In The Book Little Women, Who Thinks Jo Marsh Should Have Wound Up With Laurie?

The Little Women Book Cover - The book cover of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott...
Australia
February 18, 2008 12:19am CST
I know I certainly do! They were perfect for one another. He loved her and he knew her. He also was not afraid to tell her that or to tell her when she was wrong. I was so mad when they didn't wind up together. To top it all off, he winds up with her sister. The sister that was the most spoiled! That was just sooo wrong!!! Who's with me on this one?
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9 responses
@spoiled311 (5500)
• Philippines
18 Feb 08
hahaha i didn't know someone had such strong reactions about how jo's love story went. but yeah, like you, i got disappointed when the tale didn't end the way i expected. i really wanted them to be together, after all, they had been friends a long time and the guy is very understanding of her idiosyncracies. but i guess that was what made Little Women a beautiful story, one couldn't guess the posibble outcome. i thoroughly enjoyed the story and how i wish i could write something like that too. take care sassykittycat! :-) God bless you! :-)
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• Australia
18 Feb 08
LOL...Eh, I always get that way with the books I read. I love Little Women and the whole series that goes with it. I hated that Jo didn't go with Laurie however and if I had to change one thing about the books, it would be that LOL... Thank you, take care of yourself as well :-)
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@kellys3ps (3723)
• United States
18 Feb 08
I totally agree with you! I really thought as I read the book that he would end up with Jo, but, nope!
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• Australia
18 Feb 08
I know, that was the only thing I would change about the books. They should have went together!!!
• Canada
18 Feb 08
I have to disagree with you on this one. I think that the fact that they did not end up together was a lesson to the reader that things do not always happen as they were supposed to. I think Laurie and Amy were genuinely happy to end up together, and Jo and the Professor were made for eachother. Why should two people be happy when four people can be REALLY happy?
• Australia
18 Feb 08
Because if we wanted real life, we wouldn't read books to escape it... I am still not convinced ;-) THEY SHOULD HAVE WOUND UP TOGETHER I SAY!!! ;-)
18 Feb 08
I don't think Jo should really have married anyone but stayed independent and pursued a career as a novelist like Louisa May Alcott did in real life. She would have resented Laurie for always trying to spoil her and not letting her make her own way in life. I think he only settled for Amy because he couldn't have Jo and marrying her sister was the nearest he could get. But they were happy enough in the end and Amy was much more appreciative of his fortune than Jo would have been.
• Australia
18 Feb 08
I have to disagree with you here. I think Jo and the way her head was always in the clouds, as far as romantic stories went, would not have been happy never experiencing that for herself. And let me just say, that you CAN be married and still think and do for yourself at times... As for Laurie spoiling Jo, I don't think that would have happened. He was never afraid to put Jo in her place and tell her when she was being foolish and wrong at times. They even fought several times because of it. And as for Jo not appreciating his money as much as Amy, well I definitely have to disagree here. Amy always got her way and was spoiled. Jo longed to see the world and Amy was chosen to do so, by Aunt Marsh. I think Jo would have loved to have the money to do so. Although, I do have to say that Jo never really seemed to feel comfortable around those with more means and so in regards to that, Amy was more suited for that lifestyle. However, I think that Laurie would have made Jo feel comfortable and would not have forced her to do things that she didn't feel comfortable doing... I agree with your statement that Laurie married Amy because he couldn't have Jo, which makes me feel sorry for Amy. If my sister would have went with a guy that there was even a chance that I liked or who liked me, I would have been furious. Something like that is just off limits and wrong, in my opinion anyway.
@jodazaca (36)
• United States
18 Feb 08
I think the book turned out the way it should. I loved the Professor. He was so perfect for Jo. I think Jo and Laurie were more like brother and sister. Amy was more in his league anyway.
• Australia
19 Feb 08
Not me...I would much rather it have ended with Jo going with Laurie. I mean, Louisa spent so much time building their relationsip up, only to have Jo go with someone else. And Amy was poor, she was not in Laurie's league either. The only thing that made her relationship work for her, is the fact that she desired riches but she was spoiled and instead of keeping Laurie grounded as Joe would have done, she'd keep Laurie all about the riches. If anyone has ever seen the Little Men series that was on, I think on the Disney Channel, this is what happened in their relationship and Laurie wound up falling out of love with Amy for it. While I don't count that much because it was not part of the story written by Louisa May Alcott, it's always something that I had pictured happening in their relationship....
@deem1977 (242)
• United States
8 Jul 08
I ithink every young girl who reads Little Women thinks that Jo will end up with Laurie, but I think that Louis May Alcott makes it clear that the two characters were not really suited to each other in the long run. In the book, Marmee expresses her relief to Jo that the two of them are not together because Marmee believes that they are too much alike -- both of them having strong, volatile, opinionated and passionate personalities. That kind of mixture often doesn't work because there are too many opportunities to clash. As Marmee points out, when you are friends and have a disagreement you can just go your separate ways for a while and then resume your friendship again, but in a marriage you have to be able to compromise and she felt that Jo and Laurie would not succeed at that together. on the other hand, Amy was not as opinionated as Jo and would be able to get along more easily with Laurie. In the long run, Professor Bhaer was very well suited to Jo -- he just was not as romantic a character for the young girls reading the bood as the dashing, wealth, and good looking Laurie.
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@phoenix25 (1541)
• United States
8 Jul 08
You know, I used to wish Laurie and Jo would have ended up together when I was younger. Now that I'm older and have thought about it some more over the years, I understand why Jo didn't pick Laurie. He was too much like a brother to her. One side of Jo was like Laurie, but the other side was serious and thoughtful like Friedrich. She loved Laurie like a brother, but loved Friedrich like a husband. I think she was happy that Laurie married her sister because she could still love Laurie in that capacity. He could still be a part of her family and they didn't have to be awkward about the past.
• Philippines
9 Nov 08
I believe that Lauri is still inlove with Jo even if he married Amy. Jo will always be his one great love :-) I was expecting for them to end up also.
@dmpach (11)
• Philippines
7 May 10
Oh, I kept on rereading those books over and over and over again--hoping that maybe if I reread it again, the end would change. Gah.