Am I the only one who thinks that jo and...

Trix Wilkins

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Book lover

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Karina As a child reading the story....I agreed that up until the point where Jo points out that her needing to write irritates Laurie and her need to be independent where he wants to feel needed and loved and admired and she's not that type of person. I know enough of that time period that any wife of someone of Laurie's class would need to host parties, look pretty and generally make him look good, something that Jo was not cut out for.

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Pat Both Professor Bhaer and Amy read like substitutes. I can't see any great passion of Jo for Bhaer, and nor of Laurie for Amy. LMA obviously had her heart in Jo and Laurie's friendship. Whether she wanted them to marry or not (apparently not) she never could make the publisher required substitutes for that love have 1/100th of the passion Jo and Laurie had for eachother as friends. So that's why the marriages are unsatisfactory to so many readers.

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Karen Miller It is a little heartbreaking, but only because we've come to like Laurie so much! I love the fun Jo and Laurie have together and I grieved the loss of it, but Laurie did not contain the depth to touch the innermost part of Jo's soul. Professor Bhaer did. He drew Jo out with appreciation, and their transcendentalist backgrounds brought each other together. Jo would have never been able to fulfill her greater destiny with Laurie.

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Erika No, you're not the only one. Unfortunately, I was so disappointed, I will probably never re-read this novel. I should have stopped reading after the first part. I will say, in general, I think the main issue is that Ms Alcott spent SO much time building up their relationship that as readers we felt is so powerfully. Then, out of the blue, she concocted him confessing his feelings, Jo's rejection, a couple of "conveniently" placed trips to Europe, and then the reversal of relationships that ended the book. But because those secondary relationships weren't well developed or spent much time on, it felt incomplete and fake (to me). I may try reading the alternate ending someone else posted earlier because I am literally so disappointed, but let me just say.... so much for: "It won't do a bit of good, Jo. My eye is on you, so mind what you do, or I'll come and bring you home." Ugh, I'm going to need to read some Jane Austen for therapy.

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Louis Arroyo I am very late to the party but I just finished reading Little Women.

Regarding Jo and Laure not living happily ever after...

It made perfect sense that they would not be together at the end, they were to much alike, and therefore, would have made each other miserable. As a hopeless romantic, I prefer the classic happy ending, where the boy gets the girl, but Jo and Laurie just didn't fit. IMHO, the ending that we got made much more sense, even if most fans of the book hate it.

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Jordan

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Sarah I suspect that, had Jo and Laurie ended up together, Little Women might have had some short-lived success as a predictable romance, but would not have become the classic it is.

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Bryn

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Lady Willpower No, you're not the only one. The Laurie/Amy pairing never sat well with me. Jo and Laurie could've grown into the perfect mates for each other, given time. If he had waited a little longer, and been more persistent, it could've worked. I could also see them supporting each other's artistic passions.

Incidentally, there's a variation of the story where they do get together (obviously not written by Alcott): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3.... You might enjoy it. I think I'm going to give it a try.

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Jennifer

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emi that would be cliche, so no. I like the fact that Jo and Laurie love, care and support each other, as best friends and not as lovers. Romance would just spoil their friendship, if you ask me.

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Brenda Feldman No. I thought Jo was dumb for not liking Laurie. He was always there for her when she was crying over Beth being sick. I thought they were perfect for each other since they have a lot in common. I get that they both have a temper, but it was not like they were violent.

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Gina

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Hyo Jung Hong In an idyllic world, they would have but Jo was already adamantly opposed to the idea of falling in love as well as leaving her delightful sisters and mother. To her, the thought of marriage was too distant, something that would not have crossed her mind had it not been for her older sister. Being a tomboy and quite independent herself, she could not see Laurie as more than a dear friend. I do believe that Louisa May Alcott did try to keep this suspense alive throughout the book, something that just makes Little Women all the more delightful to read.

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Sagar B I initially did, but eventually realized that Professor Bhaer was more suitable for Jo. She is an independent person from the beginning, and Professor Bhaer allows her to be independent, she also wants guidance which Professor Bhaer can give due to his age and experience.

The most important thing is: Jo did not love Laurie, and she should NOT have to marry someone whom she did not love! Even if he loved her, even if he was rich, etc etc. She should not succumb to societal pressures, and she did not, which is great. Female empowerment - something that was very relevant at that time.

Laurie ended up marrying Amy, which is good because that way at least he'll still be connected to the Marches for the rest of his life.

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Arifa I always wanted laurie to marry beth and not amy. I also firmly agree that marmee is right about jo and laurie being to alike and they could not do anything about it

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Sabrien Abdelrahman Me too. I just think she did but didn't know it- Laurie didn't try hard enough.

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Priyanka I think if Jo and Laurie did get together then they would have never been able to bring the best in each other. The way the heart break and Amy's words helped Laurie be the man everyone thought he would be makes justice to why Jo and Laurie would not have worked.Also the Professor was the influence by which Jo stopped writing silly stories which made her a great writer in the long run;Laurie would never have made such influence in Jo's life.

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Hannah Kelly Yes! I think she loved him but was just not ready when he originally asked her to marry him. I think if she had been given time she definitely would have accepted.

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Erika Jo and Laurie did fall in love, or almost did. However, they, or initially mainly Jo, felt they were ill suited, being too much alike. The process of getting over it is described in length as quite painful painful but necessary.

I just finished reading the novel for the first time. I loved it. 😍

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Khyati They should have been together. I just wish like many movie, they change the ending and make Jo marry Laurie which would be perfect ending. It just doesn't make any sense how Laurie suddenly propose Amy. I felt they were like brother sister.

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mairiachi I think Laurie was in love with Jo, but Jo wasn't in love with Laurie. At least, at the end she wasn't. She was at the beginning but LMA decided to take an unexpected turn for the worst and married her off to someone old enough to be her dad. I think everyone who reads this book thinks they should have gotten married, too. I've never met someone who's like yay Jo and Mr. Bhaer.

edit: don't take my answer too seriously, I was like 12 when I wrote this haha

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Keri Steen I agree! I'm so sad that Laurie is getting his heart ripped out right now, as I'm at the big part where she rejects him now. :(

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xoxo.mackenzie OMG yes!!! But instead she ends up with an old man!!:(

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Harmony Rapciewicz I love little women but i get kind of sad when i watch it because jo and Laurie were extremely close but after he married amy his friendship with jo kind of faded away they stopped being close like they used to be and that kind of broke my heart it's sad to see such a strong friendship break away . . . i truly think jo loved Laurie but she was just afraid to fall in love i think if Laurie kept persisting she would of said yes . . . . . And who else feels like him marrying amy was just a way to be apart of the March family i still love little woman I'm just saying if i were the one to write it i would marry Laurie with jo

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Megan I believe they should have to actually.

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Anna Paul I didn't even finish reading this book when I learnt that Jo wasn't meant for Laurie! I hate it! Why should authors lead people on this way to break their hearts! This is why I like romance, you know all will be well at the end. And people wonder why classics are so unpopular!

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Rachel

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Luisana Rodríguez

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Claire I think that, too! It was heart-breaking to see her disappoint Laurie.

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B.J. Ellison Does anyone know if the sequels to "Little Women" (little men and Jo's boys) are any good? no spoilers please.

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Layne I agree with what others have said about Laurie and Jo not being a good match. I also think Jo thought of Laurie as the brother she always wanted. Laurie being married to Amy allows him to remain her brother.

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Shobana Sankar

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MinaG

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SherryRose Good thing they didn't get together. With names like Jo and Laurie people might freak out a little lol who's who?!

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Nora
Wait, what? Theres another book? :0.

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Elizabeth Dalton I think it would have been interesting but something tells me Alcott wanted Jo to be a different kind of woman. That probably says a lot for the time period. It was such a great book. Loved the TV show too as a kid - made me cry every time.

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Abbi Davis Nope I also thought they should have

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Eurasia I thought the same at my first reading but now that I'm older I can analyze their characters better and understand them wholly as human beings instead of book characters that are there to only please us.
When they were children, Jo and Laurie got along well having their mischief and sincere characters in common. But as they grew up, Jo matured in a way that had more depth in the spiritual and meaningful way. Yet although Laurie matured quite as much, his mind is still mostly focused on the realities and material parts of life, still enjoyment outweighs duty for him. In this way, he is actually like Amy, for she is quite the realistic one amongst them and sees life as it is since she was a child. Her self-centeredness also is like Laurie. She had the biggest character development by choosing mindfully to be kind and generous, choosing but still sincere, despite it not coming naturally to her. As Jo is an idealist and duty and spirit before the materialistic realities kind of person, in time, she has become the moral leader in hers and Lauries relationship, she always had to lead by example rather than looking up to him. She didn't respect him like a women should respect her husband as the head of the household (speaking in their times' terms) What's more is that she could only accept a man who she believed to be better than her, in morality and experience, someone who would add meaningful value to her life. That's just who she is. You see, it's not that she didn't have the ability to love, but she is head before heart type of person and she was able to choose who she fell in love with. She didn't let herself love Laurie that way because she believed he wouldn't be good for her in the long run. Laurie being more sentimental and emotional than Jo ever since he was a child (remember his tantrums and moods) he believed himself to be in love with his childhood best friend with whom he related all of the familial enjoyment he felt at the March house. İt'd be the perfect romantic story. But alas, he and his love wasn't mature enough to handel Jo's rejection. All that turmoil afterwards was good for him to finally mature him enough to see what he actually wanted and more importantly needed. Amy, being worldly and sensible, but also kind and morally superior to him, didn't require a man that was more mature than herself, as she could very well manage a man his entire life and that wouldn't bother her. I see that no one questions her falling for Laurie but I guess having a charming man for so long that your family holds in high esteem, not to mention your toughest judge sister approves, might have made her love him without quite so realizing. İt worked for Meg, right? Also i love that all of the answers here are in LMA's Style, made me smile

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Sam I think, sometimes, there are people who find their soul mate but not in a romantic sense. That's how it seems for Jo and Laurie. Romance would have gotten in the way. Love means different things for different people. Alcott lived in a time where women were supposed to attach themselves to the first man who showed them any admiration and marry in order to be provided for and "kept". Jo was above that sort of thing. To settle down with Laurie would not have been in her character. She loved him like a brother and, as much as she adored him, knew deep down he would not be a suitable husband for her. People make a lot of the fact she ends up with someone so much older, but to me it makes sense; she needed someone who would off-set her passion and impulsiveness, to ground her. As much as we would all like the fairy tale ending where Jo and Laurie sail off into the sunset together, it would not have been realistic or right.

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genie ♡ Well, I think the writer shows what would happen in reality and that nothing always has a fairy-tale ending.

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Irina U. I guess the ending of the book was forced to Alcott by her editor, because it really makes no sense for such a honest-to-selfish transformed character of Mr. Bhaer and such a transformed Jo, who made all the rest of her description in the book seemed a fake, to come together in such a science-fiction ending. Both characters are so radically changed in the last 3 chapters, that I am not sure why there isn't much information on the real ending of the book and not this fake one definitely imposed by the editor.

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Lil. Yes!! They are so made for eachother!

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Bhavya Goyal Yes! YES! I feel the same

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Ava I also thought she should've fallen in love too! I thought that right when they met!

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Elizabeth Dragina I think they should have fallen in love too! It made me really sad when they didn't, because then he went on and found Amy, but he knew he could never love Amy as much as he loved Jo. :( I wonder how Amy felt about that.....

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