Little Women, Louisa May Alcott’s much-loved two-volume novel about the four March sisters, was published more than 151 years ago, inspiring several movie versions, including the upcoming Greta Gerwig version. Despite some of its themes seeming painfully outdated – ‘womanly’ virtues such as sock-darning are promoted piously – the story’s popularity has endured, along with its most important lessons. Here’s what it taught us…
1. Heroines come in different forms
Wild, headstrong and creative, Jo was the March sister we all wanted to be. She wasn’t beautiful like Meg and Amy, or gentle and sweet like Beth, but she had spirit, personality to spare and, in a world of limited options for women, decided her own fate by becoming a writer. She was pleasingly nuanced, too; even, when she almost let Amy drown, kind of dark (although we didn’t necessarily blame her.) Winona Ryder played her in the 1994 film, giving her the ultimate cool-girl stamp of approval. Now, Saoire Ronan is taking on that role.
2. Love isn’t everything…
None of the March girls – even the slightly drippy Meg – spent much time thinking about ‘romantic rubbish’; instead, they got on with making their own fun. Their mother, Marmee, encouraged their independence, ambition and adventure-seeking, telling Jo: ‘Go, and embrace your liberty. And see what wonderful things come of it.’
3. … But it’s worth waiting for the right kind
When Laurie, the handsome, rich boy next door, declared his love for Jo only to be rebuffed, we were inconsolable. (We may or may not have been in love with him ourselves.) But she was right, because her feelings for him were those of friendship, not romance. When Laurie later ended up with spoilt princess Amy and Jo with Professor Bhaer, our younger selves may felt betrayed, but both pairings turned out to be compatible. If he arrives, Mr Right may surprise us. He may even be a grizzled old German tutor.
4. Giving’s better than receiving
The novel opens with Jo whingeing that ‘Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents’, because there was a Civil War on and the March family were poor. But they cast off their self-pity, bought presents for their mother and took their Christmas breakfast to a staving family. Which gave them a festive glow of altruism and us a morsel of food for thought.
5. Sometimes random lovely things happen
Alcott writes, when Mr March arrives home unexpectedly from war: ‘Now and then, in this workaday world, things do happen in the delightful storybook fashion, and what a comfort that is.’ Preach.
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Little Women: Bringing The March Sisters' Wardrobes From Page To Screen