began to converse about the whereabouts

of Jo’s father and Jo says “He volunteered for the Union Army, and I wanted to go

fight with him, I can't get over my disappointment of being a girl.” This opens the

door for Jo to express her thoughts about the inequality between men and

women. While Jo’s character is developing throughout the film, Alcott’s

decision is evident in giving Jo male stereotypes, outspoken, independent, and

ambitious. As a viewer, this makes Jo’s character have more depth. This way of

thinking often left Jo isolated from her sisters. Jo can't understand Meg's

choice of marriage, and also has a rivalry with Amy, the only sister Jo can

constantly count on is Beth. Jo’s path shows the rebellious path, the

nonconforming path. Jo does not conform to the traditional wants in society,

instead, she goes to be a writer.

Beth is the third sister out of the four. Beth is the sweetest sister and the most

beloved of the family. She is known for being the family's peacekeeper and

kind to all. Beth's dream is to sing and play piano, because of Laurie's

grandfather, Beth is allowed to play piano at their house whenever she wants.

Beth conforms to societal expectations and stays close to home and her mom.

She helps her mom one day by giving food to a starving family who fell sick

with scarlet fever. Beth then caught the illness of the family and this would end

up being her cause of death later in the film. Beth complied with her

expectations differently from her older sister Meg. To some critics, Beth's

archetype being the quiet sister, causes her character to fall to the sidelines of

some scenes, but it's critical for the family's development as a whole for Beth's

character to be reserved, to be the observer, the glue of the March family. Beth

didn't marry but filled her family's needs and society's expectations by living

at home and helping her mother.

Amy is the youngest of the March sisters. In the first part of the film when Amy

was 12, she was considered immature and bratty. She did burn Jo’s manuscript

after Jo told her she couldn't go see a play with her. When Amy is 20, you can

see her immense character development. Aunt March expects Amy to have

good manners and marry rich for the family. In the words of Aunt March, “You

are your family’s last hope.” Amy then accompanies her aunt to Paris to study

art. While In Paris Amy and Laurie reunited and converse about marriage and
Amy's career in painting. Amy’s emotional and vulnerable side is shown to us

as she says “Well, I’m not a poet. I’m just a woman. And as a woman, there’s no

way for me to make my own money. Not enough to earn a living or to support my

family. And if I had my own money, which I don’t, that money would belong to my

husband the moment we got married. And if we had children, they would be his, not

mine. They would be his property. So don’t sit there and tell me that marriage isn’t

an economic proposition because it is. It may not be for you, but it most certainly is

for me.” This shows that Amy is only acknowledging society's standards

because she knows life will be harder for her if she doesn't, unlike Jo. Amy

doesn't fulfill society's needs in the same rebellious way that Jo does, Amy

cares for her looks unlike Jo, and this is part of why Jo can't see eye to eye with

Amy. Amy does not conform to the standards in a traditional sense. Amy is vain

and cares how she looks, she also discusses marriage and later marries Laurie,

but Amy's choice to go to Paris and study art shows her objection to what

society wants from her.

Little Women covers much more than just the expectations women faced in the

19th century. Louisa May Alcott made these characters have such depth to

them that they can be analyzed in several ways. Greta Gerwig’s modernized

adaptation of Little Women is the most liked of all of the adaptations. The

frequent use of 90-degree shots, flashbacks, and reverse shots between Jo and

Laurie, the emotion felt from not only the acting but the filming and
cinematography itself. The decision of long shots and wide shots for

flashbacks along with an unstable shot, help create a memory-like feeling

which helps the viewer feel the change in the dynamics of the characters. The

present scenes are shot more still and strongly to show the difference between

being adults rather than their childhood.

This film follows the 4 March sisters, their past, their present, and the

expectations society expects. Marry young and start a family, like the eldest

daughter Meg; struggle to maintain your family and your passion, like Jo does;

be compliant and helpful to your parents, ignoring your passion, like Beth

does; or focus on your art and self, like Amy does. The societal standards Meg

and Beth comply with, strip them from their passions and wants in life. While

Jo and Amy reject those traditional ideas, they stray from their close family to

explore themselves and their passions. At the end of the film, all the sisters but

Beth are married and have children of their own. There is no right or wrong

path that any sister takes in this story, Alcott simply suggests that in the

19th-century, certain paths were more realistic than others.