I love this!! Growing up, I always felt most like a Beth - very quiet, struggling with shyness, and not feeling a strong sense of ambition regarding my future. But I always wanted to be a Jo, an intellectual with strong passions, dreams, and convictions.

I absolutely love the take on Meg wanting to be Laurie, and on Jo wanting to die in Beth's place! I find Jo's role in the March family so fascinating, with her wanting to be both the glue that holds them all together and ties them to their childhoods, and the strong, independent writer who supports them in adulthood. I think the contradiction at the heart of all four sisters is what makes them such compelling, enduring characters.

I wonder how much of Beth's character being more static has to do with her being ill persistently and her life being cut short, like she did not have the time nor the energy to experience the growth her sisters could have. Anyways, beautiful analysis and I think you really nailed Jo's character dissection.

31:57 - In the book, Meg has a talent for acting, and also has a good singing voice (which is an echo of Anna, her real-life model).  She isn't quite as "standard" as the adaptations make her.  And each of the sisters cherishes an art and takes it seriously:  Meg has acting; Jo has writing; Beth has music; and Amy has the visual arts.  

In addition, I'd say that Marmee isn't the standard-issue mother, especially in her conversations with Jo, where she reveals that she, like Jo, has a temper and has learned disciplines.

nah im def a jo, the more you described her the more i felt affirmed that i am 😭

growing up I always thought the point of the book was that the girls were all different but they all were equally the main characters of the story. and then in high school my english teacher mentioned something about Jo being the main character. and like for WHY??? because she's alcott's self insert? all four of the girls are equally celebrated as characters regardless of whether or not they reflect the author's own life, i fear. so i definitely reject that notion that it's actually the jo story. (i was in the musical of little women and waowwwww is that the jo story). anyway i really do think that a lot of people's desire to be jo could at least somewhat stem from the perceived notion that she is THE main character and they also want to be the main character of their own lives (understandably)

also i always felt the most like meg. and apparently everyone wanted to be jo but i always felt like meg. that desire to both be responsible and loyal and trustworthy, without having to sacrifice or give things up is definitely a feeling i can relate to.

I kinda think that Meg pre-character development also despises change in her own way. Just not in the 'people going away'-manner. Remember that Mr. March lost his money and as the eldest daughter, Meg remembers a time when the family wasn't poor.

Oh I always knew I was Amy, not Jo, and honestly, I never even wanted to be. Just like I know I'm more Charlotte Lucas than Lizzie Bennett and would not have turned down Mr Collins if put in that situation.

Girl, I almost cried hearing you talk about Jo and “the knight in shining armor” mentality. Jo finally clicked to me, not just as a “which March sister am I” quiz result, but as someone I felt a kinship to despite not thinking I had much in common with her (turns out we have sooooo much in common 😅). I genuinely see her and myself in a totally different light now. Love this analysis and how eloquently you articulated it.

You hit the nail on the head with this-growing up I really wanted to be a Beth but I have always been more of a Jo! Although I do also see a lot of myself in Amy as the youngest daughter, I really felt the 2019 movie did her character justice!

Alternate theory (which upon great reflection I regretfully believe I am 😩😭) is that you're a Laurie if you want to be all of the March sisters. He always feels like he's on the outside looking in on their accomplishments and virtues, is terrified he'll never live up to people's expectations and therefore treats those expectations as flippant in an attempt to cope/feel in control, and wants SO MUCH but, again, feigns that his desires are silly because he doesn't know what he'll actually accomplish and doesn't want people to think he actually cared deeply about something. For me I see this in myself in the way I always wanted to be a Jo growing up because she could write... I'm a voracious reader and daydreamer but I simply CAN'T come up with a plot to save my life, no matter how hard I try, and it's nearly driven me to tears before. And I wanted to be a good actor, and competent housekeeper, and effortlessly attractive like Meg. And I wanted to be outgoing and sociable and artistic like Amy. And I wanted to be a good musician, and a patient listener who always has something helpful to say when you come to them with a problem like Beth. And I even wanted to be someone commanding, who can look after dozens of things and people well and enjoy doing things and love all those people equally well like Marmee. But I'm NOT them 😭😭 and I feel so helpless looking at them, and at the people like them who are in my life, and feeling that BURNING desire that will never be satisfied to simply Do. Something. Well. 🥲🫠

I am so into painting and novel writing both lol,  but I always resonate more with Amy,  she is vulnerable, incrediblely beautiful ,she sets boundaries and is family oriented and she knows her real worth.

I absolutely loved this cozy chat, I haven't read Little Women in a while but this helped me appreciate the characters even more

I have been waiting for this video for so long and I am thrilled you finally made it omg. Growing up and going through different phases of my life, I always connected with a different March sister. I am the oldest daughter and first born child, and while as a child I disliked Meg the most and found her to be the most boring, growing up ive come to realize that I resonate with her a lot and your video put it so perfectly into words. I always wanted to be seen as responsible and trustworthy, and honestly I want similar things that Meg does, but at the same time I saw my younger sisters (who very heavily resemble Jo and Amy) and I wanted to be able to be free and bold like them. The way you phrased “if you want to be Laurie then you’re Meg” honestly summed it up SO WELL because that constant back and forth struggle of wanting to be able to be carefree and wild and without responsibility, while also desiring to be seen as the rock, the strong one, the responsible and reliable oldest sister, 100% explains my constant internal struggle haha. I have ten billion other thoughts on this topic since my connection with each March sister has changed tremendously over the years but this comment is getting wayyy too long lol. This video is phenomenal and now im going to send it to all of my friends to see what they think of themselves muahahah. THANK YOU TO WHOEVER READ MY LITTLE PERSONAL ESSAY AND THANK YOU BECK FOR THE VIDEO YOURE WONDERFUL

I always knew I was Amy and I'm still very proud of that. She was so misunderstood ❤

thb honest i always felt and related to meg easpecially her love for acting and love for love

As a second born, oldest daughter, youngest child, this was very interesting and I want to look into birth order and gender and all of that now

"I LOVE Christian Bale" said she
And somehow I became the subscriber at that exact moment 😂❤

this rlly reminds me, i was watching 'long story short' and these 2 teenagers argue about which march sister they were i feel like its such a personal thing lol

I must be a real outlier:  though I read "Little Women" before reading about LMA and her family, when I did start reading about the Allcotts and about May, the model for Amy, I grew to admire the original of Amy as much as I admired LMA herself.  This admiration fed back, in a natural way, toward Amy March.  As a result, not only did I like Amy, but I felt that popular views of her, fed by the movies, completely disregard the growth that LMA gives her, and which Jo, in the book acknowledges.  

This happens in the second part of the novel, starting with an important fair where Amy takes part, is snubbed, and refuses to lower herself to the level of those snubbing her.  Jo, feeling anger on behalf of her sister and also ... admiration ... for Amy's reactions, corrals Laurie and friends to regale Amy's section; in the aftermath of this, and declares:

"“I understand now what you mean, and I’ll never laugh at you again. You are getting on faster than you think, and I’ll take lessons of you in true politeness, for you’ve learned the secret, I believe. Try away, deary, you’ll get your reward some day, and no one will be more delighted than I shall.”"

There is not a single adaptation of the novel that utilizes this important development for both sisters, at least not one that I've seen.  And this cheats us, cheats Amy and cheats Jo, too.

14:22 - Again outlier:  I am very happy to talk about any of the sisters other than Jo.  Jo so dominates the atmosphere of popular discussions of "Little Women" that Meg and Beth feel like afterthoughts, and Amy is often simply viewed as a counter or foolish try-hard to Jo.  I don't think Allcott intended it that way, and feel it would be nice to sort of let Jo go sit down for a while we give some space to the others.

my school is doing little women this semester (im laurie) and its interesting to see how the adaptors wrote the script. they made amy a more static character in order to focus more heavily on jo and beth. throughout the play you see traces of jo wanting to be like beth and theres even a line about jo having to take beths place when shes gone.