Last week Thursday we had a pizza and movie night- well, only Ivan and I watched the movie since the kids were outside at the neighbor’s house. We rented “Little Women”- I’d been wanting to see it for a long time, the one that came out at the end of 2019.
Side note: I think I might have read this book years ago, but I can’t honestly say for sure. I’m definitely no expert on Louisa May Alcott’s works. Maybe should add to my reading list???
Anyway, since it’s Monday and the first full week of a new month and all, I thought I’d quickly share a couple of random parts that stood out to me as food for thought (I’m not prepared to do an actual in-depth movie or book review! These were literally just two takeaways that I remembered later). Maybe they’ll inspire your morning as well. 😊
1. The opening screen is a quote from Louisa May Alcott. It says, “I’ve had lots of troubles, so I write jolly tales.”
That made me pause and think about how beautiful writing really is. No matter what is going on in the real world, an author can transport himself or herself (and the readers!) to a completely other time, land, situation…..I just thought this was really cool. I loved that quote! Think of all the great works of literature that have been written over the years… each with their own “tale” to tell.
2. There is a scene toward the beginning in which Jo (the sister who is a writer) shares her work with Professor Bhaer, asking for some feedback on her stories. (Keep in mind Jo has already had some works published in the paper/ has some experience, so she thinks she is on the right track).
The professor frankly tells her that he doesn’t like her stories and that they are not good. Jo, of course, is astounded by his honesty and becomes defensive.
She stammers a response of “But….they’re in the paper! I’ve been told I have talent!”
The Professor then replies, “I didn’t say you were not talented.”
There is a brief heated dialogue between them, during which Shakespeare comes up in the conversation and is referred to as the “greatest poet of all time”.
Jo then answers, “Well, I’m no Shakespeare….”
The Professor then exclaims…. (and this is the line I love!): “Thank goodness! We already have him!”
This line jumped out at me in a big way and really resonated with me. I thought it was a great reminder that we just all need to be ourselves. Everybody else is already taken!
We all have unique differences, qualities and perspectives to bring to the world, so why emulate another person that already exists?! It can be so easy to fall into the comparison trap game, and Jo was no exception.
I loved this whole exchange, the Professor’s blunt responses and “tough love” he used to try to encourage her. I’m not sure Jo fully appreciated it in the moment, but to me it was an impactful scene. As the movie cover also says: “Own your story.”
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| This is Jo. |
I had to look up the exact wording of that opening quote, and in doing so I stumbled across a plethora of other Louisa May Alcott quotes.
Here’s one more for the road that I liked a lot (from another work of hers called The Three Gifts):
“It’s amazing how lovely common things become, if one only knows how to look at them.”
Very fitting for the theme I’m going for on this blog, wouldn’t you say? 😊
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful that Ivan has been dealing with getting the kids off to bed many nights lately so that I can just get to sleep. They have been staying up later now and I’m grateful for him just sort of taking over the whole “close up the house, get the kids in to brush teeth and to bed” routine without me even asking him to.
GRATEFUL KAE 
We loved that movie! I loved all the sibling interactions and how there was a mixture of hard times and joy 🙂
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I haven't seen this updated version but have been wanting to as I've heard it's great! I've seen the version w/ Susan Surandon version and I think I might own it? We got rid of a bunch of movies before moving. I also read the book in the last 5-7 years as I got the penguin classics version of it for Christmas one year. I used to collect them as they were so pretty – they were cloth bound and had a ribbon to use as a bookmark. But I got rid of them during a purge when I realized we just don't have a place to display books anymore!
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