You Haven't Read Little Women? Whyever Not?

Gooood afternoon, all! Again, very sorry about the longness between posts, but in my defence, I was off school for a WHOLE WEEK last week, and I now have managed to contract a cold (which is very unfair, in my personal opinion- why do I have to have back-to-back illnesses?). And then I've been hurriedly catching up with all the work I missed- hint for sixth form: don't miss school otherwise you'll have way too much work to do and your recovery will not be quite as fast.

But I'm pretty much caught up now (yay) and so just need to do the homework due over the next week (double yay), of which I have just finished my history essay. This post may, therefore, be some form of procrastination before I continue with work (learning words for Anthropology, I believe, is planned next) but also I realised that I had not written anything about the truly brilliant film that I watched in the cinema at the beginning of January! The travesty! So here is my post about it (and also 'commenting' on the Oscar nominations as well because why not/it is so easy to be annoyed).

At the beginning of January, my wonderful friend gave me my birthday present- food at a restaurant (I chose Bella Italia because their lasagne is sooo goood) and then watching a film in the cinema. We watched Little Women, which I was a little bit apprehensive about as I absolutely adore the book/s (one of my favourites, along with Pride and Prejudice, Goodnight Mister Tom, and Eragon) but it was AMAZING.

Firstly, the way that the story had been done, covering the first two books (the best ones, clearly) and showing all of the parallels between them, most of which I hadn't even properly noticed when reading them. Secondly, the costume design was fantastic, especially for the March sisters, and I loved Jo's shirt/skirt/waistcoat ensembles. Thirdly, the actresses were brilliant (Oscar note: I really do hope that Saoirse Ronan wins Best Actress) and they were just as I had imagined them to be. Part of the reason as to why I loved the book was because it is about four sisters who are so obviously sisters but also who all have their own personalities, with strengths and real faults. Meg desires luxury and leisure, Jo has a short temper and a quick tongue, Beth often resents the housework she must do, and Amy can be vain and spoilt.
Finally, there are so many excellent quotes from Little Women, so here are some of my favourites (and why, mostly because I want you to immediately go and read the book and watch the film):

• Just because my dreams are different than yours doesn’t make them unimportant. -Meg

I found this such a wonderfully important quote- so many people seem to think that if you do end up 'conforming' to societal expectations, then that is somehow bad. Just because Meg wishes to get married and have a family does not mean that she is any less than Jo, who desires to be a famous author.

• I’m so sick of people saying love is all a woman is fit for. I’m so sick of it. But I’m so lonely. -Jo

Of course, this is a heartbreaking quote by itself, but in the film, it is doubly so due to the context in which it is uttered.

• It’s like the tide going out. It rolls out slowly, but it can’t be stopped. -Beth

I'm not going to say why this is one of my favourite quotes. I'm not going to spoil anything if you have not read/watched it. But go and read/watch it!

• The world is hard on ambitious girls. -Amy

Amy, I think, is such an underrated character. If I had more time/another blog post, I could probably write a nice essay on the March sisters and why they are each so important for girls/women, but Amy is a brilliant character. She is spoilt and vain, but she is also ambitious and wise beyond her years. She, along with Jo, does not wish to conform to gender stereotypes.

• I’m just a woman. And as a woman, there’s no way for me to make my own money. Not enough to earn a living or to support my family, and if I had my own money, which I don’t, that money would belong to my husband the moment we got married. And if we had children, they would be his, not mine. They would be his property, so don’t sit there and tell me that marriage isn’t an economic proposition, because it is. It may not be for you, but it most certainly is for me. -Amy

Throughout many books/films, marriage is all about love, and I think it should be. But I was talking to my sister yesterday about this, and we both agree that whilst there should be an element of love (or at least like), marriage is also an economic proposition, as well as something that makes sense legally. Another great quote from Amy.

• I want to be great or nothing. – Amy

I'm definitely a good (good as in interesting, not good as in I have no faults) mix of all four sisters, I think, but this quote really does speak to me. 

But anyway- Little Women is a fantastic film that should win as many Oscars as it can (mostly to spite Joker as much as possible) and it is also a fantastic book that can be read over and over and over again (I read an abridged version of the first one when I was about 10, then read the full version and loved it even more). Don't forget to subscribe and I'll write something soonish (perhaps you'll have a character essay to read...) And I'm going to leave you with a final quote:  Life is too short to be angry at one’s sisters. -Jo