Greta Gerwig’s <em>Little Women</em> Gives Amy March Her Due
Greta Gerwig had just encountered a problem that the characters in her film Little Women never would have: a deluge of messages on her iPhone. As we sat inside the Boxwood restaurant in West Hollywood in November, Gerwig struggled to sort past the new ones. Swipe. Swipe. Swipe. Pause. Tap. Swipe. “Oh God,” the writer-director groaned. “I have inbox a million.”
There was an email she wanted to show me, Gerwig explained as she scrolled. It contained an argument that dovetailed nicely with what we were discussing: the underrated appeal of Amy March, perhaps the most divisive character in Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age classic. Gerwig, who has adapted the novel about four sisters growing up in New England during the Civil War, adored the youngest sibling and thought previous onscreen takes on her didn’t give the character her due. “When I read [the novel] as an adult, Amy was the one who struck me as having some of the most interesting things to say and having the most utterly clear-eyed view of the world,” she said. “I think I started seeing her as this …” she paused. “This equally potent character to [the protagonist] Jo.”
Amy, though, has long been maligned by readers. As a child, she’s spoiled, bratty, and self-obsessed—qualities that especially grate on her older sister (and Alcott’s proxy) Jo. The rivalry between Amy and Jo grows as they get older. Amy
