Of course, that's the opening line of Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, who was quite an extraordinary woman -- a feminist and an abolitionist and a woman who supported her family "with her pen" in a time when that was not the common role for a woman (of course, doing it by writing is still pretty uncommon).
I saw the new iteration of "Little Women" (directed by Greta Gerwig and featuring Saorise ) yesterday and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had a lot of energy (which I think the book does as well) and all the performances were great and it looked sumptuous with snowy Concord and sunny France and gritty New York. I have never read the actual book, amazingly, so I scooted out and got it. Jo is an unusual character, uncompromising and sometimes difficult to like (at least, this is me talking after reading two chapters and seeing several movie versions of the story, so perhaps I'll change my mind after finishing the book). I knew the story well and remember wondering about some of Jo's choices (I won't ruin the story, because I'm sure some of you plan to see it, or maybe, READ THE BOOK, like I am now) but I think the movie deals pretty well with Jo and how unusual she is and how difficult it would have been for someone like her to make her way. It conflates Louisa May Alcott with Jo (and of course, I don't think there's any doubt that a lot of Jo is Louisa May Alcott anyway) and helps us see things through a writerly perspective. Anyway, the movie is highly recommended by me and is a charming addition to the lexicon of festive movies that don't really involve Christmas much, despite the first line of the book.
I also saw Noah Baumbach's "Marriage Story" (with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson). I thought it was quite good and showed the challenges of two people who still love each other in a way, but not in the way that makes them want to be married anymore. They have a young son and their love of him and their desire to continue to be his parents is what makes the thing so heartbreaking. I can't imagine having to let another person, even a person I loved, take my son away to another part of the country and be in charge of him and me not be in the day to day. It is hard enough to be a parent and feel like you're helping and raising the child to be a good person, but not to see them every day and sit down to dinner with them and read to them and disagree with them and then resolve it (which you'd probably be afraid to do, if you only saw them on weekends or on holidays) -- that would be horrible. You and your partner are adults, so it's sad that your relationship is over and you would feel badly, but you would be able to regroup and move on, but I don't know how you would bear it if you had to lose your child's time as well. The most painful scene was when Charlie (Adam Driver) comes to Los Angeles and he wants to take Henry trick or treating on Hallowe'en and Henry has already gone with his mom and his cousins and doesn't really want to go again, but Charlie is determined that they're going to go and it isn't a success. You understand Charlie, but you want to intervene and tell him that he has to give in, but of course, Charlie is in the moment and you are at that omniscient distance.
I hope you're all enjoying your holidays (if you're having them and not busy working). I am taking it very easy and reading a lot and staying cosy. Are you making any New Year's Resolutions? I made two the other day. I am going to write daily (I think I have resolved this before) -- I have a really good idea for a play (maybe for next year's first show) called "I Shot Santa" about an artistic girl who is bullied by her two friends with whom she has kind of a girl band. I wrote the lyrics for the song "I Shot Santa" the other day and have this idea that the play will trace their relationship from their childhood to adulthood with the scenes all happening around the holidays.
My other resolution is to check my email once a day only. I check it more than that and it's a waste of time. I will be 63 tomorrow and time is getting more and more important as I age. Instead of looking at my old emails, I could write a scene of "I Shot Santa"!
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