History YMMV / LittleWomen

** During "Jo Meets Apollyon," the emphasis is more on Jo forgiving Amy than Amy suffering punishment for burning Jo's book out of spite for not going on an outing. Amy has to be told that she destroyed a copy with no backups before she segues from NeverMyFault to MyGodWhatHaveIDone, and Marmee thinks the lecture and everyone being disappointed in her is sufficient punishment. The narrative itself has to deliver LaserGuidedKarma via Amy whining that Jo is not taking her ice-skating -- when Jo has every right to leave her at home as punishment -- and that she skates over rotten ice and falls in, which means no more outings for her until she gets better. In the twentieth century, Jo is within her rights to not wanting to accept Amy's apology, which is more self-serving SecretlySelfish, and the parents involved would be firmer towards a sibling old enough to know better. Consider what happened in Beverly Cleary's ''Beezus and Ramona'' when Ramona damages Beezus's things out of not knowing better or being bratty; she's sent to her room to think about what she did, and Aunt Beatrice recalls laughingly that she was punished as a child for writing in every page of her older sister Dorothy's autograph album in a fit of spite. Also worth noting is that Ramona is four years old in ''Beezus and Ramona'', compared to Amy's twelve.

** Amy, like all the characters who suffer from DieForOurShip, gets more hate than she likely deserves. While burning Jo's book was awful, she was just a child, and she ''immediately'' regrets it when she sees how badly she's hurt Jo--who soon forgives her for it. Many fans like to ignore all her CharacterDevelopment in her later years--including the last chapters of the first book describing how she has turned a new leaf and wants to be more selfless--and claim she is still a shallow brat who only ends up with Laurie because she is a GoldDigger, even though she turns down the chance to marry an even richer man and explicitly marries Laurie for love.

--> '''Bhaer:''' Jo...such a little name for such a person. Will you have me?
--> '''Jo:''' With all of my heart!
--> ''The two embrace happily.''
--> '''Bhaer:''' But, I have nothing to give you. My hands are empty.
--> '''Jo:''' (''taking his hand in hers'') Not empty now.

** The descriptions of the various foreigners Amy sees in Europe include references to "meek Jews" and to "a large-nosed Jew" at a party. While it's not outright anti-Semitism and no more stereotypical than the descriptions of other national groups in the same chapter (in fact less unflattering than the references to "haughty English" and "ugly Russians"), those references still wouldn't be found in a book written today.

* TheWoobie: Beth. Jo definitely has her moments as well.

** Likewise, readers tend to remember Beth as a completely angelic character, [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth too inhumanly perfect to live.]] They forget that while she is slightly idealized compared to the other three sisters, she's no [[Literature/UncleTomsCabin little Eva St. Clare]] – she struggles with intense shyness, has moments of frustration and laziness too, and at one point forgets to feed her pet bird for a whole week, which results in his death.

** At the end of ''Little Women'' one of the students at the Bhaers' school is [[ModelMinority "a merry little quadroon, who could not be taken in elsewhere"]]. By the time Ms Alcott wrote ''Little Men'' this character had been replaced with [[BadButt (mixed-race) Dan]]. Now imagine Dan with "the sweetest voice of all".

* HollywoodHomely: All the movie adaptations have cast very beautiful actresses to interpret the self-described "plain" Jo March, leading to the unintentionally hilarious moment when Jo has her hair cut off and a very shocked Amy cries: "Jo, your one beauty!". The Winona Ryder version even has her declare that she is "ugly and awkward" - and it's even more egregious when Meg is supposed to be the beauty of the sisters, when Winona Ryder is just as cute as Creator/TriniAlvarado. At least Creator/KatharineHepburn in the most famous earlier adaptation isn't a classic beauty, and manages to make young Jo coltish and a bit clumsy.
* ItWasHisSled: Beth dies, and you can thank ''{{Series/Friends}}'' for giving it away. It's also widely known that Jo and Laurie don't end up together.

* MemeticMutation: The 2019 film gave us "I can't, I can't! I tried it and I failed! I can't!"

** The "Jo, your one beauty!" line from Amy after the former cuts off her hair tends to come off like this on film, as it's missing the narrator's careful buildup re: Jo's appearance. Without it, the line reads as Amy [[BrutalHonesty being rather blunt about how bad her sister looks now.]]

** The famous climax between Jo and Professor Bhaer - "I have nothing to give you, my hands are empty", takes his hand in hers, "not empty now" - should be unbelievably cheesy, but it's one of the biggest happy {{Tear Jerker}}s you'll find in both book and film.

** Great Aunt March is a bitter old lady, and the girls have very little love for her. But after she dies, Marmee implies that she was really just very lonely -- "her blessings became a burden because she had none to share them with" -- and the girls acting as her companions could be because the old lady wants ''some'' company and attention since she had no living children. The fact that she did have a daughter who died at a young age and that she's a widow too, might imply that her bitterness stems from deep grief.
** TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry between Jo and Amy. Is it mutual head-butting between two strong-willed, attention-seeking sisters who are [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl too different in some ways]] yet TooMuchAlike in others, with both equally to blame? Or is Amy an insufferable BrattyHalfPint whom Jo understandably mocks and loses patience with? Or is Jo a [[BigBrotherBully Big Sister Bully]] who unfairly puts Amy down until Amy understandably snaps and retaliates? [[BaseBreakingCharacter How the reader feels about Amy in general]] tends to effect how they view her relationship with Jo.

** Jo and Amy's GloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry. Is it mutual head-butting between two strong-willed, attention-seeking sisters who are [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl too different in some ways]] yet [[NotSoDifferent too much alike]] in others, with both equally to blame? Or is Amy an insufferable BrattyHalfPint whom Jo understandably mocks and loses patience with? Or is Jo a [[BigBrotherBully Big Sister Bully]] who unfairly puts Amy down until Amy understandably snaps and retaliates? [[BaseBreakingCharacter How the reader feels about Amy in general]] tends to effect how they view her relationship with Jo.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Great Aunt March is a bitter old lady, and the girls have very little love for her. But after she dies, Marmee implies that she was really just very lonely -- "her blessings became a burden because she had none to share them with" -- and the girls acting as her companions could be because the old lady wants ''some'' company and attention since she had no living children. The fact that she did have a daughter who died at a young age and that she's a widow too, might imply that her bitterness stems from deep grief.

* ShippingGoggles: In-Universe. Jo is sure Beth and Laurie have developed feelings for each other, but they're just friends and he's actually in love with Jo.

** Jo is told off by Professor Bhaer for writing stories about monsters, vampires and adventures - and it's her ComingOfAgeStory about her sisters that gets her critical acclaim. Horror stories would be seen as crowd pleasing pulp at best in those days, but critical respect for well-written genre fiction is much warmer nowadays. So in some ways Bhaer comes across as a bit of a genre snob.

** During "Jo Meets Apollyon," the emphasis is more on Jo forgiving Amy than Amy suffering punishment for burning Jo's book out of spite for not going on an outing. Amy has to be told that she destroyed a copy with no backups before she segues from NeverMyFault to MyGodWhatHaveIDone, and Marmee thinks the lecture and everyone being disappointed in her is sufficient punishment. The narrative itself has to deliver LaserGuidedKarma via Amy whining that Jo is not taking her ice-skating -- when Jo has every right to leave her at home as punishment-- and that she skates over rotten ice and falls in, which means no more outings for her until she gets better. In the twentieth century, Jo is within her rights to not wanting to accept Amy's apology, which is more self-serving SecretlySelfish, and the parents involved would be firmer towards a sibling old enough to know better. Consider what happened in Beverly Cleary's ''Beezus and Ramona'' when Ramona damages Beezus's things out of not knowing better or being bratty; she's sent to her room to think about what she did, and Aunt Beatrice recalls laughingly that she was punished as a child for writing in every page of her older sister Dorothy's autograph album in a fit of spite. Also worth noting is that Ramona is four years old in ''Beezus and Ramona'', compared to Amy's twelve.

** Marmee's quote in the book " Better be happy old maids, than unhappy wives!"

* FairForItsDay: The series was actually comparatively feminist by the standards of the time - especially ''Jo's Boys'', which is set in a co-ed college, struggles openly with the concepts of gender equality, and comes to some surprisingly modern conclusions. Nan in particular is portrayed as a capable and independent young woman who treats Tommy Bangs' insistence on their ChildhoodMarriagePromise with amusement, choosing to pursue her medical studies instead and becoming a successful single doctor. Daisy's own choice to marry her ChildhoodFriendRomance Nat and become a {{Housewife}} is ''also'' seen as valid and worthy of respect. It makes sense when you consider that Alcott wrote her books during feminism’s first wave. Alcott’s parents were friends with a number of well-known intellectuals, including women’s rights activists. Josie puts it to Mr. March directly:
-->"Grandpa, must women always obey men and say they are the wisest, just because they are the strongest?" she cried, looking fiercely at her cousin, who came stalking up with a provoking smile on the boyish face that was always very comical atop of that tall figure.

-->"Well, my dear, that is the old-fashioned belief, and it will take some time to change it. But I think the woman's hour has struck; and it looks to me as if the boys must do their best, for the girls are abreast now, and may reach the goal first," answered Mr March, surveying with paternal satisfaction the bright faces of the young women, who were among the best students in the college.
* FanNickname: "The Jo Show," given to the various film and stage adaptations that focus more exclusively on Jo than the book does and shortchange the other sisters' character arcs.
* {{Fanon}}: Some people believe Amy's name is short for "Amelia," due to her sisters being referred to by nicknames, but her name is just Amy. In real life, of course, while sometimes used as a nickname for "Amelia", "Amy" is actually the English variant of the old French name "Amée", and a name in its own right. A 1986 Italian retelling that resets the story in Rome does [[{{Woolseyism}} change Amy's name to "Amelia"]], though (Meg, Jo, and Beth become "Margherita," "Gio" and "Bettina" in that novel).

* FirstInstallmentWins: The first book has been adapted many times - including five films. The sequels get less adaptation love.

--->Marmee, Anna (Meg's real-life counterpart), and May (Amy's real-life counterpart) all approve of my plan. So I plod away, though I don’t enjoy this sort of thing. Never liked girls or knew many, except my sisters, but our queer plays and experiences may prove interesting, though I doubt it.
---> (Added later after the novel's publication and success) [[LampshadeHanging Good joke.]]

** The burned manuscript episode - if you do something unbelievably cruel to a friend or loved one and unsurprisingly don't get forgiven right away, put yourself in mortal peril and everything will be alright.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Great Aunt March is a bitter old lady, and the girls have very little love for her. But after she dies, Marmee implies that she was really just very lonely - "her blessings became a burden because she had none to share them with" - and the girls acting as her companions could be because the old lady wants ''some'' company and attention since she had no living children. The fact that she did have a daughter who died at a young age and that she's a widow too, might imply that her bitterness stems from deep grief.

--->"Grandpa, must women always obey men and say they are the wisest, just because they are the strongest?" she cried, looking fiercely at her cousin, who came stalking up with a provoking smile on the boyish face that was always very comical atop of that tall figure.

--->"Well, my dear, that is the old-fashioned belief, and it will take some time to change it. But I think the woman's hour has struck; and it looks to me as if the boys must do their best, for the girls are abreast now, and may reach the goal first," answered Mr March, surveying with paternal satisfaction the bright faces of the young women, who were among the best students in the college.

* TheScrappy: The dislike for Amy isn't ''all'' about DieForOurShip. As a child, she's a bratty little thing and burns Jo's manuscript just because she doesn't get taken to the theatre for a play she was going to see the next week anyway. And when she grows up, she becomes so utterly perfect (having meanwhile become an avatar for Alcott's beloved sister May) that it feels like CharacterShilling.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** Great Aunt March is a bitter old lady, and the girls have very little love for her. But after she dies, Marmee implies that she was really just very lonely - "her blessings became a burden because she had none to share them with" - and the girls acting as her companions could be because the old lady wants ''some'' company and attention since she had no living children. The fact that she did have a daughter who died at a young age, and that she's a widow too, might imply that her bitterness stems from deep grief.
** Amy realizes it's wrong to marry for money, and instead marries someone she truly cares for. Since this someone also happens to have lots of money, this may be a BrokenAesop to some. To others, however, Amy really has a good CharacterDevelopment because, after the wedding, she decides to use their wealth to benefit the poor and underprivileged and she's living a life of virtue rather than indolence. Also, Laurie is the most significant male character, and they've been close since childhood.
** Beth: TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth, or an overly meek NaiveEverygirl who "needs" to die because the anti-feminist "angel in the house" archetype she embodies needs to die? (Helen Burns in ''Literature/JaneEyre'' is a similarly BaseBreakingCharacter.) It is worth noting that she was actually based on Louisa May Alcott' s real-life sister Elizabeth, who died tragically young at the age of 22.
* BrokenBase: Are Jo and Fritz an excellent match, with the unconventional, "unromantic" nature of both characters and their courtship making them all the more suited to each other? Or, as thousands of readers have insisted, [[FanPreferredCouple should Jo have married Laurie]]? Or should Jo have remained single in the end, as [[WordOfGod Alcott originally intended]] and as she herself did? Which of the possible endings would have been the happiest for Jo, the most natural conclusion to her arc, and/or the most feminist has been debated for many years. Notably the 2019 film adaptation leaves the ending open, with a publisher insisting that Jo's analogue in her own story get married, after which we see the proposal.

** This book is sometimes dismissed in pop culture as an idyllic, idealized portrait of loving sisters with no realistic SiblingRivalry. But while there might be some truth in this for Meg, Jo and Beth's relationships with each other, and for Meg and Beth's with Amy, it's not true at all for Jo and Amy, whose [[TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry]] is sometimes ''very'' nasty.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Modern readers sometimes guess that Beth is on the autism spectrum and/or has social anxiety disorder, due to her extreme shyness and fear of strangers, her tendency to be childlike for her age and to live in "a happy world of her own," and her reluctance to ever live apart from her parents even after she grows up.

* FairForItsDay:
** The series was actually comparatively feminist by the standards of the time - especially ''Jo's Boys'', which is set in a co-ed college, struggles openly with the concepts of gender equality, and comes to some surprisingly modern conclusions. Nan in particular is portrayed as a capable and independent young woman who treats Tommy Bangs' insistence on their ChildhoodMarriagePromise with amusement, choosing to pursue her medical studies instead and becoming a successful single doctor. Daisy's own choice to marry her ChildhoodFriendRomance Nat and become a {{Housewife}} is ''also'' seen as valid and worthy of respect.
** Josie puts it to Mr March directly:

** It makes sense when you consider that Alcott wrote her books during feminism’s first wave. Alcott’s parents were friends with a number of well-known intellectuals, including women’s rights activists.

* {{Fanon}}: Some people believe Amy's name is short for "Amelia," due to her sisters being referred to by nicknames, but her name is just Amy. In real life, of course, while sometimes used as a nickname for "Amelia", "Amy" is actually the English variant of the old French name "Amée", and a name in its own right. A 1986 Italian retelling that resets the story in Rome does [[{{Woolseyism}} change Amy's name to "Amelia"]], though (Meg, Jo and Beth become "Margherita," "Gio" and "Bettina" in that novel).
* FanPreferredCouple: Jo and Laurie. The original 19th century fandom also shipped them. Alcott put him with Amy partly out of annoyance at their focus on the romance.
* FirstInstallmentWins: The first book has been adapted many times - including five films. The sequels get less adaptations love.

--->Marmee, Anna (Meg's real-life counterpart), and May (Amy's real-life counterpart) all approve my plan. So I plod away, though I don’t enjoy this sort of thing. Never liked girls or knew many, except my sisters, but our queer plays and experiences may prove interesting, though I doubt it.

* MisaimedFandom: Alcott was upset to see her female readers focus less on Jo's struggle to be a writer and live her life the way she wanted to, and much more on whether she and Laurie would or not end up married. Hence why her ShipSinking was so determined.
-->"Girls write to ask who the Little Women will marry, as if that were the only aim of a woman's life. I won't marry Jo to Laurie to please anyone."

* NeverLiveItDown: From the talk about her character, you would assume Amy does only two things in the book - a) burn Jo's manuscript out of spite, b) grow up to marry Laurie instead of Jo.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Amy in the more recent adaptations, to a certain extent, as earlier adaptations tend to lean in much more heavily on her whiny, brattish behaviour as a child. The 1994 film in particular explicitly presents a more natural and likable child-Amy in Kirsten Dunst. Creator/FlorencePugh even got nominated for an Oscar for the 2019 version.

** Amy, like all the characters who suffer from DieForOurShip, gets more hate than she likely deserves. While burning Jo's book was bad, she was just a child, and for what it's worth, she only does it once, and afterwards it's emphasized that her act was wicked and destructive. Many fans like to ignore all her CharacterDevelopment in her later years, and claim she is still a shallow brat who only ends up with Laurie because she is a GoldDigger, even though she turns down the chance to marry an even richer man and explicitly marries Laurie for love.
** Some fans go overboard with bashing the Hummels for getting Beth sick with scarlet fever, as if it was part of some evil plot, when it was just unfortunate circumstance.
* TheScrappy: The dislike for Amy isn't ''all'' about DieForOurShip. As a child, she's a bratty little thing, and burns Jo's manuscript just because she doesn't get taken to the theatre for a play she was going to see the next week anyway. And when she grows up, she becomes so utterly perfect (having meanwhile become an avatar for Alcott's beloved sister May) that it feels like CharacterShilling.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Jo, when Amy [[DisproportionateRetribution burns her manuscript]] because Jo doesn't take her on an outing to the theatre. As per the moral imperative, the intended focus of the chapter (actually called "Jo Meets Apollyon") is clearly Jo's recognition of and resolve to control her violent temper. The modern reader is much more likely to home in on the fact that it was the ''only'' copy of the manuscript that Jo had spent years pouring her heart into; and she's expected to forgive Amy almost right off the bat after something so utterly precious to her has been cruelly destroyed. Adding to which Amy -- who doesn't appear to have been punished for her act, other than being mildly scolded by their mother -- however genuinely remorseful she might be at first, quickly gets petulant when she isn't forgiven right away. And when Jo goes out skating with Laurie, leading Amy to whine about missing another outing, [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Meg]] doesn't help matters at all by blithely suggesting that the little girl tag along where she clearly isn't wanted. The 2019 version makes it even worse, where Amy is shown maliciously burning every page of the manuscript individually, and then gloating to Jo that she outright wanted to hurt her. Marmee reacts with apparent indifference, and just says "don't let the sun go down on your anger". By contrast, the 1994 version has Amy realising she went too far and Kirsten Dunst effectively conveys that the girl really means it when she apologises. That said, while Amy burning Jo's manuscript is a bad thing, what Jo does to Amy later when they go ice skating (purposely neglecting to tell Amy about the rotten ice because she's still angry at Amy) is also a cruel KickTheDog moment, since it's dangerous and Amy could have died. In fact, it's only after tthis moment that Jo is portrayed in the wrong and her temper is discussed as a problem she needs to resolve.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Jo, when Amy [[DisproportionateRetribution burns her manuscript]] because Jo doesn't take her on an outing to the theatre. As per the moral imperative, the intended focus of the chapter (actually called "Jo Meets Apollyon") is clearly Jo's recognition of and resolve to control her violent temper. The modern reader is much more likely to home in on the fact that it was the ''only'' copy of the manuscript that Jo had spent years pouring her heart into; and she's expected to forgive Amy almost right off the bat after something so utterly precious to her has been cruelly destroyed. Adding to which Amy -- who doesn't appear to have been punished for her act, other than being mildly scolded by their mother -- however genuinely remorseful she might be at first, quickly gets petulant when she isn't forgiven right away. And when Jo goes out skating with Laurie, leading Amy to whine about missing another outing, [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Meg]] doesn't help matters at all by blithely suggesting that the little girl tag along where she clearly isn't wanted. The 2019 version makes it even worse, where Amy is shown maliciously burning every page of the manuscript individually, and then gloating to Jo that she outright wanted to hurt her. Marmee reacts with apparent indifference, and just says "don't let the sun go down on your anger". By contrast, the 1994 version has Amy realising she went too far and Kirsten Dunst effectively conveys that the girl really means it when she apologises. That said, while Amy burning Jo's manuscript is a bad thing, what Jo does to Amy later when they go ice skating (purposely neglecting to tell Amy about the rotten ice because she's still angry at Amy) is also a cruel KickTheDog moment, since it's dangerous and Amy could have died. In fact, it's only after that Jo is portrayed in the wrong and her temper is discussed as a problem she needs to resolve.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Jo, when Amy [[DisproportionateRetribution burns her manuscript]] because Jo doesn't take her on an outing to the theatre. As per the moral imperative, the intended focus of the chapter (actually called "Jo Meets Apollyon") is clearly Jo's recognition of and resolve to control her violent temper. The modern reader is much more likely to home in on the fact that it was the ''only'' copy of the manuscript that Jo had spent years pouring her heart into; and she's expected to forgive Amy almost right off the bat after something so utterly precious to her has been cruelly destroyed. Adding to which Amy -- who doesn't appear to have been punished for her act, other than being mildly scolded by their mother -- however genuinely remorseful she might be at first, quickly gets petulant when she isn't forgiven right away. And when Jo goes out skating with Laurie, leading Amy to whine about missing another outing, [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Meg]] doesn't help matters at all by blithely suggesting that the little girl tag along where she clearly isn't wanted. The 2019 version makes it even worse, where Amy is shown maliciously burning every page of the manuscript individually, and then gloating to Jo that she outright wanted to hurt her. Marmee reacts with apparent indifference, and just says "don't let the sun go down on your anger". By contrast, the 1994 version has Amy realising she went too far and Kirsten Dunst effectively conveys that the girl really means it when she apologises.

** Great Aunt March is a bitter old lady, and the girls have very little love for her. But after she dies, Marmee implies that she was really just very lonely - "her blessings became a burden because she had none to share them with" - and the girls acting as her companions could be because the old lady wants ''some'' company and attention since she had no living children. The fact that she did have a daughter who died, and that she's a widow too, might imply that her bitterness stems from deep grief.

** Amy. To this day there are still people invested in demonizing her for preventing Jo/Laurie. [[DoubleStandard While conveniently letting Laurie off the hook, despite him pushing his feelings on Jo to the point of getting rejected twice]].

** Some fans go overboard with bashing the Hummels for getting Beth sick, as if it was part of some evil plot, when it was just unfortunate circumstance.

** [[MayDecemberRomance Fredrich]] [[BigBrotherMentor "Fritz"]] [[BunnyEarsLawyer Bhaer]] will get this occasionally by fans as well [[SarcasmMode due to his horrible crime of]] [[DisproportionateRetribution not being Laurie]].

* IdiotPlot: Except for Beth, all of the Marches are at fault during "Jo Meets Apollyon". Jo starts the feud by saying Amy can't come to a theater to see a play but promising to take her next week; this leads to Amy burning Jo's book out of spite, which leads to Jo manhandling her for being so "wicked". Marmee has to spell it out to Amy that Jo ''has no backups'' and it was the only copy of her book; Amy then tries to seek an apology so that she'll be "loved" again by the family but Jo is angry at her and refuses the apology. Rather than give Jo time to cool off, Marmee tries to convince Jo when she's going to sleep that forgiveness is a good option rather than hitting the hay angry. Jo obviously refuses again, and Amy starts whining about her older sister not taking her out ice-skating when the latter goes with Laurie to cool her temper. Meg then becomes the UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom by telling Amy to follow along and seek forgiveness. It's no wonder that after this chapter Amy TookALevelInKindness and became more sensible because her stupidity, along with everyone else's, nearly caused her death.

* SettleForSibling: Some feel that Laurie does this when he marries Amy after his years spent pining for Jo. How true it actually is remains up to interpretation.

** It's widely assumed that Laurie is still in love with Jo in the end and only [[SettleForSibling settles]] for marrying Amy instead. But the book makes it clear that gradually, and after some inner resistance at first, he genuinely falls in love with Amy and realizes that he and Jo are BetterAsFriends.

* {{Moe}}: Beth, as she's an IllGirl but still very sweet. Margaret O'Brien proved to be such in the 1949 film, reducing her co-star June Allyson to tears during one emotional scene.

* TheWoobie: [[IllGirl Beth.]] Jo definitely has her moments as well.

** The four March sisters gathered around Marmee's chair as she reads them their father's letter. An image recreated by countless illustrators, as well as in all the major adaptations, and even featured on [[Wiki/TVTropes This Very Wiki]] as the main page image.

* RelationshipWritingFumble:

** And of course fans felt that Laurie and Jo were much more evenly matched than Jo is with Fritz, even with Louisa May Alcott trying to stress that they were LikeBrotherAndSister; the courtship between Jo and Fritz is rather asexual (which makes sense if you know that the publishers insisted Jo marry, while her original intent was for her to live unmarried). The 1994 film fixes this by giving them much more chemistry in the romance. The 2019 movie leaves whether or not Jo gets married ambiguous (due to its non-linear structure) with a slight leaning towards "no". It's not made clear if she actually runs after Friedrich, marries him, and then opens a school or if she was simply making a concession to her editor to get her book published in the StoryWithinAStory.

** Amy. To this day there are still people invested in demonizing her for preventing Jo/Laurie. [[DoubleStandard While conveniently letting Laurie off the hook, despite him pushing his feelings on Jo to the point of getting rejected twice]]. In fairness, Amy's not a popular character anyway.

** John Brooke insists on using the "cry it out" method to get the fussy toddler Demi to sleep despite Meg's objections; nowadays, many psychologists argue that this method does more harm than good. Although to be fair, Demi is only left to cry for a short time and is still awake when his parents finally come and comfort him, so Alcott seems to be advocating [[https://parentingscience.com/ferber-method/#:~:text=The%20Ferber%20method%2C%20also%20known,and%20cries%20they%20might%20hear. the Ferber method]] more than a simple "cry it out."

** SettleForSibling: Some feel that Laurie does this when he marries Amy after his years spent pining for Jo. How true it actually is remains up to interpretation.