In 1868, pressured by her family and publisher, Louisa May Alcott wrote the first installment of her novel Little Women, which soon became a literary classic mostly meant as educational reading material for young girls. Apart from the timeless story, the novel is today often a part of feminist debates with an emphasis on autobiographical elements. The story, which nicely presents the situation of women in the 19th century, is open for a feminist reading. There are elements in the novel that allude to the slow birth of feminism at the time and call for female empowerment in the sense of independence and equality. Jo March is the loudest advocate of such ideas in the novel; however, today, the story of the four March sisters and their fight for their place in the male world has also been retold by numerous adaptations. As a timeless classic, this literary piece became a modern re-telling with the title The Spirng Girls by Anna Todd, while many screenwriters and producers put the story of little women on the big screens. The latest was Greta Gerwig. The time shifts from one historical time and place to another, as illustrated by Anna Todd in her 21st-century re-telling, and the shifts in genres, which all occur in the film adaptations, also bring about a slight change in the content, idea, and message of the original story. Thus, the modern re-telling shows the contemporary world, in which women have their independence and are able to make decisions for their lives – they have a choice. On the other hand, the most recent film adaptation of the novel brings its subtle feminist tones into the forefront and lets them ring out in their entirety. Both adaptations deal with the original using a different narration technique, a changed ensemble of characters, and the addition of some other changes as well. However, what connects all three pieces of art is the story of four sisters who are making their way in a world that is more or less fair towards them and the message that women deserve more and the same.
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