Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women tells a story of a woman striving to create a life for herself in a world created largely by and for men. Though the original volume was published in 1868, it was the amended second volume, published in 1869, that has been widely read and appreciated. Alcott wrote the second half of the volume (the main part of the amendment) due to pressure from publishers and a small audience over a lack of love interest for Jo in the original manuscript. Because of this, Alcott disdained much of the acclaim received for the 1869 rendition, as it strayed from the original semi-autobiographical narrative.
Despite Alcott’s disappointment in her final product, audiences have widely received the final story that has become a beloved token of American literature. Director and writer Greta Gerwig’s 2019 film adaptation of the novel has reawakened a love for Jo, Meg, Amy, & Beth’s story, while expanding upon some of the underlying feministic ideals and giving a nod to Alcott’s timeline and creative process. Since its release, critics have given high acclaim to the complex way in which Gerwig weaves past and present societal issues while remaining true to the period in which the story was written.
Alcott and her infamous character Jo were both rejected by corporate writers—a field that was at its time largely dominated by men. But each woman’s steadfast devotion to her discipline drove a continued pursuit of their passions, despite the meta-narrative that women are meant to pursue the arts, fall in love, and become wives. This meta-narrative has even been prevalent in literature authored by female writers, largely due to pressure from publishers. Such was the case in Alcott’s amendment of Little Women, which led to her unhappiness with the final published edition and disillusionment with its success.
In her film adaptation, Gerwig made stylistic choices to highlight Alcott’s drive and passion despite the hardship she faced in attempting to overcome systemic male pressure in her trade, a battle she would ultimately lose. One potent example of this is displayed in the scene in which Jo meets with her publisher, Mr. Dashwood, concerning her finished novel, where there is some contention over the addition of the character of the professor as the love interest of the main character. The scene climaxes with Jo negotiating a larger sum of money for the addition of the character, declaring, “If I’m going to sell my heroine into marriage for money, I might as well get some of it.”
John Matteson of The Atlantic praises Gerwig’s nod to Alcott’s journey with her novel, arguing that it introduces an aspect of dignity to the complexity of the author’s situation and epitomizes love: Jo can either maintain her independence and goal of writing a new narrative for female writers, or she can take the larger sum of money, thus succumbing to the meta-narrative, but also gaining the ability to provide and care for her family. Actress Florence Pugh (Amy March) said of Gerwig’s choices in an interview with Vanity Fair, “One of the things that really jumped out in this version [is] how difficult it was for women to succeed. They were all creative, they were all artists, and they all had big dreams, but ... they all had to give that up, except for Jo. I hadn’t taken [that] into account as heavily as this version highlighted.” Critics such as Matteson have praised Gerwig’s ability to highlight these complexities while remaining faithful to the overarching themes of Alcott’s original storyline.
The message portrayed by the novel and its 2019 adaptation is a striking one: the success of a woman in a man’s world is a feat in it of itself—it looks different from the success of a man, and often involves making compromises that end with a loss of power. Gerwig’s take on the classic novel may seem irreverent to Little Women purists, but many critics have argued her stylistic choices make the tale more relevant to a new generation of fans, while keeping intact the story that has enticed readers since 1869.