littlewomenpodcast

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To be honest, I am kind of torn between those two answers myself as well. I think what stoods out to me the most are Jo's actions, the closest we get to the book burning. Yes I think, their interractions start as a typical sybling rivarly but they began to escalate more and more (where we could see Jo becoming a bully). When Jo, Laurie and Meg are going to the Opera Jo clearly says that if Amy comes, Amy can not sit with them. She repeats that over and over again, making clear that Amy is not welcome. I think that is the final straw, in Amy's young mind.

My sister and I have a four year age gap (pretty close to Jo and Amy, I am the older). When I was a kid, she did all kinds of mean things to me, she read my diary without permission, when I became a vegetarian, she would put meat on my plates. I am pretty calm and I don't easily get provoked, but if I would be more of a Jo type of person, we would have probably had a lot more violent arguments. In the case of Jo and Amy, they are both trying to provoke one another, which causes things to escalate.

I decided to make this poll because I've been listening to the excellent Little Women videos from @littlewomenpodcast, whose opinions and arguments I nearly always find to be spot-on. (And who so generously quotes some of my analysis now and then.) But I'll admit I was taken aback by one remark she and others have occasionally made about Jo and Amy. Namely that as a teenager, Jo bullies Amy, and that Amy burning Jo's manuscript is just the moment when she finally snaps after having been picked on by her sister all her life.

After hearing this, I had to go back and reread all of Jo and Amy's interactions in Part I, because I had never thought of their conflict that way, and I'm still not sure if I do.

I always saw their sibling rivalry as mutual, with both at fault. They're both strong-willed, attention-seeking, quick-tempered girls, they arguably both have different forms of internalized misogyny (Jo by disdaining femininity, Amy by disdaining tomboyishness), and they get on each other's nerves. Jo mocks Amy's childish attempts to be ladylike (and even an only child like myself knows that between siblings, teasing is normal and doesn't equal bullying), while Amy annoys Jo by correcting her manners, and neither is generally better or worse than the other.

Now of course this is their relationship in general: I'm not talking about "Jo Meets Apollyon." In that specific case, Jo does provoke Amy by refusing to take her to the play just because she, Jo, doesn't want to babysit, leaving Amy in tears. And while Amy burning her manuscript is an inexcusable, out-of-proportion response, it's even more wrong of Jo to physically attack Amy when she learns what she did, and almost horrific that she doesn't warn her about the thin ice the next day. But even then, Alcott doesn't describe Jo as always insulting and excluding Amy, and she makes it clear that Amy has played other pranks on Jo before the manuscript-burning. She writes that they've always been prone to "lively skirmishes" because of their mutual tempers – she doesn't blame Jo alone.

Still, maybe it can't be mutual, because Jo is a teenager while Amy is a child. The fact that I have no siblings puts me at a disadvantage, because not only do I not personally know the difference between normal sibling rivalry and bullying, I don't know how much of a difference certain age gaps create. Maybe the fact that Jo is three years older than Amy makes her more of a bully than if they were only a year apart in age. (Still, three years isn't that big of a gap. I don't remember feeling much more mature at fifteen than I was at twelve, just more hormonal.) Also, Alcott does write that Jo had less self-control than Amy despite being older, and in their typical scenes of light bickering, when Jo laughs at Amy's malapropisms and Amy corrects Jo's manners, Jo does always laugh at Amy first, and then Amy scolds her in response. There's also the moment in "Experiments" when Jo hears Beth crying and thinks to herself that if Amy was the one who upset her (she wasn't – Beth's bird died), she'll shake her. We could argue that this just shows how protective Jo is of Beth, but at the same time, she's thinking about physically attacking her little sister again.

In the end, I'm tempted to think this issue is open to interpretation. We can either view the two sisters as having a mutual rivalry and mutually provoking each other (apart from isolated incidents when either one or the other is more to blame), or view Jo as more of a bully and Amy as more of the victim.

I'd like to see what other people think, though.

#jo march #amy march #little women

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Louisa May Alcott's Love For Germany Now On Apple

Now on Apple Books

Louisa May Alcott´s Little Women is the author´s love song for German culture and literature. In the novel, there are many moments when the characters make references to German literature, and Jo's love interest professor Bhaer is also based on Alcott's favourite writer, the German poet Goethe. When Friedrich helps Jo when she struggles writing to Weekly Volcano, we can see her influences from Goethe, Friedrich recommends Jo read Shakespeare and study characters like Goethe would have done. It is also remarkable that Alcott gives Jo a German love interest because German immigrants were widely discriminated in 19th century America, but in Concord where Alcott's resided there was a full-blown German epidemic with people rushing to buy German books and anything that came from Germany.

#little women #little women podcast #Jo March #Friedrich Bhaer #ebook #Apple Books

[littlewomenpodcast]

Little Women 1978 - Is It Worth Watching?

This time Melodie and I are chatting about the stalkerish elements in Laurie's behaviour and a lot of the things that wouldn't necessarily go through if Little Women would be written today. We are also chatting about the fairytale elements in Jo and Laurie's "love story", him being rich and handsome and Jo being poor and not so great looking, but what about all the scenes in the book that never get adapted? like the things, he says during the proposal.

#little women 1978 #little women #Jo March #Laurie Lawrence #Youtube

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Anatomy Of A Movie: Little Women 1933

Now live on YouTube, little women podcast is back with the fifth season. So many of you have asked me to review different Little Women adaptations, it was about time for me to do that. Wonderful Christina from https://www.tumblr.com/joandfriedrich suggested that we would do a ranking. I hope you guys enjoy our discussions.

In this episode we are discussing about the Little Women movie from 1933 starring Katherine Hepburn as Jo, Joan Bennett as Amy and Douglas Montgomery as Laurie.

#little women #little women podcast #little women 1933 #katherine hepburn #joan bennett #paul lukas #douglas montgomery #amy march #jo march #beth march #friedrich bhaer #laurie lawrence #meg march #Youtube

[littlewomenpodcast]

Little Women 1978 - Is It Worth Watching?

This time Melodie and I are chatting about the stalkerish elements in Laurie's behaviour and a lot of the things that wouldn't necessarily go through if Little Women would be written today. We are also chatting about the fairytale elements in Jo and Laurie's "love story", him being rich and handsome and Jo being poor and not so great looking, but what about all the scenes in the book that never get adapted? like the things, he says during the proposal.

#little women 1978 #little women #Jo March #Laurie Lawrence #Youtube

[littlewomenpodcast]

Anatomy Of A Movie: Little Women 1933

Now live on YouTube, little women podcast is back with the fifth season. So many of you have asked me to review different Little Women adaptations, it was about time for me to do that. Wonderful Christina from https://www.tumblr.com/joandfriedrich suggested that we would do a ranking. I hope you guys enjoy our discussions.

In this episode we are discussing about the Little Women movie from 1933 starring Katherine Hepburn as Jo, Joan Bennett as Amy and Douglas Montgomery as Laurie.

#little women #little women podcast #little women 1933 #katherine hepburn #joan bennett #paul lukas #douglas montgomery #amy march #jo march #beth march #friedrich bhaer #laurie lawrence #meg march #Youtube

[littlewomenpodcast]

Hi! I've been thinking about Beth a lot lately, and even though it doesn't outright say so in the text, I think it's implied that the aftereffects of scarlet fever are what got her in the end, right? So my question is: in a modern AU, since now we have treatments for that, do you think she would have made it?

Yes, I believe she would have survived and fully recovered. Sometimes I think of that time when Louisa May Alcott worked as a nurse, I think she would be amazed how far the science and medicine has gone and we can cure diseases that back then were believed to be impossible to cure.

Some of the worst sicknesses I've had have been Covid last year and Pneumonia, back when I was in the university. Both of those diseases lasted for weeks, I had high fever and in my fever brain I didn't think I could make it, but I had anti-biotics and vaccinations and I pulled through.

#beth march #louisa may alcott #little women #scarlett fever

[littlewomenpodcast]

1994 Movie Analyzed (Little Women Podcast)

This one of course, is the favorite of many and for a good reason. In today’s episode Christina and I will be discussing about the beloved Little Women movie from 1994. Starring Winona Ryder as Jo, Gabriel Byrne as Friedrich and Susan Sarandon as Marmee.

#little women 1994 #little women #little women podcast #gabriel byrne #winona ryder #trini alvarado #susan sarandon #kirsten dunst #claire danes #amy march #jo march #meg march #laurie lawrence #christian bale #Youtube

[littlewomenpodcast]

Mr Lawrence's Preconceptions Against Laurie's Mother

Hallo Little Women fans! Today I am joined by Sinem and she is here to talk to us about Louisa May Alcott's love for two very famous German authors, Friedrich Schiller and Goethe. We are also discussing about the possibility that our beloved Friedrich Bhaer was named after Friedrich Schiller. Schiller makes surprisingly many entries in Little Women series. He is mentioned often in discussions between Jo and Friedrich and Meg and John. Why did Mr Lawrence dislike Laurie's mom. Listen to find out.

#laurie lawrence #mr lawrence #little women #little women podcast #parenting #Youtube

[littlewomenpodcast]

"Amy and Laurie Book" That Alcott Read As A Child

Bonjour mes amis! Time to travel back to Valrosa. This is a deep dive into Laurie´s inner world, which surely is romantic but not at all realistic. What he really needs is Amy Curtis March to bring him back to earth. Yes, I ship...and what a surprise...there was a story similar to Amy and Laurie that Miss Alcott enjoyed reading as a young girl.

#amy and laurie #amy x laurie #louisa may alcott #little women #romance #Youtube

[littlewomenpodcast]

1994 Movie Analyzed (Little Women Podcast)

This one of course, is the favorite of many and for a good reason. In today’s episode Christina and I will be discussing about the beloved Little Women movie from 1994. Starring Winona Ryder as Jo, Gabriel Byrne as Friedrich and Susan Sarandon as Marmee.

#little women 1994 #little women #little women podcast #gabriel byrne #winona ryder #trini alvarado #susan sarandon #kirsten dunst #claire danes #amy march #jo march #meg march #laurie lawrence #christian bale #Youtube

[littlewomenpodcast]

Genuine question: why do so many people talk about Meg like she's vain? Like, how is wanting nice things and wanting to fit in 'vain'? I can understand people saying that about Amy, especially when she's a kid, but Meg is the sweetest of the four sisters next to Beth? And isn't vanity being too self-important? Am I missing something? (Sorry for all the questions, but I just do not understand)

I don't mind questions at all. Keep them coming :)

I have often wondered this myself. I wonder if it has something to do with Meg being more a feminine type of girl, and people attack her simply because she likes to be girlish and femininity is often connected with vanity. I don't know.

In the book, like you said Meg is not really a vain person. The whole Vanity Fair chapter, is really more about self-discovery and Meg's thinking about her own self-worth. These other rich girls, they treat her like she is a doll and they play dress-up games with her. In the end, Meg even said she could not recognise herself any more.

The 2019 film, completely missed the point in this (once again). Gerwig said that "Meg needs a day of from her miserable life". Meg in the book never thinks her life is terrible. Yes, she is poor, but in the end of the Vanity Fair chapter, it feels more like "I would not change my life for the lives of these girls. It is so hollow". If the person only watches 2019 film, and takes that narration, no wonder people think that Meg is a vain person.

I also think it is really hypocritical sometimes, the way Meg gets criticised, when she buys the silk for a dress. She was very poor and getting luxury items was pretty rare for her. That is not something a poor girl should be condemned. If we think about Laurie, he is written to be very dandy. A nice looking young man who likes to take care of his appearance. Jo even criticises how he buys expensive gloves and perfumes what not. Nobody, ever critices Laurie for that.

Total double standards.

Also, Laurie was a metro-sexual, before metro-sexuality was a thing.

#little women #Meg March #anti little women 2019 #Laurie Lawrence #Vanity Fair

[littlewomenpodcast]

Laura Dern Is The Worst Marmee

Niina: I think it was Greta Gerwig who said” Oh we admire these girls because they don’t want to grow up and I am like No Amy wants to grow up, if you read the book. She wants to know what it is like to be a woman. She wants to become a mature person. A true lady, but then when I watched this movie, I wished that I hadn’t seen it. That moment when Aunt March comes and she says ”Amy is going to go to Europe with me, just so you know”. There isn’t any explanation why Jo can’t go, because they didn’t include

the scene from chapter Calls, but Amy is like ”Why nobody is happy for me?” and then Marmee goes like ”My poor Jo. You really should have gotten the trip”. I wanted to smash the screen when I saw that. It is so completely opposite to the book because in the book Amy feels bad for Jo and Marmee says” No Jo. You caused your own misery. You were rude to the aunts, that is why you lost the trip”. It is so confusing because, we are supposed to see Amy as this mature person, who can handle things, and then she just complains that nobody is happy for her. I can not admire this Amy and I can not admire this Jo. It is the woman-child trope that I hate.

Christina: There is not even a half-pass line like ”Oh well I am taking Amy with me to Europe because Amy and I get along better than you and I ever did. It is true. That is something that at some point someone says in the book, whether it was Aunt March or Jo, they say we wouldn’t have gotten along better. There is not even that kind of..yeah it is just very abrupt. ”Amy is going with me and it sucks to be you, Jo”. Amy really did not again, gain any sympathy from me, when she was there like ”Why is nobody being happy for me”? The film is so confusing for me. I like Laura Dern. I think in general she is a wonderful actress but all I can say is that Marmee in this one is like a soccer mom. ”I am not like a regular mom. I am a cool mom”. When Laurie first comes and meets Marmee. He says ”Oh hello Mrs March” She is like ”Oh just call me Marmee. Everybody does”. ”What?” ”No!”. The one moment that really gets me regards on how Marmee reacts to something. In the trailer, we see the girls messing around in their own home and Marmee says to Laurie ”My girls can be a bit of a handful”. Okay, let's say that at home they can be wild little animals. Then what happens in the movie is after Amy hurts her hand and she is babbling to Laurie and whatever is weird. She and the sisters, The Marches, and Marmee are obviously there too. Go inside the Lawrence house and they are all jumping all over the place, screaming. They are acting like banshees. I don’t care if it was back then or today. No good parent would just allow their kid to just go nuts. Jo is over cushions, and they put their hands on everything without acting respectfully. Marmee is just like ”Oh yeah, this is just how my girls are” and I am like, if I had acted that way in a stranger’s house, I probably would have had a whipping. I would have probably been grounded. No tv for a week, or something like that. I got a second-hand embarrassment from just seeing that. How do you…especially in that time period? how do you sit there and just go” Oh yeah, this is totally fine”? Marmee would have never allowed it because she still wants them to act like respectable people. Obviously not to dampen their spirits or to take away anything. Act like adults? act like human beings! That moment.

Niina: I had so many problems with that film. We talked earlier about Uncle March, but you know how in this movie Aunt March is supposed to be a spinster but then, this really bothers me, if she is a spinster, why is she constantly trying to marry off these girls? According to Gerwig, she is supposed to be this model for an independent woman for Jo, but then she constantly wants the girls to marry rich. Isn’t that contradicting?

Christina: It is! The other thing too is, that it makes Aunt March seem even meaner because if she is not ever married and she is rich. I am thinking of that moment when Aunt March is like ”Oh you need to marry rich” and Jo is like ”You are not married” and she is like ” That is because I’m rich”. It makes Aunt March seem even meaner because if she is rich by whatever means it is, why isn’t she helping the family? Versus her being married into it? You know what I mean? it just kinda seems like. I presume… I don’t really know much about the economics of the marriage. What it was back then. I feel like marrying into money, even if you are a widow, you still have very limited access to your husband’s money. Whereas in this it seems like ”Oh yeah I got the money on my own but I can’t give you the money for whatever reason, because I am a Scrooge McDuck type of person. That is what it felt like to me. They were clearly suffering financially and she was just not helping in any way. It made Aunt March a lot colder than I think she should have been.

Niina: Yeah, that doesn’t make any sense to me, because if she is this rich spinster, why does she want everyone to get married? All the listeners who don’t know, Aunt March in the book, had a husband whom she loved millionaire. She is not happy in very much and they had a daughter who died and that made her a very grungy lady. Even though she is a book, because of that.

Christina: You can almost kind of see her wanting to push the girls to marry as sort of her seeing the girls as her own daughters. ”I want to make sure you are okay”. I just immediately think of this movie from Betty Davis called ”Old Maid”. Great movie. For the time when it was made, at least in my opinion, it was a little scandalous, how they managed to get away with it but her character, has a child out of wedlock and she goes to live with her sister-in-law who has taken care of her daughter and she has no idea she is her daughter and she pretends to be like this aunt who is very stern on her. She is worried that she will let it slip somehow. Even being affectionate towards her that she is the mother. In some way I always see Aunt March being that way like ”I can’t show how much I care” because she worries that something bad will happen if she does or ”I got to be stern. That way I can lead them into the direction they need to go” but I have never seen aunt March being this wholly unfeeling individual. Just kind of stern and want what is best for the girls. Here I just kind of felt like, she wasn’t as nice as she could have been.

Niina: You know, there was an older version of the script where it didn’t have this split ending but Jo did end up with Friedrich and he was German and I read that script before I watched the movie and then I was very confused because it was completely different. I heard that there were many different versions of the script. There was one script where Jo, wanted to punch Amy when she heard that Laurie and Amy were engaged.

#little women #anti little women 2019 #laura dern #anti greta gerwig #greta gerwig #little women 2019 #saoirse ronan #timothee chalamet #florence pugh #emma watson #meryl streep #jo march #amy march #people who hate greta gerwig #Youtube

[littlewomenpodcast]

Alcott´s Quotes Envying Her Sisters Marriages (How Gerwig Lied About It)

In her diaries, Alcott often wrote how she envied her sister's marriages and how lonely she was. Little Women is a wish-full-fillment. It is a story, of what she wished could have happened to herself. Louisa also wanted to start a school for boys and marry a philosopher.

#little women #louisa may alcott #jo march #anti greta gerwig #greta gerwig #little women 2019 #anti little women 2019 #Youtube

[littlewomenpodcast]

Jo March And The Emotional Stress (Little Women Origins)

One of Louisa May Alcott´s favorite writers was the German poet Goethe and Laurie´s character arc in Little Women is surprisingly similar to Goethe´s young hero, Werther. When Sorrows of Young Werther appeared it caused a national outrage because Werther's love interest, Lottie says no to him and chooses another man. In Little Women when Jo rejected Laurie, this caused an outrage (which still continues today, but more thanks to the movies, rather than the books). The way Werther treats Lottie, is at times very disturbing. Same as with Laurie.

#little women #Jo March #Goethe #anxiety #teen age years #Youtube

[littlewomenpodcast]

Stalking For Love (Red Flags in Laurie's Proposal)

I have often come across people who compare Jo's and Laurie's "love story" with Anne and Gilbert from Sullivan's entertainment version of Anne of Green Gables. This is something that Melodie and I are discussing in this episode, also some of the bit stalkerish elements Laurie has. How this behavior was romanticised in the 19th century how there are people still today who consider that romantic.

#laurie lawrence #little women #anti jo x laurie #jo march #Youtube

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Little Women Zodiac: Amy's Horoscope

Fire signs galore!

So many of you have asked me to review different Little Women adaptations, it was about time for me to do that. Wonderful Christina from https://www.tumblr.com/joandfriedrich suggested that we would do a ranking. I hope you guys enjoy our discussions.

#amy march #leo #zodiac #little women #Youtube