Throughout the versions of this classic story, one element of the plot that hasn’t changed is the love triangle between Jo, Laurie, and Amy.

Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel about the four March sisters, Little Women, has inspired readers since it was first published in 1868. 

It also inspired many directors to create their film representations of the classic story. 

In 2019, audiences received Greta Gerwig’s version of the story. Previously, in 1994, many fell in love with Gillian Armstrong’s version. 

Still, others remember older versions where Katharine Hepburn played Jo (1933) or when Elizabeth Taylor played Amy (1949). 

Most of the story centers on Jo following her dreams to become a writer, but the bonds between the sisters, and their romantic relationships, also help propel the story forward. 

While the versions of Little Women have somewhat changed the plot or the character arcs, one element of the plot that has stayed constant is the love triangle between Jo, Laurie, and Amy.

Jo and Amy are the two March siblings who are most different from one another. The two things they have in common are their love for their family and their love for their neighbor Laurie. The love they feel for him is a little different though. Jo and Laurie have been best friends, and Jo balks when he proposes to her, professing his love and wanting to make their friendship into a romance. Rejected, Laurie leaves, and later marries Amy, Jo’s little sister, who nursed a crush on him throughout her childhood. While Laurie might have initially thought he wanted to spend his life with Jo, he did grow to love Amy, leaving fans of the book and the movie adaptation debating who his perfect match was for years.

No matter which version of Little Women is examined, one thing remains true about the bond between Jo and Laurie: it happened immediately. Jo and Laurie met at a party that Jo only attended to accompany Meg. She might have had little use for making society appearances, but Meg adored it.

Laurie, for his part, was uninterested in the events of the evening until he met Jo. They bonded by talking about everyone else there and hiding the scorch marks on Jo’s dress. Their connection was instantaneous and didn’t waver until Laurie told Jo how he feels much later in life. It was Jo who introduced him to the rest of the family, and he didn’t have the same bonding experience with everyone else, not even Amy.

Jo Admired Laurie Without Idolizing Him

Jo thought the best of Laurie, even encouraging her sisters to let him into their theatre group and to be an active member of it. She always thought the best of him and welcomed him to be part of her family, her inner sphere.

However, unlike Amy, she never idolized him. Laurie was as human as she was, and they’d bicker. It made them real. He wouldn’t have to live up to extremely high expectations with Jo. She’d accept him as he was.

The Fans Wanted Jo And Laurie Together

It’s said that when Alcott wrote the book in two volumes, fans really wanted Jo and Laurie to end up together. Even by modern conventional romantic-comedy standards, the structure makes sense. Two friends who grew up together discover that they love each other. Movie fans see this in films like Always Be My Maybe (2019). Or one friend harbors romantic feelings for the other, and it takes time for the other friend to realize that they feel the same like in Made of Honor (2008).

It’s a classic romantic story structure, and it provides both conflict and resolution. It could be that Laurie and Amy ending up together feels unsettling because their partnership isn’t the standard structure of conflict and resolution; it’s more open-ended than that.

Jo Pushes Laurie to Do More with His Music

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Source: The Wall Street Journal