​I had heard many wonderful praises about this 1933 adaptation of Little Women, especially about Katherine Hepburn´s performance as Jo and I must agree that these praises were accurate. Hepburn´s Jo is one of the best screen-Jo´s I have ever seen. 

What it comes to Jo I felt that this film was very loyal to the books. Hepburn brought lots of physical comedy to the role and I thought it was very fitting for Jo´s character. In the book Jo is described to be a tall, bit clumsy tomboy. Hepburn is the tallest actress who has ever played Jo and I think her looks are pretty close to Jo in the book. 

​Comparing these different movie and tv adaptations of Little Women is one kind of research to cultural history. I have noticed that in these older film adaptations the aggressive nature of young Jo is completely missing. She is funny and determined in the movie but the book-Jo had a temper and occasionally violent impulses. This feature of Jo started to appear in film adaptations just in the 1990´s. This tells a lot how film industry reflects the position of a western woman through history. I do think that Hepburns Jo is wonderful, but the character is shown through 30s lenses and is not entirely what she is in the books. 

Film is directed by American George Cukor who´s most famous film is probably My Fair Lady from 1964. 

Everyone probably knows the plot of Little Women (or they should know). Book is about March sisters; bohemian Jo, artistic Amy, shy Beth and motherly Meg and their growth from girls to women. Their reverend father is in the war and mother Marmee takes care of the girls and poor folks of the neighbourhood. 

​This film is one of the rare adaptations of Little Women where I wish that Jo would have remained single. I was disappointed with both Laurie and Fritz. I liked Laurie in the beginning of this film, where he was shy and lonely and reminded me of Laurie in the beginning of the book, but the development of the character ended right there. For the rest of the movie he was more like apathetic prince from Snow White. Book-Laurie´s flicky and impulsive nature wasn´t there. 

​Professor Bhaer was no better. Friedrich was played by Hungarian actor Paul Lukas, but unfortunately there was no chemistry between him and Hepburn. Friedrich´s character was also very different to what he is in the books which was very disappointing for me personally because mein professor is my favorite character in all Little Women. 1933 Friedrich was complete opposite to the Friedrich in the books. In the book Friedrich respects Jo and he is only going to propose her when he is sure that she has feelings towards him but in this film it is pretty clear that he wants Jo to be his wife since the first moment he sees her (maybe it would be a good idea to get to know her first) and he even asks Jo a permission to write to her father and ask him something (I wonder what that is). I´m afraid Fritz in this film was just as possessive over Jo what Laurie was at one point. 

Both Montgomery Cliff who plays Laurie and Lukas who plays Bhaer can seem quite comical for the modern viewers. I am okay with that. But I am not so happy that the essential natures of the characters are very different to what they are in the books. My favorite male actor in this film is John Davis Lodge who playes John Brooke.

​Unfortunately I did not either like Amy played by Joan Bennet. At least in this version actors of Amy and Laurie had wonderful chemistry, but throughout the whole film Amy had the same sour expression on her face. In the book the adult Amy is spunky and a bubbly character. I thought Joan Bennet was very pretty Amy, I just wished she had smiled more. I liked Jean Parker as ethereal Beth, I felt that she brought nearly a spiritual aspect into this film which also exists in the books. She and Hebpurn were believable as sisters. The scene in the book where Beth asks Jo to fill her place was also added into this film and Jo does try..for a while. 

​Positive surprise for me was that this film was pretty loyal to the book and there were also scenes that I have not seen in other movie versions. I would recommend to watch this film already because of Hepburn´s amazing breathtaking performance. It is her film from start to finish. 

Check out my other articles on Little Women:
​
Quest of Friedrich Bhaer, Tender Masculinity In Little Women 
Little Women: Equal Marriage Lost in Translation
​Thoughts on #TeamLaurie and #TeamBhaer
Little Women: Symbolism of the Umbrella   
Little Women 1970 Amy and Laurie Romance

During my Little Women marathon so far I have watched 9 different adaptations and it has been a struggle to find an adaptation that is loyal to the books and shows organic development of Amy´s and Laurie´s relationship. I have found only one, that is the 9-episodes BBC adaptation from 1970. I love Amy and Laurie in the books but this series took my Amy and Laurie ship to a whole another level. 
​
The 1970 series is by far one of my least favourite adaptations of Little Women. Wigs look terrible, most of the cast that is mainly British, doesn´t even try to speak with an American accent and some of the characters are quite different to what they are in the books. Amy and Laurie are a pleasant exception and for me they are the highlight of this series. 

In this 1970´s adaptation Amy is played by lovely Janina Faye and Laurie is played by Stephen Turner and I did found out that Turner especially was praised from his performance as Laurie and I liked him a lot as Laurie. He might even be my favourite Laurie so far. He is charming and boyish and this film also shows how he loves music and the tricky relationship with his grandfather. This is one of the rare adaptations where Laurie has more chemistry with Amy´s actress than Jo´s (this should be the case in every LW adaptation!) Another one that I can think of is 1949 version but sadly in that one Laurie and Amy hardly have any scenes together. 

​What we do get in this adaptation is accurate description of  Laurie´s and Amy´s time in Europe. The dialogue is close to the books and it also shows the resentment that Laurie shows towards Amy´s good intended advice. Eventually Laurie does take them and for him it turns out to be a blessing. I love Faye´s Amy because she has the same spunk that Amy has in the books. A rare combination of being very genuine and at the same time she is someone who enjoys luxury. 

​Another thing that I love in this adaptation is how it also includes the scene from the books where Amy and Laurie talk about Jo´s professor and wonder how they could help them. In the books Amy and Laurie became a philanthropist couple who used their wealth to help others. I love Amy and Laurie in the books. To me they both possessed certain amount of vanity that none of the other characters had. Love for fashion and nice things and keeping up good appearance. For me this scene is very similar to the way I imagined it in my head. Amy is very close with older Mr Lawrence and she walks down the halls like a queen and calls Laurie as "My lord" (this part in the books does shows that certain level of vanity that they have but it is also rather sweet). Laurie plays the piano (Laurie actually plays a lot of music in this version) while talking to Amy. They hug and you can feel the love and intimacy between the two. 

What never fails to annoy me in most adaptations is the way character of adult Amy is turned either into notorious bitch or Jo´s rival. When we idolise Jo we tend to completely ignore her faults. Amy and Jo are mirrors of each others both being the most impulsive and argumentative of the all the March girls but Amy learns to control her temper unlike Jo and this is  the reasons why Amy got to go to Europe. We can see  child Amy and teen-age Jo as rivals fighting over who is the centre of attention but years later when aunt March does choose Amy to go to Europe with her,  Jo realises that Amy did deserve it and she only has herself to blame and later on she is grateful that she did not go to Europe with aunt March because then she would not have met her Fritz. After the death of Beth and Jo´s time in New York and Amy´s time in Europe when the sisters meet again they have both matured enough to see the pettiness of their past behaviour and become very close. 

​This series also did good job with Amy, Jo and Laurie re-uniting. Another scene that was very loyal to the books. I´d even dare to say that in this adaptation Turner, Janina Faye and Jo played Angela Down are the most truthful to the characters they play. Amy has the same spunk what Jo has but her vibrant energy and ambitions are different to Jo like they are in the books as well. Re-uniting between the sisters is warm and filled with bittersweet joy because of Beth´s death very much like it is in the books (as much as I love Winona, 1994 version did bad job with it). 

​This adaptation doesn´t go down without flaws either. Janina Faye also plays the child Amy and every time when an adult woman plays 12 year old Amy, I cringe. In these cases sympathy for Amy´s character usually completely disappears. It is easier to forgive "childish" behaviour for a child Amy, than an adult because then the character comes out as a whining adult. Amy does not either fall into ice but into a (fake) pond during the summer.  Laurie in this version is extremely likeable but once again he completely lacks the possessive/toxic  side of him that came out with his arguments with Jo. I still have not seen an adaptation that would handle it or even show it the way it is described in the books.

Like I said in my Thoughts on #TeamLaurie vs #TeamBhaer essay Little Women is a coming of age book not a love story,  Amy and Laurie have some of the most powerful character arcs in LW and this series doesn´t go nearly as deep as it could but it does very good job showing the development of their romance. It is excellent watch for any fellow Amy/Laurie shippers (I know you are out there). 

You can find the series from Amazon Prime but to my experience quality on dvd/blue ray is better. 

sWhen I write these LW articles what I like to explore is how our views and ideas of the characters are so often coloured by the film and tv adaptations which rarely get the complexity of the characters the way they are written into the books. You may look forward more of these glimpses to the way certain characters are portrayed in different Little Women adaptations. I feel like I learn new things about these wonderful books and the characters each time when I´m having a discussion with fellow fans so thank you guys from the feedback and comments! Also if anyone can recommend me some great Amy/Laurie fan-fics I´d be very grateful, why I have a feeling they are as tricky to find as Jo/Fritz fan fics. Let´s start Jo/Fritz + Amy/Laurie revolution and show some love to these couples! 

Check out my other Little Women articles:
Thoughts on #TeamLaurie and #TeamBhaer
Little Women: Equal Marriage Lost in Translation
Little Women: Symbolism of the umbrella
Quest of Friedrich Bhaer and why my inner Jo loves him Tender Masculinity in Little Women 
Little Women 1933

All my new readers welcome and those of you who´v been with me since the beginning of my Jo/Fritz essay journeys welcome back. As a writer and as an illustrator I spend lots of time studying symbols and one of the most striking and powerful symbols in Little Women in the course of Jo and Friedrich, is the umbrella. 

The umbrella, is more than just an everyday object here. It symbolises how Jo and Fritz have grown to realise that they love each others. What I love about the writings of Louisa May Alcott was the way she captured love and romance in most nuisance ways within every day life experiences. There are no grand romantic gestures or orchestras playing during the proposals in a rose petal rain but yet these sweet moments that happen in the domestic sphere between two people are very romantic. Friedrich proposes Jo in the rain under the umbrella. His proposal is sincere and earnest. 

“Jo, I haf nothing but much love to gif you; I came to see if you could care for it, and I waited to be sure that I was something more than a friend. Am I? Can you make a little place in your heart for old Fritz?”
​
He gives Jo all the power and the control. He does´t ask her to marry him, he asks if she could love him.

The joy they feel when they realise they both have feelings for each others is like nothing else and it is in complete contradiction to the environment. They are standing in the middle of puddles in pouring rain. He is poor, all his clothes are patched and the trim of Jo´s dress is completely soaked but they don´t pay attention to any of theses things because in that moment they are extremely happy. 

There is always controversy around Little Women and the anti-Fritz people say that Louisa was trying to piss off her readers but I dare to disagree. Like any good writer I believe Louisa did care about her characters and she gave all March girls matches that she herself was happy with. Since being a young adult Louisa alone was the only breadwinner of her family for years. The feelings of obligation and duty never fully left her. After reading Louisa May Alcott´s biography I was left with a feeling that there were times when she wished that someone would be there to take care of her since she had spent all of her life taking care of others. Every symbol related to Jo´s professor has aspects of protection. 

​The way the proposal scene is framed it shows how little Jo and Fritz care about their surroundings when they finally get together. Jo kisses him even though it is considered inappropriate, Fritz wants to kneel down but he can´t because of the rain and people passing by probably think they are crazy. The umbrella is Jo and Fritz, and the rain is the rest of the world which does not exist in that  moment.

German name "Friedrich" means a peaceful ruler. This refers to his calm nature and that he is more mature. Jo herself is the opposite, she is fiery, outspoken and has a temper. They are complete polars and yet these are qualities that they greatly admire in each others.

 Last name Bhaer which has been written wrong for the past 140 years (correct form is Baer, which is a German last name that literally refers to a bear) also symbolizes protection. Bears are connected to courage, fellowship, support and comfort. 

I will leave you with this piece of information I found from Ancestry.com

"Baer Family History"

"German (Bär): from Middle High German ber ‘bear’, a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal in some way, a metonymic occupational name for someone who kept a performing bear, or a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a bear. In some cases, it may derive from a personal name containing this element. Jewish (Ashkenazic): Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish male personal name Ber, from Yiddish ber ‘bear’. Dutch: from Middle Dutch baer ‘naked’, ‘bare’. Debrabandere suggests it may have been a nickname for someone who wore ragged clothes"

Must say I especially love the part with ragged clothes, fits very well with Fritz´s character. 

Maybe it is the combination of the rain and the love I have for these two characters and their honest dialogue why this still is the most romantic exchange I have ever read. Jo always felt herself as an outside in the Concord society. When she met Friedrich she met another outsider and Friedrich is someone who is very comfortable in his own skin. He tells Jo that it is okay to be unconventional and nourish her creativity. Quoting Louisa May Alcott, she wanted to love freely and deeply and I feel sad she never found her own Fritz. Unlike Laurie who demanded Jo to marry him, Fritz gave Jo a choice. ​

The umbrella is about that, loving freely and deeply. ​

What do you guys think about the symbolism of the umbrella? is anyone else as in love with the proposal in the rain scene as I am? 

Check out my other Little Women articles:
Quest of Friedrich Bhaer, Tender Masculinity In Little Women 
Little Women, Equal Marriage lost in translation
Thoughts on TeamLaurie and TeamBhaer

Little Women 1933 
Little Women 1970 Amy and Laurie Romance

Image sources:
Little Women 1994, 1949, Masterpiece 2017
https://www.singulart.com/en/
https://afremov.com/

I´v been working on new surface patterns. Green watercolor blocks and simple paint strokes. 

Drips drops splashes are made with a straw. So much energy!

Something I am working on. The true love´s kiss. 

​Happy Pride Week <3 

I do love fashion illustrations but I always try to add more feeling and depth to them. There needs to be something more than "pretty-ness". More expressions and more persona. 

Watercolors and markers on sketchbook. 

I´v been working some artworks inspired by Rick Riordan´s Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus books. My favourite demi-god couple is Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. 

Work in process pencil and watercolour on sketchbook. 

My fellow demi-gods make sure to visit my store and check my mythology - print collection )O( #mythologyobsessed

One of my 2018 illustration projects was Diana Wynne Jones´s "Howl´s Moving Castle". I illustrated three scenes from the book. Books tells about a young girl named Sophie who stands against the wrong witch, witch of the Waste and she turns Sophie into an old lady and that is how the adventure begins. 

Sophie Hatter is a hatter so I painted all kinds of hats around them. Original is done with watercolor and paper collage. You can find prints here and other goodies with this image from my shop. 

When I paint witches I usually make them pretty, even if they´re evil. Spoiler alert! let´s face it, Howl would not have paid any interest on her otherwise. 

All together I made three illustrations inspired by Diana Wynne Jones´s Howl´s Moving Castle. The book is lovely. It takes place in an imaginary land called Ingary and also in Wales. For those of you who don´t know I´v lived past four years in Wales studying children´s book illustration and yes, I am from Finland originally. 

Strange thing life isn´t it. You´ll never know where you´ll end up.

This is a scene in the book where Sophie is exploring the moving castle and strange potion bottles in Howl´s dirty bathroom caught her attention. 

Prints from these illustrations can be found here. 

This was one of my favorite illustrations projects I´ever did in university. I absolutely loved painting this piece in particular and adding all the little potion bottle labels.  There is watercolor, colored pencils and paper collage. 

Here´s an illustration that I am insanely proud of! Last winter one of my projects was to do illustrations based on Diana Wynne Jones´s book "Howl´s moving castle". It is a lovely book and I remember reading it as a child and now I had to read it again. I´m afraid I was a bit too haste so I´ll probably need to re-read it again in Finnish at some point. Anyway the story is about a young lady called Sophie Hatter who gets turned into an old woman and she ends up working for a wizard named Howl. 

There is Ghibli animation made of it but I haven´t seen it yet (it´s on my list). I just found out that Christian Bale is Howl´s English voice...why I can not imagine anyone else doing his voice. What it comes to illustrating not seeing an adaptation usually works as an advantage because then you are not conclusively thinking about a film.  

Anyway...
this is a scene from the book where Sophie finds a mandrake. It took place in an alcove so I spent quite some time on Pinterest looking garden-like alcoves (welcome to day in the life of an illustrator). 

Watercolor and mixed media illustration. You can find prints and all kinds of other goodies from my store. 
My wizard Howl became a mixture of Jack Skellington and Lucius Malfoy. In the book he could change his looks. 

Here are some close-up details. 
As some of you may know I just recently graduated. Now I got a degree on children´s book illustration!
It was hard work but I did enjoy it. 

If you know anyone who is looking for an illustrator or if you are looking for an illustrator and like my style don´t hesitate to contact me. I am also taking commissions. I hope to add a commission price here to my page within next couple of weeks. Should have done it already but I am freaking busy.