Amy March from Little Women.
When I was younger, Jo was my favourite character—intelligent, creative, a free spirit. She didn’t care much for traditional values and was very ambitious. She pursued her dreams of writing and after long years of hard work, she succeeded!
Amy, on the other hand, felt more like an obstacle in Jo’s story. She seemed so stuck-up and materialistic, wanting pretty things and to live in high society.
She selfishly wanted to be liked at school, smuggling in pickled limes in return for just a brief taste of popularity. She scorned those who were less fortunate, much preferring the company of the wealthy. She burned Jo’s book! This is, perhaps, the most egregious of all her crimes. All Jo’s hard work, slaving away at her desk, gone because of a mean-spirited younger sister.
Yet, as I’ve grown older, I’ve gained a more rounded perspective of the world, and with each read of the novel, I understand the struggles of every character a little more. Each one of the March sisters grows up and matures into womanhood.
As one of four siblings, I also recognise the perspectives of each of the four girls. Amy, the youngest of the four, feels as though she has to compete with her three older sisters. Meg is so mature and responsible. Jo’s talented and hardworking. Beth’s kind and never causes trouble.
But she’s Amy. She wants new drawing pencils, she’s sick of all the hand-me-downs, she wants people to see her and like her. Of course she does! And of course, this makes her appear to be the loudest, the most selfish, the vainest of the four.
“I want to be great or nothing.”
Amy and Jo are incredibly similar—both ambitious in their respective artistic pursuits—but Jo came first. Jo’s older. Jo’s more adventurous. It’s Jo’s story. She’s the writer. Is Amy jealous? Yes. No one wants to live in their sister’s shadow.
Amy does experience hardship—all the girls do. She makes difficult decisions; decisions which, no matter how small, mould her into the woman she is in the end. Often, she makes the wrong choices: the limes, her classroom caricatures, Jo’s manuscript… She suffers greatly because of them. She learns. In the end, she gives up her artistic dreams, adopting a more pragmatic view of the world.
Instead, she seeks out a different castle in the air. Eventually, Amy marries Laurie—while my 12-year-old heart says it should’ve been Jo—and it feels right. Amy has a lot of sense. She’s no longer a schoolgirl, vying for attention. She’s wiser. She’s learned from past mistakes and understands the world she lives in.
Picture Source Wikipedia
Thanks for Reading
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