Little women 2019 film tries to stay true to Little Women novel by Louisa May Alcott, but new adaptation in the film has made significant differences. This indicates a notable difference between the narrative technique in the book and the film. Some of the narrative techniques changes made in the film are meant to help the story’s flow. The changes also assist on the thematic level to allow the director of the film to examine the novel from new angles that feels distinctly modern. Therefore, the narrative technique difference between novel and film ensures that the movie stays faithful to the novel without changing its intended message.
In most cases, meta-narrative reveals certain themes from an initial book. A study conducted by Eiselein and Phillips uses the meta-narrative technique to draw the central theme of showing how first readers and reviewers of Little Women’s novel identify something new (364). In addition, the aim of the meta-narrative technique is also to identify contextual factors related to the newness of the novel. Like Eiselein and Phillip’s study, the film adds meta-narrative technique to the style used in the novel. In the film, meta-narrative is specifically used to show the life of Jo as she started the movie as one of the worst writers, but she eventually matures as a person and an artist later in the movie. On the other hand, the novel lacks meta-narrative techniques because it parallels Alcott’s life. Further on, to show the novel does not use the mete-narrative method, Jo gets married in the book while Alcott remains single, however, their stories are similar in spirit and content. Although meta-narrative is not used in the novel, the study and the film use it derive specific themes.
Another significant change to the structure of the novel made by the film is the reordering of the events. The book starts with Christmas when all the March girls are teenagers (Alcott 123). On the other hand, the films begin when Jo March is 25-years-old in a publisher’s office in New York City. Further on, the film jumps back and forth to show the growing up of the March sisters with character beats rather than linear time. The film also has a scene that moves through a thread of emotion and association, stringing together an appealing narrative that feels like watching Jo’s memory. In addition, the mixing of timelines by film successfully brings out an emotional arc regardless of the events happening differently from the novel. For instance, at the beginning of the movie, Jo is an uncertain artist who does not know her worth, but she realizes herself. Therefore, restructuring made by film aims to ensure that viewers come on a journey with the director.
Although the film takes original content from the novel, the director has slightly changed its message to dig deeper into the present issues. In addition, the original message delivered in the book cannot be changed entirely, but the 2019 film provides the classical story with a voice that speaks better of the current generation. Therefore, changes in times have affected the making of the film from the novel.
In addition, there is a change in Meg’s character of pretending to be rich. In the film and the novel, Meg is invited to spend some time with wealthy girls. While at the event, some girls take Meg on a pet project of flirt drinking and behaving in a manner that would not make Marmee proud. In the film, however, she tells Laurie that she would like to have one night’s fun which he does not approve of, but he allows her to have her moment (Eiselein and Phillips 365). In the novel, there are more ramifications of this behavior. For example, apart from Daisy being treated like a pet, she gossips about her behavior (Alcott 200). After all of her parting, Alcott mentions that she is sick the following day, making it a more cautionary tale. She also wears a pink dress in the film instead of blue, like in the novel.
Amy’s big speech is another significant change because it concentrates more on women’s rights issues. In the book, Alcott has written many lines that have been used in the 2019 films. Some of the lines used in the movie include: Amy talking about wanting to be great before polishing other talents and Amy being ornamented to society if she is given a chance. In addition, the film has added a scene in Amy’s character to allow her to express hope to the current state of the society where marrying gives women value and men technically own children (Alcott 250). Therefore, changes made in Amy’s characters of pretending to be rich make sure there are appealing moments in the movie.
In conclusion, significant changes are made to the novel for the film to succeed. One of them of the significant changes made by the film is the narrative technique used by the film. Although the director has changed the narrative approach to meta-narrative, she has ensured that the film stays faithful to the novel. In addition, changes have been made to the main characters Jo, Amy, and Meg, but their roles have not been completely changing. Therefore, all the changes made by the film ensure the flow and the chronological arrangement of thoughts to appeal to the audience.
Works Cited
Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women Abroad: The Alcott Sisters’ Letters from Europe, 1870-1871. University Of Georgia Press, 2008, pp. 4-372.
Eiselein, Gregory, and Anne K. Phillips. “The Newness of Little Women”. Women’s Studies, vol 48, no.4, 2019, pp. 363-365. Informa UK Limited.