Hello friends! September 30th was the 154th anniversary of the release of Little Women, and I thought that this would be the perfect time to post part one of my two-part Annotate with Me series on Little Women!
Nowadays, editions of Little Women are printed with both volumes (Little Women and Good Wives), but in 1868, only volume one, Little Women was published. Because of that, this post will focus on some of my favorite scenes from volume one!
Get cozy, grab a cup of tea, and let’s annotate volume one of Little Women!
We’re gonna start with one of the most controversial scenes in Little Women — when Amy burns Jo’s book. This is one of the scenes that people always use in their “Amy March is the worst” arguments, but this scene is more nuanced than they like to realize.
Now I’m not justifying what Amy did —- it was out of line and insensitive, there’s no doubt about that —- but we also need to acknowledge that she was a literal child, and she wanted to make her sister feel just as hurt as she was. She let her emotions get the best of her, and that’s understandable. Amy’s reaction here stems from more than Jo saying that she can’t go to the theatre with them — this reaction stems from Amy’s fear of being left behind. Amy just wants to spend time with her sisters. She doesn’t like being seen just as the baby of the family, and she wants to do the “grown-up” things that her sisters do. Additionally, Amy was told that the next time the girls went to the theatre with Laurie, she would be allowed to go with them. This was now that time, and her sisters are breaking their promise — that’s a big deal when you’re a kid, and that upsets her.
If you’ve had a conversation with me about Little Women, I have probably said the words “Amy and Jo are two sides of the same coin, and that’s why they butt heads so much” or something along those lines, and I think this scene proves it. Alcott writes:
“She [Jo] and Amy had had many lively skirmishes in the course of their lives, for both had quick tempers and were apt to be violent when fairly roused. Amy teased Jo, and Jo irritated Amy, and semi-occasional explosions occurred, of which both were much ashamed afterward”
Alcott points out that the two have similar reactions to being upset and/or provoked, and often act without thinking. It wasn’t right that Amy burns Jo’s book, but I must point out something that people always leave out of their discussions of this scene, and that is Jo’s reaction. Jo is obviously upset, and she should be, but just as Amy’s actions were out of line, it was also out of line that “shook Amy till her teeth chattered in her head,” and that she didn’t warn her about the thin ice when Amy chased after her and Laurie. Really, when you think about it, were the roles reversed, Jo probably would’ve done something similar.
Young kids don’t know how to process their big emotions (some adults don’t know how to either), and when you don’t know how to process something, you react without thinking about it, which is what Amy does. What’s more important than Amy’s actions, is her remorse afterward. Yes, she wanted to hurt her sister, but then she saw just how hurt Jo was by it and realized that it was not the way to react to the situation and she tried to make it right. That’s much more indicative of Amy’s character than burning the book is.
If Jo can forgive her sister for this action, why can’t the audience?
Truly, my favorite thing about the book is the bond between the March sisters and how all four of them are so different from one another but work so well as a unit. I love any scene between the four of them, but I think my absolute favorite scene would be chapter 13, Castles in the Air. This scene allows us to know the girls a bit better, and learn about their hopes and aspirations. It also has some of my favorite quotes from the entire book.
I love how each of the sisters is a mirror of the other. Meg and Beth are the most soft-spoken of the sisters, and while they have dreams and goals, they’re much more content with a simple life. On the other hand, you have Jo and Amy who are the most outspoken and ambitious of the sisters. They have concrete artistic goals that they want to achieve and pretty much everything they do is to make these dreams a reality. I find it so lovely that in a way, they all do achieve these goals but also find other dreams as they grow up.
I also really appreciate that after each of them shares what their “castles in the air” are, it is said that all of them are ambitious. Jo and Amy don’t act like Meg or Beth’s dreams are trivial or less than theirs because they follow a more traditional path, and Meg and Beth don’t act like Jo and Amy are ridiculous for having such lofty ambitions. One of the most important lessons in Little Women, at least in my opinion, is that there is no right or wrong way for a woman to be. The only thing a woman needs to be is herself, and that’s such an important lesson for young people to learn.
Another one of my favorite sections, and one of the most heartbreaking, are Amy’s scenes after Beth is diagnosed with scarlet fever. Since Amy hasn’t had scarlet fever before, she’s sent to live with Aunt March so that she doesn’t get sick — and she hates it. She doesn’t like Aunt March’s, and she wants to be with her family.
While Amy was not looking forward to moving in with Aunt March until Beth got better, it was a really good growth experience for her. When Marmee comes to visit her the two of them have a heart-to-heart in the chapel and Amy shows Marmee the ring that Aunt March has given her. Her mother says she thinks she’s too young for “such ornaments” but Amy says that she wants to wear it as a reminder to not be selfish, and she says:
“Beth isn’t selfish, and that’s the reason everyone loves her and feels so bad at the thought of losing her. People wouldn’t feel so bad about me if I was sick, and I don’t deserve to have them; but I’d like to be loved and missed by a great many friends, so I’m going to try and be like Beth all I can.”
Firstly, I find it completely heartbreaking that Amy thinks she wouldn’t be loved and missed by the people in her life. She knows that her family loves her, but I think she believes that they don’t particularly like her, which is so incredibly sad. I can’t imagine anyone feeling this way, let alone a twelve-year-old child. Yes, Amy has selfish moments, everyone does, but having moments of selfishness does not make you a bad person. Additionally, those selfish moments do not make her a bad person, or someone who is unworthy of love.
Though I do love this scene, and it’s a chance for Marmee to see how Amy is growing into the woman she’ll become, I really wish that Marmee took a moment to address Amy’s fears specifically. I wish that she assured her that she is loved by her family and friends, that she would be greatly missed, and that although Beth’s nature is different from Amy’s, neither is better than the other, and that you don’t have to earn the love of your family.
I fully understand that not everyone is going to love Amy, however, it makes me really upset that people tend to disregard or forget about this scene completely, when after this moment, Amy is very conscious of her behavior and makes actual changes to become a better person. I have many more thoughts on this, but that’s another post for another time…
While the majority of these scenes lead to me being all in my feelings about Amy, it also delivers one of my favorite Amy and Laurie moments. Laurie can recognize that Amy being sent away makes her feel like she’s in the way and that’s something he can understand and relate to. Laurie then promises to visit her every day and give her updates about Beth, which I think is so incredibly sweet. He doesn’t have to do that, but he cares about Amy and he doesn’t want her to feel lonely. This promise that Laurie makes to her is the foundation of their relationship, and I really love how this parallels Laurie rushing to be with Amy in Europe after finding out that Beth has died.
My annotated copy of Little Women is now one of my favorite books in my collection, I’m just so proud of it and I’ve loved being able to share a bit of it with you! As I mentioned in my introduction, this is part one of my Little Women Annotate with Me series, and I’m super excited to share part two with you next month!
Little Women is our October/November pick for AnnotatedLiterature, and although I just reread it, I’ll definitely be reading it again to discuss it with everyone! If you’re thinking about joining us, you can find out more information here! I’d love to hear your thoughts on Little Women and these scenes specifically, so feel free to leave some comments below. Until next time!
