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Wen | Jiang Xu
Life kisses me with pain, but I sing in return.
This is a famous quote by the American writer Louisa May Olcott, giving people the strength to work hard. Her autobiographical novel Little Women is a wonderful interpretation of this sentence.
"Little Women" is about the growth experience of several girls in an ordinary family about personal ideals, about love and marriage, and about family education during the American Civil War. The growth history of the four sisters and flowers has brought four different life paths.
The simple and touching storyline and the beautiful character of the characters in it make this work one of the best family novels in the United States and become an enlightenment book for girls to grow up.
The film "Little Women", based on this novel, is sought after by young people, and after "sometimes heartbreak will also burst into laughter", it gives people positive energy to be aggressive.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > about ideals: stick to them and make dreams shine into reality</h1>
The American writer O'Neill wrote a book called "Attitude Determines Destiny." The four little women in the film show four attitudes towards ideals.
The four girls in the March family have their own temperament and have different life pursuits.
Joe is the central character of the film and the second daughter of the March family, and her independent, optimistic and cheerful personality makes her play a leading role among her sisters.
Joe's dream is to be a writer, and she works tirelessly for this purpose. Sometimes when inspiration strikes, she will stand in the corner and write a book, and the hem of her skirt will be burned unconsciously. Admirers presented Joshua with the complete works of Shakespeare, calling her "the writer of the attic."
The writer in the attic could not regard writing as a pure hobby. In order to help her mother share the responsibilities, in addition to being a tutor, her father also wrote stories and took the initiative to submit articles, and she could only compromise on the deletion suggestions proposed by the magazine editor, and she needed to use the fee to support her family.
The eldest daughter, Meg, is beautiful and virtuous, and she wants to be an actress and stand on the stage to shine. The third daughter, Amy, is outgoing and hot, and she has many ideals, the biggest of which is to be the best painter in the world. The youngest daughter, Beth, is introverted and quiet, good at playing the piano, and her wish is to stay with her family forever.
On the ideal path, persistence or abandonment, different mentalities, bring different destinies.
Meg follows the rules, is a habitual lady, lacks the courage to chase, and her dream of being an actor is always just a pipe dream.
Amy loves to draw and gets the chance to study abroad, but she is in a hurry and gives up her artistic ambitions early.
Bey has no vanity at all, and only uses the piano as a companion. Although little has been achieved, the purity of the hobby has been preserved.
Speaking of Joe, she is a fledgling, writing according to her favorite style, adhering to her inner integrity, unwilling to cater to market demand, and her works are not cared for. What does it mean to write something that no one reads and can't get paid for?
Little sister Beth helped her find the meaning of writing - at that time, Beth was very ill, she liked the stories written by Joe, and the kind she may just want to help her sister, "Write something for me, you are a writer, but you are not famous yet." 」 I'm a patient, and you have to listen to me. ”
Joe loved his sister, so he went on writing. Later, beth died, Joe, under the great shock of the heart, forgot to eat, and wrote a best-selling book that can be equally dialogued with the publishing house - "Little Women" based on the growth experience of the four sisters.
Regarding ideals, if you are timid in pursuit, you are doomed to be a fool's dream; if you taste it, you can only isolate yourself from the blueprint in your heart; if you have no desires and no demands, you will have no fear and fearlessness; if you persevere, you can make your dreams shine into reality, just like Joe.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > about marriage: freedom of marriage is the basis for girls' human rights and independence</h1>
Compared with idealism, the film's greater inspiration lies in the concept of marriage.
Joe was self-determined, and in the face of Aunt March's suggestion to be a lady and marry a rich man, she bravely retorted: "Thank you for giving me a job and all kinds of love, but I plan to go my own way." ”
In 19th-century America, girls were not treated fairly, marrying a rich man, and relying on each other to support themselves was almost all girls' only choice. Joe didn't want that, she felt that girls could make their own money or not get married.
She refuses to go with the flow and wants to live as she wishes. She wanted to support herself and her family by writing this path.
Joe loves freedom and never intends to get married for the rest of his life. She rejected the marriage proposal of the rich man and told the other party frankly: "I am happy to live independently." ”
Once, talking with his mother about love, Qiao revealed his inner thoughts: "Women, not only have a heart, but also a mind and soul, women not only have beauty, but also ambition and talent, I am really fed up with what people say that women only need to fall in love, and then get married and have children, but I am the only one who thinks so..."
Joe felt trapped on an island, and the sisters around him regarded marriage as a compulsory course in life.
Meg meets her beloved governess, who has nothing, and she is still willing to marry him. Meg told Joe that she wanted to get married and have a family. She prematurely assumed the roles of wife and mother, enduring poverty with her husband and struggling to earn a living.
Poor married life, so that Meg has complained. She often encounters blows, but in patience and tolerance, she learns to be satisfied and considerate.
This is growth.
Amy lacks feminist awareness, and she feels that women can't earn money to support themselves. When she stopped expecting to find a way out artistically, she turned her attention to marriage.
Amy believes that marriage is an economic issue. She seized the social opportunity to try to catch a golden turtle son-in-law. In order to seek financial dependence, she associates with boys she does not love and speaks against her heart.
Amy, who was bent on marrying a rich man, later rejected the rich man's marriage proposal. On the scale of money and love, she finally chose the latter.
Sometimes, growth is just a thought.
Aunt March, who owns a million family property, never married in her life, encouraged her four nieces to become married. Joe asked her why she didn't get married, and she hit back forcefully: "Because the old woman has money herself!" ”
Times have developed, concepts have changed dramatically, and girls have gained autonomy in marriage. Regarding marriage, I appreciate the artist Xu Jinglei's view of marriage, which coincides with Joe's idea:
"I don't think people have to get married, because marriage used to be a guarantee, I don't think my life needs such a guarantee, and I don't think it has to be a form to be able to do anything." I feel very secure emotionally, and I don't need anyone to protect me financially. ”
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > about education: what kind of person you want your child to be, you have to be what kind of person you want to be</h1>
Watching "Little Women", it is easy to think of the British writer Jane Oss's "Pride and Prejudice". The protagonists of both works are a group of girls like flowers, both writing about their ideals and marriage.
The difference is that the parents in Pride and Prejudice are ignorant and vulgar, some of their children are shallow and ignorant, some are greedy for vanity, and the protagonist Elizabeth builds an independent and wise character by her own growth.
The parents of "Little Women" are a couple of beautiful character, the four daughters pursue different, but they are kind, optimistic, strong, charitable, grateful, and have the courage to "live to kiss me, but I repay it with a song".
Mrs. March's words in a heartfelt conversation with Joe are her educational philosophy for children and a will of the film. She said: "Man should not suppress his noble nature. She taught her children this way and led by example.
Mrs. March discovers that her newly moved neighbor is a widow, alone with five young children, and life is very difficult. She went home and offered to give the mother a Christmas treat. She then took her daughters and brought food and clothes to the orphans and widows. Their arrival brought warmth and laughter to the Qing han home.
By chance, Beth was invited by her neighbor, Mr. Lawrence, to visit his opulent and spacious home every day and sit in front of a beautiful and gorgeous piano to practice playing. Beth was shy, and to show her gratitude, she sewed a beautiful pair of slippers for Mr. Lawrence. Mr. Laura was so moved that she gave her the piano.
What kind of person is the father of these little women, Mr. March? He was enthusiastic about public welfare after the conquest, and cared about street children more than his own family.
This sense of social responsibility has influenced Joe. Later, she was fortunate enough to be given aunt March's mansion, and her first thought was not how to live comfortably with her family, but to use it to open a school, an advanced school for both boys and girls.
In his letter, Mr. March taught the girls to work hard and live bravely.
Parents are the first teachers of children, and parental practice is the most effective education. What kind of person you want your child to become, what kind of person you want to be first.
This is another inspiration that the film gives to the audience.
American writer Louisa May Olcott
Joe in the film is the incarnation of Louisa May Olcott, author of The Little Women. She was born into a poor family, and her father, Brownson Olcott, was an educator, not very famous, who had a lifelong ambition to run a school, but because of practical obstacles, it was ultimately failed to achieve.
As a young man, Olcott shared the family responsibilities for his parents, working as a maid, a tailor, and a governess. She loved freedom and never married for the rest of her life. At the end of the film, Joe's determination to start a school can be regarded as Olcott's consolation to his father.
Regarding personal ideals, love marriage, and family education, "Little Women" is the growth history of the four sisters and an enlightenment book of positive energy. This is also the reason why this "girl's book" from more than 100 years ago still has educational significance to this day.
[Author's profile: Jiang Xu, a post-80s woman, is a signed author of Ten Point Reading. Cook words to cure hunger, borrow a pen to draw the heart. Has published "Li Qingzhao: Wine poetry who shares". Click "Follow" in the top right corner to watch more related content. 】