Little Women: A Story That Transcends Generations
The beautiful, coming of age tale of four sisters navigating love, loss, and life: Little Women. The original story was published by Louisa May Alcott in 1863 and over 150 years later with multiple film adaptations, it still captures the hearts of women across the globe. Even if you have never read the book or watched any of the movie adaptations, chances are you have heard of it in some capacity.
If you’ve read the book or watched any of the film adaptations, maybe you find yourself relating to Jo who is ambitious and fierce, Meg who is reliable and kind, Amy who is passionate and driven, or Beth who is soft-spoken and caring. Or maybe you see yourself in all of them in different ways. There is a wide range of representation of the personalities and qualities women and girls possess.
Greta Gerwig, who recently directed the culturally important film Barbie, adapted Little Women into film in 2019 and hooked a new generation on this tale. The movie depicts all the different facets of intricate emotions and stages of life women go through. It carefully and creatively deals with grief, love, anger, revenge, girlhood, and friendship and blends these complex emotions and experiences together with grace and an endearing humor. Its ending is not only happy, but also inspiring and encouraging.
Lousia May Alcott captures beautiful sentiments with her words and validates the feelings of young women with quotes such as, “Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for.” (Alcott, 1863) Decades later, director Greta Gerwig brings these sentiments to life on the screen with amazing actresses like Sairose Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, and Eliza Scanlen. Gerwig’s adaptation is filled with endearing banter between the characters that feels so real, it seems like you’re in it. With creative geniuses like Gerwig, century old works like Little Women come to life again and again, captivating new groups of people.
Alcott calls out to you, no matter what personality you may relate to the most. Maybe you’ve been deemed ‘the shy one’ and you find yourself connecting with the warm, soft-spoken character, Beth, “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.” (Alcott, 1863) It is the charming way in which she illustrates the lives of women that captivates generations over and over again.
Many literary classics trancend across multiple generations. Those iconic books that get passed down from your great grandparents and end up on a shelf in your childhood home begging to be read again. But what is it about the character-driven plot of Little Women and its seemingly simplistic story that is so near and dear to the hearts of so many women? It’s the honest portrayal and raw depiction of all a woman can be, merged with the cruel realities of life.
Little Women’s coming-of-age plot has proved time and time again to be relatable for women. It validates so many different experiences and emotions faced by women throughout every generation and walk of life which is what makes it a generation transcending tale.
It is in fact the story of four Little Women yet, it is so much more than that.