Little Women Podcast

Louisa May Alcott always wanted to become a mother and she always seemed to have griefed that she didn´t have children of her own. Like many other things, she gave what she wanted to her literal counterpart. Join Christina and me in our discussion about Jo´s and Friedrich´s desire to become parents. Join newsletter https://littlewomenchannel.substack.com/ Leave a donation: https://ko-fi.com/little...

This time Christina and I are chatting about the fact that Friedrich Bhaer has never been played by an actual German actor in a major Little Women film adaptation, despite the fact that Louisa May Alcott was nuts about Germany. We are chatting about Daniel Brühl and the presentation of Germans in the modern media. Join newsletter https://littlewomenchannel.substack.com/ Leave a donation: https://k...

For this episode, I am joined by LW blogger Christina Scott and we are chatting about the toxic elements in Jo´s and Laurie´s relationship and Jo´s personal growth in the novel. Also about her self-image and how that reflects her way of thinking. We will also be discussing about the elements within Jo that the film makers like to erase (many of these have to do with book Jo's feminine qualities)....

In her novels, Louisa May Alcott emphasises characters' spiritual transformation when they fall in love with one another. This happens to Laurie when he falls for Amy and to Jo when she falls for Friedrich. How did Louisa May Alcott and other transcendentalists view love? They saw love as something sacred, based on the idea that you build something bigger with your significant other. Join newslett...

Jo and Friedrich never argue in the novel and Jo herself is the first one who condemns sensationalism and wants to improve, so why do so many scriptwriters show Jo as someone who can´t take criticism. Alcott also had discomfort with the sensational newspaper she was working with and Jo´s development as an author is based on Alcott and the help she received from her real-life mentors. Join newslett...

This episode is all about Amy´s and Laurie´s romance in the book and in the adaptations, but also how filmmakers and scriptwriters between 1917 and 2019 are obsessed with Jo and Laurie and include scenes between them that do not happen in the novel and erase the character arcs. The episode is sponsored by Audible. Get your free trial on Audible with the code https://amzn.to/3uFSyNf Join newsletter...

Today´s topic is all about people misreading Little Women. How come film directors and even some Alcott scholars complain about Friedrich´s looks, when Jo herself is not written to be beautiful or superficial, or the fact that Louisa May Alcott´s self-image was affected by the people making fun of her. Dissecting Greta Gerwig´s quotes, how the things she says about the novel, actually don´t happen...

In this episode, we are talking about Jo´s and Friedrich´s engagement. What happened between those months that Friedrich spent working at the west. What was and what wasn´t part of the 19th-century courtship. Thanks to Middlemarch for letting me read a lovely Jo and Friedrich story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today´s episode, we are discussing May Alcott Nieriker and the harmful things that follow when one self-inserts themselves into but also the misconceptions about Jo´s insecurities and especially about her looks. Society likes to put two characters against one another but is this true to reality. Find out that and more in the Little Women podcast. Join newsletter https://littlewomenchannel.subst...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amy and Jo, not so different after all. Why on earth the filmmakers think it is a good idea to have the two sisters fight over a guy when in the novel they both find Laurie lazy and unproductive. Little Women is a coming of age story, both Amy and Jo grow as people. Get your free trial on Audible with the code https://amzn.to/3uFSyNf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily and I are back chatting about Little Women. What is the meaning of "thou" in Jo´s and Friedrich´s relationship? What was Louisa´s skill level on German and how much her love for German literature affected Little Women. Jo and Fritz never argue in the novel so why filmmakers make them argue? this and much more in today´s episode. Get your free trial on Audible with the code https://amzn.to/3u...

The ever old question. The novel answer why Jo rejected Laurie, but the filmmakers never show us Laurie´s growth process, or why Jo travelled to New York in the first place. Click this link to get your 30 days free Audible trial. https://amzn.to/3uFSyNf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Louisa May Alcott´s favourite writer was the German poet Goethe and not only did Louisa use Goethe´s plot devices in her novels such as Little Women, but Goethe also seemed to have been one of the main models for professor Bhaer´s character. The episode is sponsored by Audible. You can get a 1-month free trial by clicking this link https://amzn.to/3uFSyNf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

In Little Women, Louisa May Alcott wrote that Laurie has "curly black hair, black eyes and brown skin", but Laurie has never been played by a brown-skinned actor. In this episode you will also learn about Laurie's relationship with his grandfather and the loss of his parents. How Hollywood has actively erased major parts of Laurie's personality, such as his vanity and temper, things that also play...

One of Louisa May Alcott´s favorite writers was the German poet Goethe and Laurie´s character arc in Little Women is surprisingly similar to Goethe´s young hero, Werther. When Sorrows of Young Werther appeared it caused a national outrage because Werther's love interest, Lottie says no to him and chooses another man. In Little Women when Jo rejected Laurie, this caused an outrage (which still cont...

How did I get started in Louisa May Alcott's research? Is Beth really just part of the sick girl trope or is there more in her? and why Friedrich is from Germany? Why the film makers erase Laurie's backstory? What is Amy's relationship with Catholism? was Louisa May Alcott religious? Did she want to get married? are Fritz and Laurie really based on men in her life? I've got so many questions from...

A deep dive into Louisa May Alcott´s views on wealth and the transcendentalist thoughts on money. Self-reliance is such an important aspect of Jo´s and Friedrich´s relationship. Jo admires him and his work morals and Friedrich admires Jo for the same reason. In the novel, Amy wants to marry a rich to save her family (not because she is afraid to work. Neither Jo or Amy can respect Laurie when he i...

There was a real-life Friedrich Bhaer. In fact, Louisa May Alcott wanted to marry him and even start a school with him. This man appears in literal disguises in all of her novels. He is Friedrich in Little Women, Mac in Rose in Bloom and David in Work and many more. Henry and Louisa shared a deep friendship, was it more than friendship? In Little Women Jo's and Friedrich's age gap is 16 years. It...

Early Christmas gift to everyone who has been asking for more long-form content. Thank you for your support! It might come as a surprise to some people but there are actually quite a few sex scenes in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. In this episode, we shall dive into 19th-century courtship and how Alcott writes about courtship etiquette. Laurie is based on Alcott's ex and Friedrich to a man she...

Emily and I combined our powers once again to discuss Jo's and Friedrich's relationships and Louisa May Alcott's attraction toward intelligence. When Friedrich gives feedback to Jo, Jo appreciates it, because she wants to develop as a writer. Friedrich is based on men who Louisa was in love with like Henry David Thoreau, but also her favorite authors such as the German poet Goethe. Emily's channel...

Louisa May Alcott loved Germany and German literature. This is why Jo marries a German man. There was a great deal of discrimination towards Germans in 19th Century America so that Louisa gave Jo a German partner is remarkable. Louisa traveled to Germany. She visited Frankfurt in Goethe's house. Goethe was her favorite writer and one of the models for Friedrich's character. Louisa also visited Ber...

Emily and I combined our powers and had an in-depth chat about Laurie Lawrence, his character arc and the lack of it in every-single-little-women adaptation. In the novel, Laurie starts out as a very idle and sometimes pretty misogynistic figure and it is thanks to Amy he becomes a better person, but these elements of him are not in the adaptations. Emily´s channel on yt https://www.youtube.com/ch...