Amy March was a realistic 12-year-old. I don't get people who hate her so much, because she obviously has a lot of character development as an adult.

If any sister didn’t get enough attention, it was Meg. I wish we got to see more of her story.

In the actual book, Jo rejects Laurie multiple times, saying she can NEVER love him. Laurie goes to Europe and genuinely falls in love with Amy and Amy falls in love with him. Amy rejects Fred who is much richer than Laurie and has an actual title in England. Amy even says that she would love Laurie even if he was penniless. Amy works within the system and learns to be generous. Laurie and her decided to be charitable with their fortune once they are married. Amy likes to be prim, proper and a socialite and that is perfectly okay, she is being ladylike, if the roles were reversed no one would complain about a man acting as a gentlemen. And thats on reading the book by Louisa May Alcott.

people who hate Amy clearly don't have successful older siblings that people constantly compare you with and it shows

That scene where Jo was surprised she wouldn’t be going on the trip showed how much she overlooked Amy. Which is why it’s so empowering to see Amy see her own potential

I'm glad traditionally feminine female characters are getting some credit. It does not empower women to constantly promote the most admirable women as those that reject femininity.

If Jo and Laurie married, they would be “Marriage Story”. 💁🏻‍♀️

As a girl who has been girly and a feminist (supporting all women and their choices) her entire life, I can assure you that most people HATE high maintenance, feminine women even if she 'maintains' herself with her own hard-earned money. Most men love to glorify the 'Cool girls' or 'not like other girls' trope (Just another form of Misogyny)

Also when Laurie took off Amy's paint apron the subtle but potent chemistry between them that never existed between Laurie and Jo. *Sign*

Amy March is a Slytherin and I love her.

I feel like everyone who talks about how Amy is handed everything are looking at it through Joe’s eyes. Amy is only handed what JOE wants/what the reader’s think joe should have. In Amy’s eyes Joe is handed everything she wants. She is this amazing writer, who has full support and respect from her family, she’s free to pursue her passion, She is free to do things like go to the theater and socialize, and she has Laurie. Everything Amy is handed she works with and I feel like that’s why it’s seen as her being let off the hook. The trip to Europe was just her opportunity to marry rich. Joe honestly wouldn’t have accomplished anything there. You see with her paintings she’s obviously discriminated against because she is a woman. She gave up her passion there and took responsibility. That’s high key admirable. Amy was handed a man she didn’t love, a trip that was about show boating her around, a love that was one sided for the longest time and her passion crushed. She was never really respected/sympathized by her older sister who we can tell she looked up to. Amy burnt the novel out of a fit of rage because if she burnt Joes clothes she’d only get made fun of and in trouble. That really was the only way to send a message to Joe.

All the pressure on marrying rich and saving the family from poverty was put solely on Amy, when she was the youngest daughter and that pressure should have gone to her older sisters. Amy had dreams too, of marrying for love and of art, but she was willing to give them both up if it meant helping her family. That alone makes me respect her more than anyone, and I’m really glad she got a happy ending because I feel like she deserved it.

"At the end she gets Laurie, she gets her man". I LOVE THAT. I think Laurie confused platonic love for romantic love with Jo. He was a romantic above all and loved the idea of being in love, and more so, with his best friend, his soulmate in a way only best friends can be, his almost twin. With Amy he truly fell in love. He loved her so much he actually went (finally!) to London with his grandfather so he could be worthy of Amy and as a result of her love he became a better man.

I actually like Pugh’s Amy the most of all the sisters. She’s confident and purposeful, goes after she wants and gets it. She doesn’t waste time antagonizing people when it’s not necessary.

I dont think people realise the sacrifices Amy was willing to make for her family, both Meg and jo made their decisions about their future based on what would benefit themselves the most, whereas Amy makes decisions based on what would benefit her family

People hate her?!? She was my absolute favorite!!! She's so wonderful. I was actually kind of irritated that Jo's character development was vocalized in conversations with her mother etc... but amy actually grows the most and becomes the most complex and complete. Jo gets to talk to Marmee about the viciousness inside of her when shes angry, which clearly BOTH girls get from their mother. But only jo is given the pass by talking about it. Meanwhile, becuase the book burning isnt addressed in dialogue in the same way, and so there's a linch mob of angry, rather basic, women who dislike Amy? Pft. Please. Jo was a bully.

the eloquence 👏 the flavor 👏 the cold, hard facts 👏

It was always seen as Amy “stealing” Laurie, but everyone fails to see that Laurie actually loves Amy. People think that Jo loves Laurie but she didn’t. She was just settling because she was afraid of loneliness. It meant so much to me that in the new movie Laurie said “I love you but I love Amy is a completely different way” or something like that. At first when I saw the new movie, I was heartbroken, but after Amy and Laurie got together I realized that Jo and Laurie would never work together. My opinions are based on the new movie. I think it’s safe to say I’m waaaaaay too invested in this movie. 3k likes?! Wow thanks I was just stating my opinions

According to me, the 4 sisters were the depiction of every girls' various forms. Meg's beauty, Jo's boyish/ childish attitude and stubbornness , Beth's sensitivity and Amy's grace and elegance. Louisa may Alcott showed that Marmie had all these qualities which I think was a depiction of how every single girl is beautiful, stubborn, sensitive and graceful in their own way. 💕

Preach sister! Amy is a realist and ambitious. And because she’s not ambitious in this “I need no man, I will do my own thing” way, but rather understands the reality of her situation and operates from there, people hate her. I think this hate comes from the modern perspective of “love conquers all” and that money (stability) should never be a concern to chose a life partner, as it somehow shows that the “love” is not pure and with that undeserved. Which is ridiculous.

amy's speech to laurie about why she needs to marry rich because of the sexist structure of their time... hit HARD. that was the moment i decided i had to stan. also it must be said...... i believe Jo is a lesbian. anyway, great video! so many points were made.

I always disliked Laurie, because he says something like "I always knew I would marry a March sister." It almost seemed like he didn't mind which one he married, so as a kid, I hated that.

In the book, it was pretty clear that Jo was being considered for the European tour, but blew her chance by being stubborn and rude.

I honestly wish they would make a film from Amy’s prospective, I would like to see how things were for her. She had changed so drastically and spending so much time with aunt march made me think she was being conditioned to fit the criteria from that time, it would be interesting to see.

This is so true in every way. The audience treats Amy horribly for her actions when she was like 12 in the books (ala Sansa Stark) and ignore her development as she grows older, saying how her age is not an excuse fir her behaviour despite other way older characters making even bigger and dumber mistakes but getting the easy way out for being fan favorites... And then there are the shippers...Who ignore Jo basically saying she does not love Laurie and how they would not work together and just blame Amy for being in the way...which she never was in the first place. Sorry for the rant hut just gotta get that one off my system.

I did not like one bit when Laurie says that he has changed himself and will do anything to get Jo to like him. No one should change themselves for someone else.

People hate Amy because they project all their feelings for conventionalists who insist you should be one too. Amy is a practical romantic driven by self interest. She is not that different from others in her family who are also driven by self interest of a different nature. But people of our times are used to a lot of conservatives forcing women to do things *against* their economic or self interest. This is the hate being projected on to Amy.

Another thing that stood out to me in this movie is that Amy never really had the liberty to make her own choices. She was the youngest sister, yet all the pressure was on her to marry rich and save the family from poverty. Meg married poor and for love, Jo was out following her dreams and not making much money, Beth was sick - their mother spending her days caring for her. That really just left Amy. She had her dreams of being an artist, and we could see she was really good, but she never pursued them and even convinced herself not to because it wouldn’t be enough. She was willing to marry Fred, even though she was not in “love” with him. I really do admire her for that and I’m glad by the end of the movie she did find true love (yes, I believe her and Laurie are true love don’t come @ me) and she deserved it.

Is it weird that I never hated Amy? I always liked her, and this was having only read the book and seen the 1994 version.

my mum and sister yelled at me after the little women movie for saying that Amy was my favourite, purely because they found her to be unlikeable. I’ve always liked Amy and understood her as the youngest child, but seeing the film really just gave a whole new insight into Amy.

This is such a well thought out argument. I love how you say Jo rebels against the society she lives in while Amy works within it. In the novel, Aunt March was considering taking Jo to Europe, but Jo embarrassed Aunt March in front of a high society friend, so she takes Amy instead because she believes that Jo won’t behave properly. As a result Jo gets her happy ending much later after struggling and trudging on.

For Jo or Amy haters. The two sisters loved each other, they were just very different from each other. Period

I feel like youngest sisters tend to understand and like Amy more, I’m the youngest of four girls loved Amy when i read the book.

I don't think there is a sister we are supposed to dislike. Louisa obviously loved her sisters very much, so why would she ever throw one of them under the bus like that? I have always struggled with the character of Amy, even when she was grown up, because of how un-March-like she felt. What's the difference between the chapter "Meg goes Vanity Fair" and when Amy is grown up and wears frilly gowns and marries a rich man? However, my friend explained to me that Amy is a gentlewoman. There is nothing wrong with money or liking fine things, as long as that is not your end goal in life and you still carry yourself with humility. I think this adaptation nailed that.

People that say Laurie didn't love Amy also like to ignore the opera scene!!! When laurie is writing his opera and his main character is supposed to be modeled after Jo, who he is still convinced he is in love with, but when he begins writing more of the character, it slowly shifts to become more to Amy's likeness. They're in love!!! They both love each other so much!!! They would love each other if the other didn't have enough money or status to compete in high society!!! I love them so much and will defend them tooth and nail.

I've always thought that the only reason people hate Amy so much it's because she is the opposite of Jo, Jo invented the "I'm not like other girls" thrope which it's popular, but people CAN'T accept that a woman can be beautiful, smart and ambitious without being "not like other girls" lol Amy is my favorite sister bc she is a queen who deserves and reach everything 🤭

Once I understood that Laurie was Amy’s childhood dream crush... it became so sweet. Just think of if you were 12 and there was a older family friend that looked and acted like Laurie... you would be head over heels. And it’s so sweet that he seen her become a woman... that she became the kind of woman to hold him accountable for how he fell off... because she always admired him. That’s special And Jo... Jo was never in love with him. Yet she took on look at the professor and there connection was on a whole different level. Jo was never Laurie’s to begin with. Why must we always invalidate friendship because of “ you must be in a relationship for this to be right” Sometimes it is right... but right in another way

I think people don’t realize that the Louisa based the characters off of her own sisters. And that Amy is based on her sister May. Louisa and May were quite close, close enough that may names her only child Lulu after Louisa. Louisa obviously felt jealous over how she perceived everything coming easily for May but they loved each other none the less. I think people take that sibling jealously and go this means she’s awful when in reality their both imperfect very similar people.

Amy is so realistic and I love her for it. She takes it upon herself to provide for her family instead of going after her dreams because she knows no one else in her family can. And she realizes that though she’s a good artist, she’s not a genius one. And if she isn’t the absolute best, or worth noticing, than she can’t make a living off of it, so she has to abandon her ambition. She’s under so much pressure and I was so happy when she and Laurie ended up together. The film did such a good job portraying how their relationship matured and why they loved each other.

When I reread the book, I was struck by finding that Jo never regretted rejecting Laurie, as she does in the movies! And I think Amy might well be better for him. I was impressed by the depiction of Amy's gift for tact in the book, for getting along with a variety of people in a variety of situations. Like Jo, I don't particularly possess this gift, so I definitely don't take it for granted! I admire Amy.

Firstly, Jo didn't want Laurie. She rejected him. She had her chance. However I think Amy deserves better than Laurie. My feeling is that Laurie wasn't really in love with Jo nor was he in love with Amy. He was in love with being part of the Marche family and he would have "fallen in love with" and married any of the sisters in an effort to solidify himself a place in the Marche family.

I actually loved this version of Amy. Except one thing: I really don’t think Florence Pugh is believable in any way as a 12 years old. She looks and sound way too old for the childhood part of Amy. But when she comes to the adult part, on the trip to Europe and her interactions with Laurie, she is amazing and it makes you see the maturity Amy gained with time.

I remember the first time I read the part when Amy burns Jo's book and she tells her she knew that's what was gonna hurt her the most, and I remember just FEELING her anger so much, OF COURSE that's a horrible thing to do and OF COURSE AMY KNOWS IT AND SHE REGRETS DOING IT and I honestly never hated her for that because that's just how GIRLS ARE, I never had sisters but I grew up with my first cousin who's 8 years older than me, and I tried SO HARD to be like her and for her give me validation because I felt she was the coolest person ever, and when she excluded me or embarrassed me like Jo often did with Amy, I would ball my eyes out feeling like shit, and guess what? I broke her stuff, I stole her music which was basically her identity when she was a teenager because I KNEW it would piss her off, we don't fight like boys fight, we go for the things that hurt, because we really understand each other's feelings and honestly that's just how we bond as sisters, we don't always fight, we care, we listen, and so did Jo and Amy, their sisterhood is amazing and I honestly don't care for what Amy haters think

I was always most intrigued by Amy. She's an imaginative, ambitious girl stuck in a stupid boring town while poor. Her ambitious nature is to know what the Hell she wants and I like that

Basically how I see Jo and Laurie relationship is like that of true parabatai in the Mortal Instruments. They're basically soulmates, but in a platonic way

Fantastic analysis. It’s unfortunate that every film except the 1994 version cast an adult as 12yo Amy. Amy’s antics are completely understandable if you see that she’s a 12yo kid trying to keep up with her big sisters. Those antics come off as pathetic and catty when an adult plays the role. Greta Gerwig wrote young Amy in a way that an adult could convincingly portray her, and she didn’t dwell on the famous childhood scenes. That gives the audience time with adult Amy where we can appreciate her character growth.

This is also why it makes sense that Jo calls him Teddy, symbolizing a childhood friend and it also being his first name, so a more immature, childlike petname that suits their friendship which wants to remain in that "childish" state. Amy calls him Laurie like everyone else which is more mature and draws upon his last name so a more grown up version of him.

In this movie version it’s made super clear that from a young age her Aunty drilled into Amy that she would be the only person who could save her family from the future poverty that would eventually befall her parents and even her sisters. Other adaptations have of course included this. But for some reason this version really hit home with how Florence reacted to being told this information. She looked like she took the weight of the world on her shoulders after her Aunty spoke with her then told her to go back to her little paintings. Even though Amy did want the finer things in life, you could also tell it burdened her as well. The thought that if she didn’t marry well her family would be destitute would make her possibly accept a proposal that would be for convenience and not love. But the same could be said for a lot of wealthy marriages across the ages. Eventually love did win, but she was close to marrying someone she would have liked, but not loved.

I've always hated people's animosity towards Amy. Finally! Finally, we get justice for Amy! You can really tell that the people who directed all the other little women adaptations hated her. They kept only scenes that made Amy look bad, only showed a scene or two of Amy and Laurie and highlighting the romance/friendship of Jo and Laurie because they didn't agree with Louisa May Alcott's decision for them (Jo/Laurie) not to end up together. Because of this the audience who watched the movie didn't understand how they got together. Greta Gerwig understood Amy and the relationship between Amy and Laurie. As a big fan of fan fiction, I always hoped that I could sooth my shipper heart of Amy/Laurie there but nooooo there is almost none (of the like twelve of them I found a few years ago, most were of Laurie cheating with Jo behind Amy's back and I'm just like NO). Now, with this movie getting such success and showing Amy in such an unbiased light, hopefully there will be some good fan fiction of Laurie and Amy arriving.

And now Florence got an oscar nomination! What an actress! I'm so proud!!!

I never realized Amy was unpopular till this moment. I mean, she was a little bratty when she was 12, but by the time she's 15, she's a sweetie.

I don't get why people dislike Amy. She's actually an amazing character, I love all the characters here.

Dude Amy LOVED Jo, it always made me so sad that Jo would always be really dismissive and actively antagonistic towards her because Amy thinks shes so cool

Don’t understand why people hate her. Didn’t even know people felt this way untill I saw your video.

YES! I also read Little Women for the first time this year, and I didn't understand it when I heard people hated Amy. I think people have definitely been influenced by "the main character should get the boy" trope and all the movie adaptations that portray Amy poorly. Like, JO DIDN'T WANT LAURIE. She didn't want anybody! The book makes that abundantly clear! (Plus in the movie there's the nod to Jo's romance being added in after getting pressure from the publisher). I do think that the movie did one thing to add to the Anti-Amys-when Jo finds out that Laurie and Amy got married, in the book, she's legitimately happy for them and doesn't begrudge them at all. In the movie, you can tell she's surprised and hurt and then gets over it. I wish the movie didn't do that. But it does show how good Amy and Laurie are for each other! I love the moment when she's like "Laurie what are you doing standing there can you get the carriage PLEASE we have matchmaking to do."

YESSSSSSSSSS Amy always gets so much crap for who she was when she was like 10, and then everyone hates her forever even though she grows up to be pretty likeable!

Amy and Laurie's relationship makes sense! I think it's so important in Jo's turning him down in the 2019 version, she says "I tried" but she still can't love him back and unreciprocated love is unfair.

Truth? I’ve always disliked Jo most of all. Her goals are admirable but she’s so prideful and stubborn and kind of mean. Amy grows to be the best of them all.

Thank you for this!!! I’ve never understood why anyone who read Part 2 of the book hates Amy, or thinks Jo was devastated by Amy marrying Laurie. Did they really read it or just ignore the story and development of Amy’s character as an adult because they had already made up their mind bc she was, no doubt, a spoiled bratty kid. Also, in the book Jo tells her mother, that after Beth died she might have said yes to Laurie but it would have been bc she was lonely, not bc she loved him more. She did, however, fall in love with the professor, in a way that she never loved Laurie. In the book, I never felt Amy would have been anything but happy for Jo and Laurie had they gotten married. The book tells of Amy and Laurie’s falling in love in a beautiful way.

She was always my favorite. Never understood why she was hated for wanting nice things. She was a baby and immature and grows into a wonderful adult.

20 seconds in and HERE for this

Finally!!! Someone who understand the relationship between Laurie and Amy and doesn't see it as Laurie just going after another March sister. I loved the movie with Wynona Ryder in it but one thing they did absolutely wrong was the way they treated Laurie and Amy's relationship. All their character development and relationship development dissapears...so i'm really excited for this

as a youngest sister i've always related to her so much 😩 it hurts that everyone hates her

Funnily, I grew up liking Amy over Jo. My sister always claimed to be Jo, but I always saw myself as Amy. I never hated her and always thought she had a point to her dramatics.

i love amy march. florence pugh displayed her so beautifully, and i'm glad she got an oscar nomination !! i feel like the amount of hate amy got was undeniably unfair. the growth she goes through as a character and as a person is not acknowledged by so many people. i loved her from the start to the end. the movie was outstanding and incredible. definitely one of my favorites, and if you haven't watched it, i recommend it sososo much !

This video is everything. I’ve always identified as an “Amy” and have had to defend my love for Amy March. Also think that the people who hate Amy the most don’t have sisters, or healthy relationships with their sisters. Because Jo doesn’t hate Amy, they love each other. Sisters fight, and sisters know how to stick the knife exactly where it’s going to hurt most. ie Jo won’t let Amy go to the theatre and Amy burns Jo’s book. It hits them in the same way, but it’s told from Jo’s perspective so you don’t get Amy’s feelings. Bravo for this analysis! 💕💕💕

people always call amy as the one who escapes reality and difficulties in life. alas she IS in fact the one who shoulders all the burden ( don't get me wrong guys, all the girls of the family do, but amy is always left out in this case).

I was interested to see what you had to say because I was one of the ones who didn’t like Amy very much either, but you made such wonderful points! You made me think of things in a way I hadn’t yet and I’m sure I’ve changed my mind! I’m going to watch it again tonight in a new light.

Imagine the gif of shia labeouf giving a standing ovation, that's my reaction to this whole entire ass video Iconic

I relate to Amy because sometimes it’s so hard to be realistic and realise you’re not amazing, you’re just good... that’s crushing

i think people forget that the book/movies are very biased to Jo mainly because shes that "fiery spirited" girl who just wants to be independent and write her book and whatnot; no one really thinks about what Jo would do if she had the things that amy got. For example, in my opinion, Jo wouldn't have accomplished much in Europe with aunt march. She would've been bored to death and since she doesnt socialize there would be nothing for her to do but try to get married off like Amy did. Another example is Laurie. Ive never understood why people wanted them to end up together since they make no sense romantically and any romantic love is totally one sided with Laurie loving Jo in a way she could never love him. Amy didnt "steal laurie" nor is she a replacement for Jo; she is merely a different part in Laurie's life. She's his adult love, mature love that has meaning and is shared by both amy and laurie. Jo and laurie would have either never married (leaving laurie miserable) or they would have had a terrible marriage because of how much Jo despised high society life and how laurie thrived in it. Props to Gretta for making amy such a different character with much more depth, emotion, and feeling. Amy march will always be my fave little woman :)

The Greta Gerwig Little Women was the first version of this story I had ever seen and I was honestly surprised to come out of it and found that most people generally don't like Amy's character. Amy's biggest "fault" was simply that she wanted the same things as Jo. But while Amy was willing to put in the time, work, and effort to achieve them, Jo tended to take just expect everything to be given to her exactly the way she wanted it. Aside from burning the manuscript, I honestly don't see any reason why we're not supposed to like Amy? As a youngest sister of 3 I completely identified with Amy's character right off the bat and I was pleasantly surprised and excited that she got the things she thought were impossible because her older sisters always got first dibs on everything. This was a great video though, really well done!

FINALLY! This is first time I've seen so many people come together in defense of Amy. She was always one of my favorite Little Women and for years I had to watch everyone else despise her for no reason other than petty jealousy. Jealousy because she was the "pretty" one (I never got how she was "spoiled", she was young and silly but I don't recall anywhere in the book where she was shown favoritism or special treatment - Marmee was a fair mother), she went to Europe (deservedly), and - horror or horrors! - married Laurie (whom Jo rejected). Frankly the Jo and Laurie shippers are some of the most obnoxious in all of literary fandom. It's like they didn't even read the book or have a basic grasp of the characters. Amy and Laurie were childhood friends and suited each other perfectly. Amy was never supposed to be this hated, she was never the Bad Guy. All the sisters were flawed and of all of them, Amy grew the most. Not sure why it took til Greta Gerwig's movie to prove her value, when some of us saw it all along. Still, high time she was appreciated. Thank you for this video! ❤

LOVE this! Amy has always been my favorite character from the novel and movies and the latest adaptation did her the most justice. She’s so misinterpreted so often and you nailed exactly why! My one critique of the film is that I wish they had shown more of Laurie and Amy as children since their bond was so strong too. I loved how he would visit her each week at Aunt March’s etc. and I think it explains why Amy always loved him and that he always loved her too but it took Jo rejecting him to recognize what had been in front of him all along. I find their relationship far more romantic. Greta did a brilliant job and the casting was :chefs kiss:

Yes🙌🙌 the scene where she says she doesn’t want to be second to Joe when she has loved Laurie the whole time

the only time i didn't like amy was when she burned Jo's novels. i mean she was a kid not that its justified but she was so young.

I love her character. I have never understood why people hated her

This movie I think plays more emphasis on everyones dreams, motives, and morals, which made me honestly like Amy more with Jo and found Jo a character whom I would not like in real life just because of her morals and traits.

I swear every time I say “my favorite sister is..” then I realize all of them are amazing and I have no hate towards Amy besides burning jo’s book because I remember my brother shredding my drawing so I kinda felt

I got into the story when I was little, I never knew people hated Amy especially for those reasons; maybe because I was around her age and Im the youngest so I seen how she acted as a child in a different light. I also never blamed her for being with Laurie actually quiet the opposite I used To see his action of falling for her as weird because he was much older than her and it felt like he still loved Jo or at least felt that way to younger me and in the fact it had felt like he was using her to become a part of the family. Aunt March choosing her for the trip was understandable because her behavior was different from Jo, she had the ability to go into that type of society and blend in to the society in which Jo rebelled against.

amy taught laurie self respect and having control of ownself

Completely agree with everything you said. Also, I remember in a cast interview they were saying that Jo and Laurie are almost so similar that they are like two halves of the same person. Similar to how Jo would always butt heads with Amy because they are both so headstrong, passionate, quick tempered, stubborn, etc, I think she would also have had that experience with Laurie. They wouldn’t grow each other the way in which Amy and Laurie do.

Omg you described my feelings on this perfectly! One thing that always sticks out to me as well is even though Jo read to aunt march and everything, Amy spent a lot of time with aunt march because she was sent there when beth was sick. So aunt March's decision makes a lot of sense in so many ways. It's frustrating ppl hate the character so much. Why can't ppl appreciate each character for their unique and wonderful traits?

This was PERFECT!!! Amy is my favorite sister and I am so happy she's matched with Laurie, and that Jo is with Friedrich. I can't understand why people hate Amy either. She was a child when she burned Jo's book, and Jo ended up forgiving her. Also, if Jo could find it in herself to be happy for Amy and Laurie, why can't everyone else? Thanks for the vid!

To be honest, wether its the film or the novel, people who don't like Amy are either not paying attention or are very immature themselves.

This is a great video and you hit the nail right on the head. But, the thing about Little Women is that most people (I got this from a review and its true for my own experience) love the story because of the beginning. Those happy days when Jo and Laurie where wild and inseparable, Beth was healthy, Meg was pining after John, and Amy is up to her childish antics. Pt. 2 of the story is just the reader having to watch these magnetic personalities be ironed out. I honestly don't know if people would care about the second half of the story if we weren't already in love with the characters from their childhood days. The sequels don't even seem to be nearly as popular.

I've always felt that people who didn't like Amy just didn't fully understand her motivations and/or didn't fully understand her relationship with Laurie. In a good relationship, both partners need to not just support but let them be the best version of themselves- only Amy could do that for him (And Laurie, her)

i loved amy’s character. it reminds me of me and my sister a LOT. i’ve hurt my sister because she didn’t let me come with her. and she’s hurt me. i’ve always felt like i was in her shadow. jo didn’t want to marry laurie so it the time, it made sense for amy to marry him. even though i believe jo and laurie had a better chemistry. i’m not mad at amy i’m just disappointed in the story but i’m ok with it. i cannot get over how jo and laurie danced outside when they first met, and how when laurie admitted his love for jo it made me cry because i felt bad for him

the reason the amy/laurie thing was so upsetting to me is bc amy felt like a second choice. the story makes the point that you shouldn’t just want to be loved, you should actually love someone, when it concerns jo, but then completely goes against it in lauries case. i personally thought amy deserved better. not that she should have been with fred, but someone who loved her for who she was and not as a second choice to jo. which i guess it could be seen how laurie did eventually, but it’s like he did a 180 after being devastatingly in love with jo since the day he met her. also “amy kept laurie in line” i guess shows why they are good together but i also dislike the fact that it feels like laurie never really grew up and just kind of used amy as a crutch in more ways than one. i don’t hate them together but it doesn’t feel completely right to me

I have literally never hated Amy I’m shocked to learn people don’t like her I never new that . I’ve always liked her and that probably has to do with the fact I’m much more of an Amy then a joe I’ve always related well to her

I think people project on Jo more than identify with Jo. Because of the three reasons that you mention ---which are really the things-- it's really like this: The whole burning of the manuscript episode is about Jo's anger and what anger does to you, which kind of person it makes of you, when you feed your anger. The episode is not about Amy being a bad person. Amy is a child, was hurt, couldn't understand how much work Jo had really put into her manuscript. I Agree that the Europe trip with cousin Flo and her parents would have been a nightmare (though I don't think the goal was to marry Amy off, at all, because Frank is someone she knew from before and that's why they get re-acquainted, it isn't like they are engaging with strangers), but there's also the fact that Jo herself ruins her chance of going (and save for 2017, no other adaptation brings this into the plate); when Aunt Carroll asks Jo about the things that would be important for the trip, Jo is rude and tells herself as unqualified: she hates French "that slippery nonsensical language" and declares she wants to do things her own way and hates being done favors. There's also the fact that Jo had stopped being aunt March's companion for years at that point. I don't think novel!Amy is really pressed out of romance into pragmatism. She does genuinely think that she can love a man she marries if he's a decent man. The stealing of Laurie is the funniest of it all; maybe the reader wants to marry Laurie, but it is clear that Jo doesn't. From the time she forms an acquaintance with him, she thinks of marrying him with Meg; she rejects him once in book 1, hints at him to stop it for half of book 2, then rejects TWO proposals from him, ships him with Beth and then with Amy. Laurie lived in Jo's friendzone since forever. The thing with him saying that he'll be a saint, is that we know that he won't. He went to college to honor grandpa and to gain Jo's love, in theory, but in practice he does the bare minimum and goes around flirting, playing billiard and wasting money in stupid fashions and games. There's no true effort in his part to change; whereas he does change when Amy presents a challenge to him. Jo cannot present a challenge to him because she has acquired a mother role with him, and he won't move on. That's the core of the toxicity of that relationship if turned romantic, and how badly it would end down the line. I think that's one of the failings of the movie: Jo doesn't struggle with leaving childhood, but with embracing change. Otherwise, she would have accepted Laurie's proposal, if her mind was stuck in childhood. But she knows childhood is gone, she's not really sorry for it in the novel: she just dislikes the changes she cannot control. I think Greta here got it all backwards. Being horny doesn't mean being more mature. Laurie is a horny child in the body of a man. He's not proposing a future to Jo, there's no plan for a family, all there is is "let's get married and go enjoy ourselves in Europe". It's the same proposal he made to her when they were 16 and he proposed to run away to Washington together. It's been almost 10 years and yet he is in the exact same mental place. I hate the "I won't be second to Jo" scene XD but because I don't think Amy ever wanted to be like Jo, or wanted the things Jo wanted. She may want Jo's approval, but that's different. You cannot feel or be second to someone you don't want to resemble. Also, the notion that things are handed on a platter to Amy is not true at all. She struggles at school because she cannot afford what other girls afford, she struggles with her vocabulary, she then struggles to find the art she wants to make and gets injured in the process many times, she struggles to make friendships with the girls of her art class, she has to toughen up and stand aunt March's treatment, and at the end of it all, she realizes she's no genius and cannot live off painting, which was her castle in the air (the marrying rich was a practical goal, not a dream), whereas Jo does get to become a famous author down the line. Another thing people do forget is that Amy and Laurie do have more things in common than caring for each other. Their share the artistic sensibility, the love of fashion and society, and the lived experience of not being genuises (he with his music, and her with her paintings).

You have so succinctly summarized everything I have ever wished to say about Amy March and yet couldn’t put into words. Seeing so many people finally come around to my forever favorite and giving her the love she deserves gives makes me so happy, thank you.

I didn’t really like Amy in the book, but Florence Pugh did an amazing job portraying her; the movie made me love her so much! Little Women is about so much more than Jo’s love story, it’s about the sisters, the ways they are all different, and the ways they are all the same. Louisa May Alcott never wanted Jo to marry, and made Amy end up with Laurie to make the point to her readers that a woman’s life doesn’t culminate in a marriage. If anything, I’d rather Jo didn’t marry at all.

I think one of the major reasons why people don't like Amy is not just because she "takes" Laurie from Jo, but because it's seen as a betrayal of her sister. The sisters and their love for each other are at the core of the book and Amy constantly is framed as someone who only cares about herself (though that is not true), not her family. Sisters aren't usually supposed to "compete" for the same man even though Jo was never running that race to begin with. She is seen as vain and selfish for wanting what is "not hers" and was always supposed to be Jo's even when she never wanted it in the first place.

also the scene in the book where Laurie and Amy agree to marry each other is so simple and romantic!!! when they're at that garden thingy and he gets all weird about Amy marrying Fred!! I swear Laurie and Amy get the most romantic scenes out of the book

Jo is an amazing character, but the movie adaptations often highlight her virtues and forgets about her flaws. The trip to Paris is one of the greatest examples of the above: Amy and Jo visit aunt March and while Amy is all politeness and amiable (indeed Amy’s greatest strength is how to move in society), Jo is crossed and rude. Jo says in her own words that she doesn’t want favours and that she hates French. The next chapter in the book called “consequences” reveals that during that visit aunt March was thinking about inviting Jo to Paris, but because of her rude behaviour, and, in contrast, the pleasant attitude of Amy, she invites Amy instead. So, no, Amy did not take that opportunity from Jo, Jo did that to herself because her disregard for societal “norms/politeness”.

Thanks for this trenchant video. The whole "Amy stole Laurie from Jo" gripe has always been a complete mystery to me. When I was reading the book as a young girl, I actually found it thrilling when Amy and Laurie finally connected. I wonder if the reason so many people claim to be aggrieved over it is that Laurie is such an attractive character. The reader is attracted to him and if the reader also "identifies with" Jo, then therefore Laurie and Jo must end up together. But if a reader does that, aren't they actually disrespecting Jo as a protagonist? Remember, Jo says, very clearly and firmly, after sober contemplation, that she doesn't love Laurie romantically and that he's not right for her. Should the reader just declare that Jo doesn't know her own mind? Isn't Jo's journey to self-discovery and truth one of the themes of the book? The reader is free to deplore her decision; I remember when I read it as a little kid thinking something to the effect of 'Wow, I know Jo wants to be different, but I think she's carrying it a little too far! I'd take Laurie in a heartbeat!", but it is her choice to make. Amy and Laurie seem much more suited to each other; for one thing they are both much more sensual than Jo is.

i think my hatred for amy was definitely stemmed out of her burning jo's book as i've felt that kind of behavior done towards me by my younger brothers. they were petty & insensitive & it's true that she was young but i also think u find yourself hating your younger siblings in a way. you love them but you don't necessarily have to like them. i never had much of a problem with her ending up with laurie. that bit i had a bit of a frustration with with jo but beyond that i didn't really care for amy & laurie's new found relationship. i think the problem that also fueled the dislike for amy is that most scripts were pretty much centred on jo & the other characters who were very much central to the book were treated... like supporting characters indeed. greta offered more care & love for these characters rather than make you forget them or hate them. she redeemed them whether from poor acting choices from then or from the scripts that forgot that little women is not just about jo but all these girls.

Well said, really. I think Jo was the character that I kinda liked less when they became adults, although many times I resonated with her. Maybe because she is very close to the majority of girls struggling in modern society, where there is more freedom to pursue different scenarios or alternatives, but in reality we maybe are still so dependent from the marriage-to-socially-success concept. I just had this feeling that while loving her family to guts, Jo has been quite selfish, focused on her own growth and struggles her whole life and so lacks in deeply understanding the ones she loves (Laurie's feelings rejection, so brutal and direct, really explains her way to deal with the situation only from her perspective, without considering the place she was putting her best friend in). I think she fully matures only after Amy and Laurie’s marriage. She has to face the consequences of her rejection to Laurie, but also to realize Amy really pursued her goals and saved the family (I really found super annoying the way she was down-looking at Amy's travel to Paris to find a rich marriage). The little sister became a woman too, so Jo has to get her life together once for all. Amy is really my favorite character. She is such a conscious and strong woman, totally aware of reality, of herself, of what she feels, what other feel, and what it is convenient to show or not show around others.

The way amy LITERALLY say "jo won't" it's like "hey jo, you LITERALLY can married a rich man for our family, but you WON'T not can't, you WON'T" like....