3 Life Lessons from Jo March

The movie theatre is dark around me as the last of scenes of Greta Gerwig’s adaption of “Little Women” plays in front of my eyes. I’ve snuggled down into the seat, munched on popcorn, and transported myself into the colorful and cozy world of the March home in late 1860. I’ve ridden the ups and downs of joy and sorrow with the March girls, laughing at Amy’s antics, crying over Beth’s health, cheering for Meg and her marriage, and wondering if Jo will ever find happiness. As I watch the loose threads of the story slowly knot and tie off the tapestry scene by scene, I'm on the edge of my seat. One of my favorite scenes is when Jo recieves sudden inspiration for her novel and holes herself away in the attic, writing by hand, laying the pages out on the floor under candlelight.  

In that moment, I realized that I share a soul with Josephine March.

Maybe it was her tomboyish yet feminways that made me want to take up more space in the world. 

Maybe it was watching her chase her dreams so hard, she practically out raced them. 

Maybe it was how she faced the world head on with her passionate love and furious anger.

Either way, Jo March continues to be one of the greatest fictional influences of my life. 

Take Up Space 

“No one will forget Jo March.”

I’ve always loved Jo March’s tomboyish ways that seemed to make her more of a woman. How she wanted to step up for her family when her father was at war. The way she had adventures with the boy next door, Laurie Laurence. How she gave up things she valued (her hair) for others (money for her father). She lived loud and hard no matter what. She took up the space in the world that needed Jo March - and then some. She was authentically Jo, in the beauty and the mess.

Fight for Your Dreams

“I’ve got the key to my castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen.” 

When no one else believed she could, Jo knew she would be a writer. She stayed up late into the night and stole moments away to write. She struggled with selling her stories and staying authentic to herself. She fought for those words. Jo stayed true to herself and her dreams but she also grew into the women that both her parents knew she could be - courageous, wild, and full of joy.

Don't be Afraid to Feel 

“Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts.”

Jo feels every emotion so strongly: anger, joy, fear, grief, pain, excitement. She finds joy in her friendship with Laurie, anger at Amy burning her manuscript, grief over Beth’s death, comfort with her older sister Meg, excitement in her writing, pain over her father being gone, and love with Friedrich Bhaer. The list could go on and one with each emotion that causes Jo pain or joy but she never backs away from feeling any of it. She fully embraces all her emotions without fear.

At the end of the movie, Jo watches as her manuscript - the story of her heart- finally become a real book. Moveable type is arranged, pages are printed and bound together, leather is shaped across the cover, and gold leaf is brushed away to reveal Jo's name on the cover. That scene always bring tears to my eyes and sends goosebumps down my arms. Watching Jo see her dreams come true and finally hold her book in her hands makes something in me take flight. Jo March inspires me to keep writing, to keep fighting for my dreams, to take up space, and to never stop feeling.

And in closing, here are Jo's own words:

“I want to do something splendid before I go into my castle--something heroic, or wonderful--that won't be forgotten after I'm dead. I don't know what, but I'm on the watch for it, and mean to astonish you all, some day. I think I shall write books, and get rich and famous; that would suit me, so that is my favorite dream.”

Until next time, friend.

~ K.J. Haakenson