Little Women, Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel about the four March sisters, has inspired readers since it was first published in 1868. It also has inspired many directors to create their film representations of the classic story. Recently in 2019, we received Greta Gerwig’s version of the story. Previously in 1994, many fell in love with Gillian Armstrong’s version. Still, others remember older versions where Katharine Hepburn played Jo (1933) or when Elizabeth Taylor played Amy (1949).
While the versions of Little Women have somewhat changed the plot or the character arcs, one element of the plot that has stayed constant is the love triangle between Jo-Laurie-Amy. Jo and Laurie have been best friends, and Jo balks when he proposes to her, professing his love and wanting to make their friendship into a romance. Rejected, Laurie leaves, and later finds romance and a wife in Amy, Jo’s little sister. Some fans believe that Jo should have ended up with Laurie, while others believed that Amy was a better match. For both camps, there are reasons why Jo and Laurie should’ve ended up together, and there are reasons why Amy is the perfect match.
Updated on January 26th, 2022 by Amanda Bruce: No matter how times change, there’s something enduring in the story of Little Women. Readers and audiences alike enjoy watching as the March sisters learn and love as they grow up. While most of the story centers on Jo following her dreams to become a writer, the bonds between the sisters, and their romantic relationships, also help propel the story forward.
Jo and Amy are the two March siblings who are most different from one another. The two things they have in common are their love for their family and their love for their neighbor Laurie. The love they feel for him is a little different though. While Laurie might have initially thought he wanted to spend his life with Jo, he did grow to love Amy, leaving fans of the book and the movie adaptation debating who his perfect match is for years.
Laurie And Jo Should Have Been Together
Jo Had An Instant Connection To Laurie
No matter which version of Little Women is examined, one thing remains true about the bond between Jo and Laurie: it happened immediately. Jo and Laurie met at a party that Jo only attended to accompany Meg. She might have had little use for making society appearances, but Meg adored it.
Laurie, for his part, was uninterested in the events of the evening until he met Jo. They bonded by talking about everyone else there and hiding the scorch marks on Jo’s dress. Their connection was instantaneous and didn’t waver until Laurie told Jo how he feels much later in life. It was Jo who introduced him to the rest of the family, and he didn’t have the same bonding experience with everyone else, not even Amy.
Jo Admired Laurie Without Idolizing Him
Jo thought the best of Laurie, even encouraging her sisters to let him into their theatre group and to be an active member of it. She always thought the best of him and welcomed him to be part of her family, her inner sphere.
However, unlike Amy, she never idolized him. Laurie was as human as she was, and they’d bicker. It made them real. He wouldn’t have to live up to extremely high expectations with Jo. She’d accept him as he was.
The Fans Wanted Jo And Laurie Together
It’s said that when Alcott wrote the book in two volumes, fans really wanted Jo and Laurie to end up together. Even by modern conventional romantic-comedy standards, the structure makes sense. Two friends who grew up together discover that they love each other. We see this in films like Almost Be My Maybe (2019). Or one friend harbors romantic feelings for the other, and it takes time for the other friend to realize that they feel the same like in Made of Honor (2008).
It’s a classic romantic story structure, and it provides both conflict and resolution. It could be that Laurie and Amy ending up together feels unsettling because their partnership isn’t the standard structure of conflict and resolution; it’s more open-ended than that.
Jo Pushes Laurie to Do More with His Music
While this aspect of Laurie isn’t focused on as much in the 2019 version, Laurie is the son of a musician. He also is talented, though not always as driven as Jo. Jo encourages him to continue his craft.
This is something that Amy wouldn’t do because it may make for a more unstable future. She’d encourage him to follow his family’s practical pursuits, rather than music.
Jo Has Been Laurie’s Romantic Interest for Years
In all film versions and the book, Laurie basically tells Jo that he’s been in love with her for a long time. His affection for her didn’t occur suddenly; it manifested throughout their friendship. Because he’s enamored with her, he becomes enamored with her family. In the 1994 film, Laurie actually tells Amy that he’d be jealous of any suitor that the March sisters had because he wants to be a part of the March family.
This and the sudden relationship he has with Amy does make Amy seem second fiddle to Jo. Additionally, Jo was always the March family member that he was closest to, a bond that we see even with the name that Jo calls him, “Teddy.”
Jo Is Laurie’s Best Friend
Jo and Laurie have been best friends all of the time that they have known each other. They joke together, they jab at each other, and they support each other. They know each other, and they know each other well. They both enjoy one another’s company and they prefer it over other people’s.
Since their friendship has been so solid, a romance built upon it could be just as solid. Additionally, Jo encourages Laurie to be playful, and they have a lot of fun together laughing and joking around.
Amy And Laurie Were A Perfect Match Because
Amy Got Laurie To Grow Up And Face His Feelings
If there’s one place where Amy and Jo differed in their approach to Laurie, it’s in facing their feelings – and getting him to face his own. Jo wanted to pretend that there were no romantic feelings between them. In every version, she has begged him not to say anything when he starts to tell her how he feels. Jo also then, in every version, has avoided him, allowing Laurie to wallow in his misery instead of face the rejection.
Amy, on the other hand, was not going to put up with that. When she met up with him again in Europe, she chastised his attitude, his treatment of others, and naturally, his treatment of her. There has never been avoidance in Amy’s character, and her tendency to dive headfirst into situations meant that Laurie had to meet her in the deep end.
Amy Never Thought of Him Platonically
Now, this depends on which version you see of the film representations. It’s suggested that Amy always thought of Laurie as a potential romance. When she’s sent away when Beth is sick with scarlet fever, young Amy fears that she could die and worries that she’ll do so without being kissed.
Laurie jokingly, but sincerely, swears to her that he would give her a kiss before she dies. Amy longs for Laurie, and although he is her friend, in her mind, he could be so much more.
Alcott Chose To Pair Laurie And Amy
Laurie ended up with Amy because Alcott decided to make Amy Laurie’s romantic partner. It could’ve been the way that Alcott, often a writer of more scandalous stories, wanted to bring in a little scandal to this otherwise moral story.
Additionally, while Laurie loves Jo, he doesn’t quite understand what is most important to her — her writing. He doesn’t take that aspect of her that seriously. In one film version, he actually tells her that she doesn’t have to write once since he marries him unless she wants to do so. Of course, Jo has to write because it’s who she is, which could lead us to think that Jo’s creativity may have been stifled if she had married Laurie.
Amy Is More Pragmatic Than Jo
Even though Amy may not encourage his music, in other ways Amy’s logical thinking could help Laurie. She’s like the ground in the relationship. Laurie can be a little wild like Jo, and he may need someone to hold him stable and accountable from time to time.
In the 2019 film version, we see that Amy fulfills this role even more than we did in previous versions. Amy can chide and call Laurie out, and it could be that he needs that.
Amy Is Diplomatic and Can Fit Into Laurie’s World Easily
Amy can cross social statuses more easily than Jo. She understands how to be diplomatic, but not walked over. When Jo worked for Aunt March, she didn’t adapt or temper her feelings. Amy was able to thrive with Aunt March. In the film versions, this relationship means that Amy gets more opportunities like traveling to Europe to do art or help in arranging a wealthy suitor match. Also, she understands how to present herself, dressing in a way that may suggest more wealth than her family actually has.
This is not to say that Amy becomes someone else or feels ashamed of her background, but rather than she understands how to present it and how each situation may require her to adapt just a little. Jo wouldn’t have had this attention to detail, and moreover, she wouldn’t have liked having to hold or rearrange her words for others. She’d have felt a bit more caged than Amy did.
Amy Loves Laurie
When all is said and done, Amy does love Laurie. She has loved him for a long time, and Laurie needs to be loved. If he’d have married Jo, she may have tried to convince herself that she loved him romantically, but Amy does it without trying.
Laurie gets a love match. From it, he gets to be part of the March family, so he’ll always be connected to everyone, including Jo. Greta Gerwig’s version of Little Women also does a good job at making it clear that Amy isn’t Laurie’s second choice, though she believes that. Laurie clearly loves Amy; it just takes him longer for those feelings to grow.
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