#jo bhaer

[nerdyrevelries]

Jo March: The Pragmatist

One of the most common complaints I hear about Little Women is the way it ends. Many people think that Jo stifles her creativity and gives up on her writing in order to marry Professor Bhaer, which isn't true. Jo writes a very successful book in one of the sequels, Jo’s Boys, but let's set that to the side because what I really want to discuss is what Jo actually thinks of the writing she’s doing in the latter half of Little Women. 

In Part I of Little Women, we see the type of writing that Jo does prior to selling her work. In “A Merry Christmas,” the family puts on The Witch’s Curse, an Operatic Tragedy, which seems to be a Shakespearean melodrama. In “Jo Meets Apollyon,” the book Amy burns in anger is “half a dozen little fairy tales.” In “The P.C. and P.O.,” Jo writes a comedic poem and a lament for one of Beth’s cats. Finally, in “Secrets,” Jo submits a tragic romance to The Spread Eagle (one assumes that this name was less funny when Little Women was originally published in 1868.) The Spread Eagle doesn’t pay beginners, so we can assume that everything written up until this point is the type of writing Jo does for herself when there’s no pressure to make changes to please an editor in order to get a paycheck. 

Part II begins with the chapter “Gossip,” which catches us up on what’s been happening over the past three years. Jo is now a regular contributor to The Spread Eagle who receives a dollar for each story. She refers to them as “rubbish,” so she doesn’t seem particularly proud of the writing she’s doing, but she’s in the process of writing a novel she hopes will win her fame and prestige. 

In “Literary Lessons,” Jo observes a boy reading a newspaper story illustrated with a dramatic scene of “an Indian in full war costume, tumbling over a precipice with a wolf at his throat” and two men stabbing each other while a terrified woman flees the scene. When the boy offers to share, Jo agrees more because she likes the boy than because of an interest in the story. The story is sensation fiction, which Jo privately thinks is trash anyone could have written. However, when she learns the author is making a good living from her stories, Jo decides to try her hand at this new style of writing. She submits the story to a contest the newspaper is running and wins $100. Jo uses the money to send Beth and Marmee to the seashore. She’s proud of her ability to earn money to help her family, so she continues to write these kinds of stories since they are lucrative. 

She later finishes her novel and sends it to multiple publishers, only one of whom is interested, and only if there are major cuts and revisions. After conflicting advice from her family, she decides to make the requested changes, which earns her $300 and some very mixed reviews that lead Jo to respond, “Some make fun of it, some over-praise, and nearly all insist that I had a deep theory to expound, when I only wrote it for the pleasure and the money. I wish I’d printed it whole or not at all, for I do hate to be so misjudged.” 

In “Calls,” Jo reluctantly joins Amy to return calls to their neighbors with generally disastrous results. One incident involves Jo receiving a compliment on her writing. 

Any mention of her “works” always had a bad effect upon Jo, who either grew rigid and looked offended, or changed the subject with a brusque remark, as now. “Sorry you could find nothing better to read. I write that rubbish because it sells, and ordinary people like it.”

This passage makes it very clear that Jo isn’t proud or fond of what she is writing. The reception to her novel combined with the money she can make from sensation fiction has changed Jo’s primary motivation for writing. She is no longer doing it for the love of writing or because she’s pursuing her dreams. She’s trying to make money to help out her family.

I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. We all have periods in our life when we take a job that we aren’t extremely excited about because it will allow us to achieve something that is more important to us. However, it’s a different narrative than is usually spun about Jo who is frequently depicted as continually working towards her dream. There is a role in Castles in the Air that fits that narrative. It’s called the Striver, but I don’t think that’s the role that Jo has. Instead, Jo is the Pragmatist, which is a role about setting aside your dreams for the moment because you have other responsibilities. Both are interesting conflicts, but they lead to very different conclusions when it comes to Jo’s story! 

With that in mind, let’s take a look at “Friend,” which follows Jo in New York. She’s now writing for a newspaper called the Weekly Volcano, which has required Jo to make so many changes to her stories that she decides to have her work published anonymously. That certainly wouldn’t be a good career move if she was truly trying for fame! She’s also come to greatly respect a man staying at her boarding house named Professor Bhaer. One day, he makes a comment about a newspaper that publishes sensation stories like the ones Jo is writing. Her response is telling:

Jo glanced at the sheet, and saw a pleasing illustration composed of a lunatic, a corpse, a villain, and a viper. She did not like it; but the impulse that made her turn it over was not one of displeasure, but fear, because, for a minute, she fancied the paper was the “Volcano.” 

Professor Bhaer notices her look and guesses the truth, but instead of letting her know this, he decides to gently explain his reasoning. After this, Jo goes back to reread the stories she has been writing and decides to burn them. Far from stifling her creativity, Professor Bhaer is the one who sees that Jo is ashamed of her writing and reminds her that she is capable of more.

This is part of a series on the literary inspirations behind game elements for my upcoming tabletop RPG based on the novels of Louisa May Alcott and L.M. Montgomery, Castles in the Air. To see a complete list of the posts I’ve written thus far, check out the master post. If you would like more information, visit the game’s website!

[morningdawnbreaks]

Illustrations of Little Men

by Louisa May Alcott

[filmgifs]

And who made you high priest of what's good and what's bad? LITTLE WOMEN (2019) dir. Greta Gerwig

[didanagy]

LITTLE WOMEN (1994)

dir. gillian armstrong

[stealingpotatoes]

commission for @toooldforthisbutstill!

(commissions are open!)

[thestarlight3]

Winona Ryder as Jo March & Gabriel Byrne as Friedrich Bhaer

Little Women (1994) Dir: Gillian Armstrong

[hockey-and-timbits]

I could never love anyone as I love my sisters.

—Jo March, Little Women (Gillian Armstrong, 1994)

[soft-likethesunset]

my favourite snippets from the little women 2019 script, a collection

[whenthegoldrays]

So I’m not sure if it was Greta Gerwig herself or a movie reviewer but I once read a criticism of the men in Little Women, saying that the March women’s husbands are all varying degrees of useless or disrespectful. Saying that John belittles Meg and her housework and that Friedrich has no respect for Jo’s work. And I have to say… what??

Meg and John are a great example of a healthy couple. Yes, he laughs when her jelly doesn’t turn out, but is he belittling her? No! He just finds it amusing because it is, at least to an observer. And he gets miffed that the house isn’t in order, but in fairness, she did say he could bring a friend whenever and dinner would be ready. They go through rough patches, but they always talk it out and keep on pulling as a team.

And the big one that everyone is mad about, Friedrich criticizing Jo’s writing. I think these people didn’t read the book because Fritz never reads Jo’s sensational stories. He finds a story in a newspaper — specifically stated to not be one of hers — and broadly criticizes that kind of story. This isn’t directed at Jo, it’s directed at writers of these stories in general (again, Friedrich doesn’t know Jo is one of them). But Jo takes his words to heart because he’s spoken to her conscience, and then she makes the decision to burn them all up and quit writing that genre of story. She listens to him because she knows him to have a strong moral compass, which is a big part of why she likes him so much. He helps her grow and become a better person and writer without having to give her direct advice!! And that’s beautiful!! And I’m sick of people who wanted Jo to stay single taking their disappointment and turning it into “all the husbands in Little Women were bad husbands and the second half is a commentary on how terrible it is to be married.” No. Stop it. Read the book. Cut it out with the cynicism.

[ballerinarina]

sometimes in the silence of the night i remember laurie

[nerdyrevelries]

I have very strong opinions on what type of social media users all of the characters in Little Women would be.

Marmee runs the Facebook page for her neighborhood. You know, the one where people can post about lost pets, barbeques, and give people heads up that there's going to be some reno going on on their house.

Meg is the biggest social media user of the bunch. Prior to marriage, she has a Pinterest board full of fantasies for her someday wedding and she follows multiple cottagecore influencers. After she becomes a mother, Meg gets really into mommy bloggers to the point where her family has to have an intervention because she's wearing herself out trying to make baby food from scratch because she's been convinced it's the only way to make sure her kids grow up with every advantage. She will also cry over Marie Kondo videos on YouTube because she can't manage to have a perfect, uncluttered life with two active toddlers. She is unfortunately very susceptible to seeing the perfect life other people present on social media and assuming that the projected image is an achievable reality and she is failing when she doesn't measure up to it. Luckily, John is very kind and understanding and helpful about this. (He's not much of a social media user at all.)

Jo has a Substack for her writing and a Tumblr where she posts and talks about writing and follows other people who talk about writing.

Beth is a social media enigma. She has a Pinterest where she only has private boards for saving music, and she lurks but does not have an account on a forum for musicians. She otherwise has no social media presence.

Amy doesn't post a ton on her social media. She has an Instagram where she occasionally posts photos of her art or a pretty flower she saw that day. However, she is constantly getting tagged in other people's social media posts as she frequently shows up in pictures on other people's social media. She's very much of the opinion that she wants to be out there living life rather than just posting about it.

I regret to inform you that Laurie has a pranks channel on YouTube and TikTok. He eventually does stop running it after his character growth, at which point he switches to using his social media platform to highlight aspiring artists and musicians and provide philanthropy and outreach.

Professor Bhaer has a presence in academic publications. Outside of that, he enjoys writing reviews of obscure public domain media on the Internet Archive.

[joandfriedrich]

Jo: Would you still love me if I was a worm?

Friedrich: Of course I would! And if you were a worm, then I'd be a worm too. We would live in the dirt and make flowers grow and get worm married and have worm kids.

------

Laurie: Amy, would you still love me if I was a worm?

Amy: Theodore, what the hell are you talking about?

[thebirdandhersong]

tomorrow is date number 3. we shall have to see how that goes because for whatever reason I am simply not super excited to see this guy. and I do not know if I am 100% curious to find out what kind of person he is. I know it takes a while to get to know someone but surely my interest should have been more piqued by now

[capriddle]

My top 10 couples

I usually always post about my favorites, but today I also want to talk about 9 other couples that are always in my heart:

10. Sansa and Sandor (Game of Thrones)

From what I remember of the books (in which their age difference is much less accentuated, it should be 10/15 years) I really liked the two of them, with Sansa who was scared but then understood that he was a good person deep down and with Sandor who fell in love with the innocence and hope of this little girl.

9. Jo March and Friedrich Bhaer (Little Women)

Here too I don't remember much from the book but in the film I definitely loved them together, Jo so stubborn and bold and Friedrich calm but very honest and clear. Also here we have the age difference!

8. Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)

This is the quintessential enemies to lovers and since this is my favorite trope I couldn't help but fall in love with them, I also have a soft spot for Mr Darcy because we are very similar in character and I empathize with them a lot.

7. Alina Starkov and Aleksander Morozova/The Darkling (Shadow and Bone)

What can I say, big age difference, enemies for lovers, impossible love... could I let them get away? Of course not! I wanted them together, period.

6. Penelope Featherington/Lady Whistledown and Colin Bridgerton (Romancing Mr Bridgerton/Bridgerton season 3)

I don't usually like friends-in-love, but these two made me change my mind (maybe because I love her too much). They're so high in the ranking because I wasn't crazy about the second part of their season, I liked Penelope's answers to Colin in the book more. Anyway, credit to them for making me change my mind about the friends-in-love trope.

5. Katniss Evergreen and Peeta Mellark (Hunger Games)

I don't know if I would call them friends or lovers, I just know that I didn't root for Gale for a second. Katniss and Peeta are perfect together, two survivors with profoundly different characters but united by a common moral. She is colder and more direct, he is kinder and more generous, but both are strong, brave and altruistic. A wonderful couple!

4. Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler (Gone with the Wind)

Age difference, difficult characters, both stubborn, direct, mean and cunning. A perfect couple even though she realizes it too late, their push and pull is so funny and the ending so out of the ordinary for the time and a novel partly of love that will satisfy those who love plot twists.

3. Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald (Harry Potter saga/Fantastic Beasts saga)

Enemies for lovers, two complex and multifaceted characters, a tragically divided couple who find themselves rivals after a sparkling start. An overwhelming and painful love that moves you when you think about how Grindelwald protected Dumbledore's tomb from Voldemort. They deserved more (and so do we fans of the films).

3. Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho (Squid Game)

Yes, there is nothing confirmed, but I refuse to think that two people who look at each other like that are not in love with each other! Here too we have an enemy for lovers of the tastiest, with the addition that our hero does not even know that the other is the sworn enemy. What can I say, I loved every second of them!

1. Bellatrix Black and Tom Marvolo Riddle/Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter saga)

The unexpected couple in first place. Age difference, opposite social classes, complementary characters and shared passions. The desire to create the world they want and the courage to do any wickedness for each other. This is true love and I don't want to hear anything against it!

Looking at the rankings I would say there is still hope for me but not a lot considering the top 3🤣🤣🤣🤣!

[didanagy]

LITTLE WOMEN (1994)

dir. gillian armstrong

[littlewomenpodcast]

Merry Jo and Friedrich Christmas

Happy Christmas and New Year to all my Little Women fan friends.

It is one of those great pleasures in life to find people who love something as much as you do. Tumbrl Little Women community has very much enriched my life and love for LW.

I started working on this illustration already last spring and it became quite cute. Takes place sometimes between Little Men and Jo's Boys and instead of rain we have snowfall.

Watercolor and acrylics.

I have stickers and poster available on my redbubble store.

@selkiesstories @heather-field @princesssarisa @fandomsarefamily1966 @thatscarletflycatcher @myfanfictiongarden @mysoftboybensolo @librarydame @rainbowmilk1996 @dreamwritesimagines @louisaalcotts