“Jo jerks awake to find Beth gone— she goes downstairs and sees Marmee there. Jo looks at Marmee, and her mother, for the first time in Jo’s life, breaks. Jo becomes the parent at that moment, comforting her mother, who is trapped in the unimaginable pain of losing a child.” —Little Women (2019), Greta Gerwig
“You must take my place, Jo, and be everything to Father and Mother when I’m gone.” —Little Women (1868), Louisa May Alcott