On paper, Amy’s actions would put a Cinderella step-sister to shame, and they sure do seem a lot like villainy. This more empathetic, even likable version of her character never existed in Little Women, I was told, until now.Īt the end of Louisa May Alcott’s semi-autobiographical novel, Amy has the man that her older sister Jo loves, the wealth that belongs to the man that Jo loves (and that should have been hers, which may have mattered more to readers than to Jo herself), the trip to Europe that Jo wanted to go on, and she was never punished for burning Jo’s manuscript. My gushing over Pugh’s performance my love for Amy’s “economic proposition” scene and my proclamations that Amy’s ambition to marry rich and live a good life with Timothee Chalamet spoke to my soul were met with some reproach. In fact, the youngest March sister is far from beloved: Amy March, prior to Gerwig’s adaptation, has traditionally been seen as the novel’s villain. Which is why I was surprised to learn that, after watching Greta Gerwig’s splendid adaptation and feverishly talking about it with anyone that would give me a chance, Amy March (played by Florence Pugh) has not historically been a fan favorite. I never read Little Women growing up (the boys in my middle school were pushed to read Hatchet and Call of the Wild), nor have I seen the iconic 1994 Winona Ryder-led touchstone.

Which little women character are you