A Family Affair

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents, grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

It's so dreadful to be poor! sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.

I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all, added little Amy, with an injured sniff.

We've got Father and Mother, and each other, said Beth contentedly from her corner."

Jo the hot tempered tomboy, Meg the sweet natured romantic, Amy childish spoilt brat , Beth the shy musical prodigy.

I followed their lives glassy eyed as an impressionable 12 year old.

Yes, I too wanted to be Jo, I wanted to be a writer! 

I wanted sisters, I envied my friends who had that bond.

Even though this book reads a bit old fashioned given the societal norms of the time during and after the Civil war, overall,  there are universal and timeless messages about the bonds of family, morality, gratitude and love. 

The struggle for girls and women to be themselves while following convention is an experience that resonates even today.

Young readers may find the domesticity in the book unnecessary but it was and is still necessary for people to have domestic skills or they could not and still cannot survive. 

Of course it's easy to fall in love with Laurie and I wished Jo had married him, but then the story would have changed directions 

“I do think that families are the most beautiful things in all the world!” The March family has their own hopes and needs and fears. They sacrifice, support each other, cry together, and survive their losses. 

Support at times also means acceptance of the other standing in the way of your dreams. 

I learnt from their lives. 

While sitting home under a lockdown during the COVID pandemic, the whole family is together all the time. Friends and outside connections mattered more.

We are frustrated, the freedom which came easy and taken for granted, now has been curbed.

The first month was difficult where everyone tried to find their own space, getting on each other's nerves, each one's peculiar habits causing irritation, small issues blown out of proportion.

Now we have all settled into a comfortable routine , accepting the peculiarities as individualities. Allowing the habits to grow on you. 

We still have our differences, but now they don't turn into arguments. 

The family matters. 

A very progressive book for the era it has been set in, the girls much ahead of their times with their thinking and giving.

If you believe love conquers all, you will enjoy this book.

And I finally watched the movie adaptation.

My imagination as a young kid was wild, still is.

The movie caters to that remaining faithful to its roots. The film moves between two timelines as flashbacks, which the book does not.

For a first timer who has not read the book, it may take a while to relate the two. 

The dialogues are simple and conversations and acting reflect the emotion the book allowed readers to experience.

The ending with Jo being decisive is a lovely touch.

Not all women have to be sacrificial lambs, she stood for what she wanted and got the best of both worlds. 

This slight twist will go well with the feminists and the go-getters.

All the actors have played their part well, bringing to life for me the story read years ago.

Timothee Chalamet plays the playboy role so well as Laurie with his childish charm, easy to fall in love.

Greta Gerwig's adaptation pays a wonderful tribute to the literary classic and deserves a watch.

Little Women- Louisa May Alcott/ Greta Gerwig