little women (2019): some stray thoughts~

louisa may alcott didnʼt want jo to marry. she wanted her female protagonist to be single and successful, but this wish highly contradicted the societal norms of that time. in the end, alcott gave in to her publisherʼs desire to marry jo off because thatʼs what the masses wanted.

thatʼs the kind of ending that would sell, and alcott knew that. the needy canʼt afford to separate art from capitalism and simply have to create what sells, and alcott, bitter though she was, understood that.

but isnʼt it simply fascinating how times change? the world has changed a lot since 1868 when the novel was first published... the latest little women film adaption released last year included a dialogue based on alcottʼs discussion with her publisher.

through that scene, it made clear to its audience that jo was never supposed to get married and settle down, but was forced to do so because of societal demands and restrictions. and i just canʼt stop smiling when i think of that scene and all its implications.

here we have very clear proof of just how much our world has changed. back in 1869, alcott couldnʼt let jo stay single because women not marrying was considered atrocious and would result in too much criticism and too little copies sold.

ironically in 2019, the filmmakers felt the need to tell the audience that jo wasnʼt supposed to get married because that assures them that little women was meant to be a feminist novel.

in both situations, people altered the original story of jo march so that it could fit the societal expectations of their own time period... and itʼs just so fascinating to me. the publishers of 1869 could never have imagined that consumer demands would change this much.

the people from centuries past could never have imagined just how much basic codes of conduct and morality would change in the coming eras. and thinking about this genuinely sends a chill down my spine...

it makes me wonder just how different the world will be a decade later, a century later. today, we are the progressive ones, the “modern” generation. tomorrow, weʼll become the boomers, the strange old fashioned people future generations will look back and laugh at.

and isnʼt that just so. fascinating?