What does the demand of the readership for the marriage say about audience preferences versus author intent? Just wondering aloud. Might make for an interesting post.
I published my books the indie way simply because I enjoy the right to have my characters behave as I want them to. Louisa didn’t have that; it was hard enough for a woman to be published in the first place. I do often wonder what a Jo/Laurie marriage would’ve looked like, though.
I always assumed Alcott was gay (there's some evidence of it), and as you mention was only bullied into marrying Jo off by the huge numbers of 19th-century nerd girls who identified with her and didn't like the implication they weren't going to find husbands.
(Sort of a prelude to the divide between elite and mass tastes and Hollywood and TV giving the people what they want to give them rather than what they want, you might say.)
Interesting thought! I JUST read about this mysterious “Polish boy” last night in her essay titled “My Boys” and wondered if he (and the age gap) actually inspired The Professor, but I suppose the “Laddie” nickname IS also a nod to Laurie!
I am fascinated by how authors use real life to inspire their fiction. It’s tempting for me to think “oh this person is THAT person” (and sometimes it is), but there’s also the idea of pulling from multiple people for inspiration for one character…and that is something I want to try myself with my own fiction.
This whole mysterious ordeal also reminds of Jane Austen’s (possible) elusive lover. She is another favorite author of mine and this similarity between the two is so intriguing!
Could I link to this post in an upcoming post I’m working on for discussing Little Women? 🤓 This is an excellent post!
What does the demand of the readership for the marriage say about audience preferences versus author intent? Just wondering aloud. Might make for an interesting post.
I published my books the indie way simply because I enjoy the right to have my characters behave as I want them to. Louisa didn’t have that; it was hard enough for a woman to be published in the first place. I do often wonder what a Jo/Laurie marriage would’ve looked like, though.
I always assumed Alcott was gay (there's some evidence of it), and as you mention was only bullied into marrying Jo off by the huge numbers of 19th-century nerd girls who identified with her and didn't like the implication they weren't going to find husbands.
(Sort of a prelude to the divide between elite and mass tastes and Hollywood and TV giving the people what they want to give them rather than what they want, you might say.)
Interesting thought! I JUST read about this mysterious “Polish boy” last night in her essay titled “My Boys” and wondered if he (and the age gap) actually inspired The Professor, but I suppose the “Laddie” nickname IS also a nod to Laurie!
I am fascinated by how authors use real life to inspire their fiction. It’s tempting for me to think “oh this person is THAT person” (and sometimes it is), but there’s also the idea of pulling from multiple people for inspiration for one character…and that is something I want to try myself with my own fiction.
This whole mysterious ordeal also reminds of Jane Austen’s (possible) elusive lover. She is another favorite author of mine and this similarity between the two is so intriguing!
Could I link to this post in an upcoming post I’m working on for discussing Little Women? 🤓 This is an excellent post!
Of course you can! Thank you so much for reading!
Wonderful! Thank you! ❤️