Talk to girls and women who read and have literary ambitions , the odds are half of them will bring up Jo March. Everyone from J.K.Rowling to Simone de Beauvoir claims Louisa May Alcott’s , bold and bookish heroine, Jo March from Little Women, as a personal inspiration.
Many of these might also be the same women who admire Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Both these girls are witty, literary and strong enough to stand up to the people who try to pull them down. They both search for simplicity instead of settling for luxury. Yet Jo, in comparison to Lizzie, touches something deep into the souls of many determined girls.
I loved Jo’s courage, honesty and her desire to be independent and create a name for herself in the world. I, like so many others girls who grow up wanting to achieve, identified with her commitment to write and her hunger for adventures.
“I want to do something splendid before I go into my castle, something heroic or wonderful that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead. I don’t know what, but I’m on the watch for it, and mean to astonish you all some day.”
— Jo March
One of the most famous scenes in the story is when Jo sells her hair for 25 dollars to provide money for Marmee’s journey. While, we as readers are impressed by this self-sacrificial gesture, we learn that Jo is not really happy and actually mourns the loss of her long mane.
When vain little Amy burns down jo’s book, the strength of Jo’s anger is intense and she swears to never talk to her sister again. Her mother warns her not to let a passing moment ruin her relationship with Amy, but Jo is inconsolable Eventually, Amy realizes her folly and is filled regret and almost drowns under a sheet of ice. Luckily, she is rescued by Laurie and Jo is spared the guilt of having lost a sister.
Jo March , though bold , witty and confident on the outside, is actually very delicate. She is a heroine who is incredibly flawed. She is selfish, thoughtless and rough sometimes. She also has a very hot temper which she later learns to control.
She berates her conservative older sister, Meg, for wanting to get married. Jo is so upset when Meg’s engagement that she can hardly eat her dinner. Although Jo often talks of big adventures, She does’nt like having changes in her family. She resent Meg for wanting to ‘Abondon her and her family’ and tries to pursue Meg to change her mind.
All of us admire the angelic Beth March and can find no faults in her. She is the sweet, kind and genourous sister and also often the pacemaker in the family. She is also Jo’s favourite sister although they both are nothing alike.
She, however contacts scarlet fever from which she is never fully able to recover. She turns delicate and Jo is overcome with grief of her sister’s illness and impending death.
Eventually Jo realizes that no matter how much money she makes from writing stories and selling them and how many seaside vacations she can afford, She will not be able to save Beth and her sister will surely die someday.
Jo’s need to have control over situations often conceals her ability to love the people she truly cares for. Jo is brave and passionate but is also is afraid that she might hurt the people she loves with this fierce passion of hers. Even in her moments of self – sacrifice, Jo is more conflicted than she shows.
Yet it is during these times that she earns our admiration more than ever. Here is a young lady plagued by so many flaws, still she fights against her own dark side, determined to create a life of gen-unity and purpose.
Many of us adore and identify with Jo’s ambition and resolution, it is her authenticity, kindness and straight-forwardness, that makes Josephine March such an enduring creature and also the favorite March sister to many readers.
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