Little Women, the new adaptation written and directed by Greta Gerwig, is a complete treat. The film, which stars Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, Emma Watson and Meryl Streep, has already won acclaim and award nominations, and is heralded as breathing new life into the literary classic by Louisa May Alcott. But one thing about it isn't exactly in keeping with the original: Greta has tweaked the ending. If you haven't see the film, be aware: there's a spoiler ahead.
As with the original book, Little Women follows four sisters and their struggles with poverty, love and finding their place in the world. Jo longs to be a writer, spurning the affection of her friend Laurie and pursuing a writing career in the city. Amy promptly falls for Laurie, and they marry. Meg marries Laurie's teacher John. And Beth, the kindest of the sisters, dies. At the end of the novel, and resulting films, Jo meets a handsome professor, Friedrich Bhaer, and they fall in love and marry.
Or do they? In the film, Greta presents their first kiss and resulting marriage as a work of fiction, adding a scene where Jo meets with her publisher, who forces her to add a final, romantic chapter in order to make the book more lucrative. Bowing to pressure, she does so, but remains single, dedicated to her writing and teaching children. The scene mimics a real life incident: Louisa was pressured to do the same.
Greta has already addressed the change. 'I just knew I could not do the ending just as the book [did]—especially because Louisa didn’t really want to end it that way, and she really did think Jo’s true fate should’ve been as "a literary spinster with books for children,"' she said at an event earlier this year. 'And so I thought, I can’t in good faith do this ending, number one because it’s not in me, number two because she didn’t like it, and if we can’t give her an ending she would like, 150 years later, then what have we done? We’ve made no progress.'
Louisa May Alcott would be proud.
Little Women is in cinemas Boxing Day
READ MORE: The Enduring Relevance of Little Women