Little Women Podcast

This time Christina and I are chatting about the fact that Friedrich Bhaer has never been played by an actual German actor in a major Little Women film adaptation, even though Louisa May Alcott was nuts about Germany. We are chatting about Daniel Brühl and the presentation of Germans in the modern media.

Louisa May Alcott´s favourite writer was the German poet Goethe and not only did Louisa use Goethe´s plot devices in her novels such as Little Women, but Goethe also seemed to have been one of the main models for professor Bhaer´s character. There was a real-life Friedrich Bhaer. In fact, Louisa May Alcott wanted to marry him and even start a school with him. This man appears in literal disguises in all of her novels. He is Friedrich in Little Women, Mac in Rose in Bloom, David in Work, an...

Louisa May Alcott always wanted to become a mother and she always seemed to have grieved that she didn´t have children of her own. Like many other things, she gave what she wanted to her literal counterpart. Join Christina and me in our discussion about Jo´s and Friedrich´s desire to become parents.

How did I get started in Louisa May Alcott's research? Is Beth really just part of the sick girl trope or is there more in her? and why is Friedrich from Germany? Why did the film-makers erase Laurie's backstory? What is Amy's relationship with Catholicism? was Louisa May Alcott religious? Did she want to get married? are Fritz and Laurie really based on men in her life? I've got so many questions from you guys that I will answer them in this excellent Little Women Q&A.

Many people wonder why Jo starts a school for boys..even though Little Women mentions how much Jo loves boys many times. In Little Men, we can see how Jo and Friedrich wish that their boys grow to respect women, so could Jo starting a school for boys actually be a feminist act?

A deep dive into Louisa May Alcott´s views on wealth and the transcendentalist thoughts on money. Why self-reliance is such an important aspect of Jo´s and Friedrich´s relationship and why Amy does not want a lazy husband. Join the Little Women podcast to get answers to all these questions. There was a real-life Friedrich Bhaer. In fact, Louisa May Alcott wanted to marry him and even start a school with him. This man appears in literal disguises in all of her novels. He is Friedrich in Lit...

The ever-old question. The novel answers why Jo rejected Laurie, but the filmmakers never show us Laurie´s growth process, or why Jo travelled to New York in the first place. There are sentences in her book collection that Louisa May Alcott has highlighted. For example, in Louisa's copy of Goethe's Wilhelm Meister Louisa has highlighted scenes that all indicate Wilhelm's growth when he moves on from Marianne to Natalia. In Little Women what indicates growth is when Laurie moves on from...

One of Louisa May Alcott´s favourite writers was the German poet Goethe and Laurie´s character arc in Little Women is surprisingly similar to Goethe´s young hero, Werther. Join me in a discussion where we are decoding these two characters.

This time Emily and I are discussing the portrayal of strong female characters in the media, and when did loneliness become a mark of being strong. Also discussing Louisa May Alcott´s own loneliness and her search for love and acceptance.

In this collaboration with Emiloid, we explore why film makers put Jo and Amy against one another in Little Women. Do they have more in common than we think? Amy and Jo, not so different after all. Why on earth the filmmakers think it is a good idea to have the two sisters fight over a guy when in the novel they both find Laurie lazy and unproductive (and Amy eventually becomes the one who helps him to shape up his act). Little Women is a coming of age story, both Amy and Jo grow as people.