7 Life Lessons in Little Women

7 Life Lessons in Little Women &
A Review with Discussion Questions for the 2019 Movie

Know Before You Watch the 2019 Little Women Movie:

Movie: Little Women (2019)
Rating: PG
Age Suggestion:  10+
Running Time: 2 hrs 15 min
Release Date: December 20th, 2019
Stars: 5 out of 5
Themes: Family, Friendship, Romance, Drama, Service
Warnings: This movie deals with loss and has long dramatic scenes that might bore viewers under the age of ten.

Quick Summary of the 2019 Little Women Movie:

The beloved classic book, Little Women, brought to life again. This time told mainly from Jo’s memory and flashbacks. Follow the four March sisters as they struggle to leave childhood behind and move into a harsh patriarchal society with passion, determination and each other. A must see for moms and their daughters. Check out the trailer here. Or the book here. And keep reading for lessons in Little Women from each of the characters!

Discussion Questions for the 2019 Little Women Movie:
(Could also be applied to the book or other movies) 

1) Which sister or character do you identify with the most?

2) I was amazed by all the ways that the movie was so relevant to today’s issues! Do you agree? What did you think the main similarities and differences are?

3) This story significantly impacted me. Did it impact you? How so? If not, what’s a recent story that has significantly impacted you?

4) The sisters are passionate about different dreams- what dream are you the most passionate about right now?

5) The girls parents lead them to be compassionate givers, how can you be more giving? Did you think it detracted from or enriched their lives?

6) Were you satisfied with where each character ended up at the end of the story?

A Lesson From Each Little Woman (+Laurie):
Life Lessons from Little Women…

There are SO many life lessons in Little Women- here are the lessons that stuck out to us during the 2019 movie!

1- MarMee: Compassion Speaks Louder Than Words

“The March Family loves a good cause!” One of Amy’s schoolmates groans. MarMee taught her girls to be compassionate with the less fortunate, but perhaps more importantly, to humanize and be compassionate with each other. My FAVORITE scene in the movie was when the March girls brought their Christmas breakfast down to the Hummel family, giggling and smiling, juxtaposed with a somber crowd of dressed up people walking into a church. What a great visual example of Christ-like behavior.

2- Jo March: Passion With Persistence is Key

Jo’s passionate, headstrong personality gets her into plenty of trouble. It’s the balance of compassion and persistence that makes her successful. With just passion alone, she would have quit from rejection and probably isolated everyone in her life. She struggles with her role in her family, society, and with her belief in herself. But she never gives up! She’s an unlikely leader and beautiful heroine and we cheer with her success. (PS- LOVED her final scene!)

3- Meg March: We Have Different Dreams- They’re All Important!

One of my favorite moments of the preview- and of the movie was when Meg looks at Jo and says “Just because my dreams are different than yours, doesn’t mean they aren’t important!” What a wonderful theme that is in this movie! We’re all different, important and we need each other!

4- Beth March: Everyone Has Deep Impacts.

No one is unimportant. Sometimes the patient, quiet people- they have the deepest impacts! EVERYONE has reaches they don’t even know about. Beth rarely leaves her house and she leaves lifelong impressions on everyone around them that deeply impact them.

5- Amy March: Persevere And Create Without Needing To Be Great

Amy is passionate about art. She wanted to be a genius, like her sister was with writing. She gets so frustrated and wants to quit- but she persevered! The person that the character was based on (Alcott’s sister) has paintings that are still remembered and displayed today. Our desire to create is innate and just wanting praise is a quick road to burnout. A good lesson for us all to find meaning in our work outside of what people say about it.

6- Aunt March: “You can be right and foolish”

Aunt March prides herself in being right. And while she may have been right about the societal norms- she was foolish about hording her money and affection. Whereas Mr. Lawrence was generous and open, she was closed off, bitter and unfeeling.

7-Laurie: Let It Go

Long before Elsa was letting it go- Laurie was teaching us how to! He struggled through it- but he had to let go of the pictures of what he thought his life was supposed to be like. With his parents, with Jo, and with work. Once he let those ideals go and moved onto new dreams, he thrived. In this movie, I loved how he struggled with Jo and Amy’s admonishments but really took them to heart and they all made each other better.

New 2019 Little Women Movie Review: 

-Characters & Acting: The casting was really very well done- loved the actresses and actors!! The characters are classic for good reason- the story is very character driven. They stayed very true to the original, while adding in a little material from Louisa May Alcott’s life. You can learn more about her here.

-Script & Story: Greta Gerwig’s adaption is a slightly different perspective than any other version I’ve seen. Very well done. It’s difficult to flip-flop between points in the main character’s life so consistently without loosing the audience! Lessons in little women were so well woven in- none of it felt forced, it all just felt very human and relatable. We got to take our grandmother who had never seen a film adaption of Little Women and she kept up with the story well and really enjoyed it.

-Film Quality: I love a well done time piece movie! The details were wonderful!! Everything from the period- the costumes, decor, and language- just flowed wonderfully and realistically. The Ranger pointed out the color gradient to me. There was a subtle lighting difference between the modern and past scenes that helped it flow subconsciously.

Favorite Moments from the 2019 Little Women Movie:

-We loved that it was such a good interpretation of what a woman’s life was like back then. The feminist aspects of the movie were done compellingly instead of in a beat-you-over-the-head way.

-It was nice seeing more of the March sisters as they struggled with the transition into adulthood, instead of just a brief section of the movie being about their adult lives.

-This adaption showed more of what Louisa May Alcott’s life would have been like.

-There’s just so much warm, togetherness and love along with such determination and passion- and in a culture that is so polarized right now that’s just nice to see.

Own your story, pursue your dreams, be of service to others, stay brave and consistent- your life matters!

Thanks for checking out our Life Lessons from Little Women post!

Before you go, check out these posts!

–Downton Abbey movie review + show recap!

-Lessons from the Brene Brown Netflix special the Call to Courage

-5 Things we learned from Mr. Rogers + A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood movie review

-5 Lessons from Raya and the Last Dragon

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